The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

Review

My wife loves this movie. I personally hate it. But I bought it for my wife as a mother's day gift from my son. May 9, 2008

leather face returns with a bad remixe

this movie was corney all the texas chainsaw massacre movies were terrible but sad it was a true story well at least he's burnnig in hell for all the lives he took, sick ba.....d but this movie was garbage. May 1, 2008

POWER TOOLS FOR A NEW GENERATION

For over 29 years horror fans have rallied about a small, low budget film that when released scared the hell out of any viewer brave enough to watch it. Of course I am talking about the original TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. Director Tobe Hooper took the story of ghoul/cannibal/murderer Ed Gein and moved him from Michigan to Texas, adding a family and a few other idiosyncrasies along the way.

The movie spawned three sequels and several documentaries on the making of the film. It launched a more graphic approach to horror than had been witnessed before. And it created a now legendary horror icon, Leatherface, that has plagued the nightmare land of movie viewers since he first hit the screen in 1974. And now a new generation has their own version of this terrifying tale.

Director Marcus Nispel and screenplay author Scott Kosar have decided not to remake the same film seen before so much as retool it for a new set of viewers. Yes, Leatherface is there as well as a weird family. But these folks are not the same ones we saw oh those many years ago.

The film opens in the late 70's with a group of friends coming back from a trip to Mexico, heading to a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert. Along the way, they nearly run down a young woman walking alongside the road. Giving her a lift, they sit in stunned silence as she talks of everyone being dead, of there being no escape. And then she pulls a pistol out from between her legs and shoots herself in the head.

The friends are stunned and pull off the road. When they set out again, they stop in a local gas station and contact the sheriff who tells them he will meet them near his current location. When they arrive at this destination, they find more than the bargained for.

Once tired of waiting, they head out to find a phone and do so in an old house. Dealing with a cantankerous old man there, they get hold of the Sheriff and head back to wait. Circumstances lead to their returning to the house later on and that's when Leatherface pops up to make his first, brain busting appearance.

As in most horror films of this type, the movie moves forward as one by one the teens are picked off by the bad guys. The fact that Leatherface doesn't act on his own makes the story even creepier. But it's those scenes of him swinging the chainsaw high and low, the sound of the gas powered engine revving at high speeds that makes it unnerving.

The movie offers plenty of scares and jump scenes that catch you off guard. The character of Leatherface is once more one of the most horrific images you can imagine. The pace of the film, the dialogue, the acting, the directing all go hand in hand to create one of the scariest movies this season.

Perhaps the biggest difference between this movie and the original is the gore factor. I can remember so many people telling me about all of the gore that they witnessed in the original. In going back and watching it now, I am amazed at how little there actually was. Instead, director Tobe Hooper did a fantastic job of making you THINK you saw more than you really did. This time around though, the gore is there, from sledgehammers slammed into head to chainsaws ripping through flesh.

While some movies are meant to be seen on a small television screen, this one is not. Does the size of the picture make a difference? No. But...sitting in a darkened theater with 300 strangers watching and waiting for the inevitable to happen makes this movie scarier than even those making it could have hoped for. Next time don't wait for the DVD< head out to a darkened theater near you. In the meantime, give this one a watch if you're a horror fan. If you like scary films, then you won't want to miss this one.
March 15, 2008

lame

Most of the horror remakes aren't that bad. Dawn of The Dead and Hills Have Eyes were remade into some satisfyingly gory modern action films (yup, action films). This however takes the same route that TCM: Next Generation did, which means alot of suggestion, verbal abuse and very little horror. I mean, if you're going to do a big budget remakes of TCM why not make it as gory as possible? I think someone gets their leg cut off and Leatherface SHOOTS someone? With a gun? COME ON MAN! Chainsaw. CHAIN-SAW. The acting in this one, excluding R Lee Ermy is actually WORSE than the original! Atleast in the original you got the sense that the people playing the cannibals were in fact genuinely insane, like they didn't change one bit once the cameras were off. This movie reeks of overproduction and complete lack of imagination. It also helped usher in the reign of the SHAKING A CAMERA IN SOMEONES SCREAMING FACE=SCARY trend that is the most obnoxious overused trick to ever malign the horror genre. This is the most unforgivable remake, no doubt this film will not be remembered years from now and thats a good thing. When its all settled and horror goes into another recession people will still remember the original. February 15, 2008

The original slasher returns!!!!

Before the days of Jason Voorhees, Freddy Kruger, and even Michael Myesr, there was Leatherface and the rest of the HeWitt family. This is a great remake of the original 1974 film of the same name.

The film starts out with a group of teenagers traveling through Texas in a van on their way to a Lynard Skynard concert. They pick up a young dazed blonde womkan who obviously needs help. As she rides in the backseat, she puts a .38 special in her mouth and pulls the trigger. This sets off a chain of events that lead them on the path to meet the HeWitt clan.

R. Lee Ermey, everybody's favorite Marine Corps drill instructor, plays the insane sheriff who is really part of this cannibalistic clan.

Leatherface is huge, mean, and can slice and dice better than ever before. When he doesn't have the chainsaw, he's just as handy with a sledgehammer and a sewing machine.

Jessica Biel is our heroine and she looks great, especially towards the end when she is soaking wet and the tank top gets tighter and tighter, she certainly is the eye candy of this flick.

Do I like it as much as the original? Yes and no. The original is a classic and I love it, but seeing a reborn Leatherface in the next century brings me a strange sense of peace. If I am not mistaken, and I will have to watch both movies back to back, I think the gas station is the same in both movies. Nice touch. January 3, 2008

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