In 1974, Tobe Hooper created an American iconic film with his gritty gorefest “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” Legendary studios acquired the rights to this celebrated franchise after Lionsgate lost the rights due to their inability to produce a follow-up to their 2017 “Leatherface” release. The duo behind the “Evil Dead” reboot and “Don’t Breathe,” Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues, pen a direct sequel to Hooper’s original classic. Alvarez burst onto the horror scene with his no holds barred production of “Evil Dead,” which was adored by critics and fans alike. Can he once again breathe life into another adored horror franchise?
Melody and Dante are bringing an investment group to the deserted town of Harlow, Texas. Their dream is to leave the corruption and crime of the big city behind and start a new colony of new wave free spirited citizens. Upon arriving at their new hippy haven, they encounter a few locals and old-world iconic symbols that need to be cleansed in order to bring in their way of life. The last two citizens of Harlow are removed, one dies on their way out while the other becomes enraged at having his home and loved one taken away. Unfortunately for the new investors of Harlow, that man happens to be Leatherface. His legend has lasted for decades, even the local gas station still sells icons from the massacre that happened all those years ago. The only survivor of the original slaughter, Sally Hardesty, lives as a recluse in a farm house which is driving distance from Harlow. Once Leatherface returns to reclaim his town, Hardesty takes off to put down the beast that has haunted her life for the last fifty years. Leatherface squares off against all of the unwelcomed guest, both old and new, in a full-blown Texan terror tornado.
“Texas Chainsaw Massacre” will fall right into the recent category of being a fun fear feast that does little to honor or enhance the series it is built upon. The original plot was scribed by Alvarez and Sayagues, with a touch up adaptation to screenplay by Chris Thomas Devlin. The three thrive when the blood spills, but sink when their cookie cutter characters speak. While horror films are not acclaimed for having deep characterization, this team found it necessary to include every modern stereotype possible and make them all unlikeable. Tweeting millennials, old boy law officers, and local yokels stumble through the film. While Mr. Hooper presented stereotypical sub-text to the 1974 original, this production team felt it pertinent to shove modern culture molds into the audience’s face at every turn. Despite the lazy and redundant script, the performances across the board are professional and bring forth some empathy to these basic characters. While the plot and performers are poorly written, the action and terror portion of the film are top-notch. Director David Blue Garcia shines with outstanding shot selection, filling the film with several original panning shots that are not only admirable but will quickly be imitated by future directors. Much like his script for “Evil Dead,” Alverez shines when the film gets down to the horror. From one v one fights with bone crunching action, to a slaughter fest on a bus, to cringe worthy chainsaw kills, the creativity of the physical horror falls easily in the top ten of the last twenty years. What plagues this film is that which has plagued all franchise installments since its predecessor film came out in 2003. No one, no one, no one, expected the 2003 “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” to rake in over 100 million off of its modest 10-million-dollar budget. The financial success of the film, followed by Zack Snyder’s “Dawn of the Dead” juggernaut, opened the flood gates to a now two-decade long rehash of iconic horror franchises. Some, “My Bloody Valentine” and “Friday the 13th (2009)” are good. Others, “A Nightmare on Elm Street” are abysmal. In the end, none will ever capture the mystic and nostalgia of their original counterparts. For production teams, and some of them are very passionate about the franchises, it is a lose lose situation. A perfect example in this film is the reemergence of Sally Hardesty. While the Sawyer family plot has been beat to death by previous installments, the reintroduction of Hardesty had hard core franchise fanatics excited for her return. By trying to please the core audience, this team simply throws her into a sloppy and irrelevant role. Until a serious new horror icon is backed financially and pulls in a massive box office take, the horror nation is just going to have fun with these films and enjoy them for what they are. They are like the brand-new chainsaw at Home Depot, it looks cool, feels great, and cuts deep, but in the end, you are never going to trade in your old reliable one that sits in the shed.
Scream Score: 7.5/10