The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is an American slasher film from director Marcus Nispel, producers Michael Bay and Mike Fleiss, and Platinum Dunes Entertainment. This is a remake/revision of the 1974 classic, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It also serves as the fifth entry to the Texas Chainsaw franchise.

This film stars Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, Erica Leerhsen, Mike Vogel, Eric Balfour R. Lee Ermey. And making his debut as Leatherface, Andrew Bryniarski. It was released on October 17th, 2003 to outstanding box-office numbers and poor reviews. I am watching the HD stream on Google Play.

Synopsis

Driving through the backwoods of Texas, five youths pick up a traumatized hitchhiker, who shoots herself in their van. Shaken by the suicide, the group seeks help from the locals, but their situation becomes even more surreal when they knock on the door of a remote homestead. It's quickly apparent the residents are a family of inbred psychopaths, and the unlucky youths suddenly find themselves running for their lives. In hot pursuit is a disfigured, chainsaw-wielding cannibal known as Leatherface.

Analysis

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is highly stylized and looks brilliant. The picture is fantastic and the shots look amazing thanks to the cinematography by Daniel Pearl. The set design and wardrobe are fantastic too. It helps to sell the setting to the audience and makes it feel like we are watching the seventies.

The horror in the film is ultra-graphic and brutal. A staple of what makes this mainstream horror film so effective. And while I love the dreadful setting. A lot of the filth and grime is way over the top and I found myself rolling my eyes a lot. Mostly at some of the disgusting side-characters that padded out the flick.

R. Lee Emery is the best part of the movie. Andrew Bryniarski as Leatherface is scary, sure. But Sheriff Hoyt is one of the most terrifying characters in cinema history. I am frightened of him. He is so sadistic. Even Leatherface has pathos in this picture. Hoyt doesn’t.

Jessica Biel and Jonathan Tucker are great too. They are standouts among the victims in the film. But the other actors are pretty transparent. A shame since Eric Balfour is a good actor. His character just doesn’t have time to establish himself.

The soundtrack for the film is alright. They use Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” in an effective scene. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Album is a heavy metal album with songs influenced by the film. But the actual score is nothing too special. It’s not a memorable one and doesn’t have that raw feeling that the first one had. It should have gone for an even more subtle approach.

Overall

Predictably, a Texas Chainsaw remake with Michael Bay attached is going to suck. And a lot of this movie does suck. But it has some badass scenes of brutality that are hard to ignore. However, this was far too overproduced and failed at eclipsing the original. Toby Hooper may not have had the money to pull off some of the stuff that Marcus Nispel did. But his film was far more visceral and realistic. The original is far scarier than this movie that tries a little too hard.