In a hardware store years ago, the director of the horror classic “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” found himself overwhelmed by people who needed to buy nails, tools, or whatever else.

Hardly any 12-year-old girls buy a stuffed animal -  just to rip its belly open with a knife, and make it look like it’s been eaten by a zombie - any except for Emily Hagins.

DOC spoke with the director of “American Carny: True Tales from the Circus Sideshow” about his filmmaking roots and some of his favorite documentaries.