Let me just say first that I’ve never been a fan of any of the
films in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre
series. Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013) is the seventh one and I don’t understand
why the franchise has endured for as long as it has. The original Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) had its moments mostly during the
first half of the film but for me becomes a dull bore once you get to the diner
scene. From there on the film spirals
downhill and never recovers. The film
did introduce me to Gunner Hansen as Leatherface who is one of my favorite
character horror actors of all time. I
hated Part 2 (1986) completely and
have never gotten into the comedy aspect of that film (although again it
introduced to another one of my favorite character actors Bill Moseley). I do enjoy the siege of the radio station but
that’s about it. Part 2 had great production design but like its predecessor falls
apart some time during the second act.
At the time of its release Leatherface:
Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part III (1990) was a good film (or at least that’s
what I thought when I was a kid) but time has not been kind to this film as it
now comes off as an uninspired slasher film.
The less said about Return of
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (aka Texas
Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation- 1994), which was the first one I
saw on the big screen under this title, the better. Then came the remake (2003) and its Prequel (2006)
which are both competent and have a strong cast. While the first one was actually quite good,
it suffers from a less than thrilling ending when the main character goes back
to save the baby and the prequel suffers from being a cliché of the genre and a
ludicrous ending.
Now we have the latest entry in the undying franchise which
decides to go back to the original for inspiration by being a sequel to that
film. This in and of itself is actually
an excellent idea and hasn’t really been done that often since Halloween: H20 (1998) decided to dismiss
the four films that came before it.
After a 3D re-hash of events from the original film, this film opens
just moments after the events of the original film as the Sawyer clan is gunned
down and murdered by the towns folks leaving only a baby child to be taken in
as an orphan. About twenty years later
(which if it was a true sequel it would be about 30 years) that baby grows up
to be Heather Miller (Alexandra Daddario) who just learns that her relative
died and that she has inherited a large estate.
As with most of these types of films she heads off with a group of her
friends to search out this property discovering that her roots lie with that of
the infamous Sawyer clan and that the estate harbors deep and dark secrets that
may get her and her friends killed.
The problem with this film is that the first half comes off as a
simple slasher movie cliché where one person after another is killed (in great
ways mind you) by Leatherface. None of
his victims this go around have a brain in their heads and are dispatched very
quickly before Leatherface sets his sights on Alex whom he just can’t seem to
kill despite how much he tries. That’s
the first half of the film because as soon as the film becomes an Alex vs.
Leatherface film it switches gears to a film about a town full of secrets and
conspiracies and Alex discovering the real truth about her family which leads
her to discovering her true purpose.
I for one enjoyed the second half of the film. The first half was a by the numbers rendition
of previous films in the franchise but the moment the film decides to make
Leatherface into a real character with a real purpose the film had something to
say and Alex’s story became stronger.
The film is filled with excellent moments for the horror fan but those
looking for a Leatherface who just lumbers around and kills people will be
turned off by the second half of the film.
With a screenplay by Adam Marcus & Debra Sullivan and Kristen
Elms the film does a decent job of opening up the mythology of the Chainsaw
Universe (which may not appease everyone) and leaves one to believe that a
sequel opens up the possibilities even more.
Director John Lussenhop continues the look and style established by the
last two films which will make fans of the remakes happy but other than the
opening sequence there is little for fans of the original ’74 Tobe Hooper
film. The opening sequence does contain
several notable cameos from the original two Hooper films (one of my favorite
parts of the film bridging the old guard with the new). This film is so far removed from being a
simple horror film (the original) or a satire comedy (Part 2) that the fans for
whom this film was originally conceived may find themselves turned off. Either way, this is the first sequel to
present a whole new set of rules from which future films will be able to play
by.
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