Written by: Ryan Dailey
Once again, the horror community banded together and showed Hollywood the proper way to continue a narrative properly and give the fans more of what they want. The Sawyer Massacre is a completely crowd-funded project that serves as not only the first full-length fan film for the franchise, but also as an unofficial prequel to the Tobe Hooper classic.
In an attempt to bring Jimmy out of his depression from losing the woman he loved tragically, his friends take him away from the hustle and bustle of city life to the Texas countryside. In need of provisions for the weekend getaway, a strange man at the gas station informs them that the “good stuff” is not at the gas station at all, but, rather, can be found at the house at not far from the gas station, Not only will the group supposedly find everything they need, but also has the honor of serving the “best barbeque in town.” The twenty-somethings, against any and all common sense, proceed to the house, which happens to be the infamous Sawyer residence, where they are hunted down and systematically murdered by the family of cannibals.
Steve Merlo has given horror just what it needed, especially after the Netflix-exclusive entry and recent insults like Halloween Ends.
The dialog, for the most part, is clever and tight, committed to film by talented actors. This is one of those rare occasions where you can run the original and the fan film side-by-side and the latter fits into the universe. The complaints are few, one being that it feels that the film probably would have benefited from using 35 mm film or at least some aging filters to give it that early 1970’s look. With the original coming out in 1974 and this being set years before that, it just makes sense. This minor gripe definitely does not detract from the quality of this film, however.
From Steve Merlo’s facebook page to all of the promotional material to the finished product, the love for the material is more than apparent. This is a labor of love that all of the horror community can enjoy the fruits of.
Merlo and company has given horror fans gold, even putting thought and care and respect to the original in the tagline, “If any live through the nightmare, they will wish they hadn’t,” which in and of itself is a great homage to the original’s tagline of, “ Who will survive and what will be left of them?” Merlo and company has definitely given fans something to take notice of with this piece of cinema gold.
The Sawyer Massacre is streaming for free on Youtube as of this writing.