Sunday, February 1, 2015

Texas Chainsaw (2013)

Director: John Luessenhop
Starring: Alexandra Daddario, Tania Raymonde, Scott Eastwood
My Rating: Liked it

I saw Texas Chainsaw when it was first released on DVD and I hated it. In the past week I've watched every Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie created, and now I see this 2013 entry in a whole new light. Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III and Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation make Texas Chainsaw look like a god damned masterpiece. Neither of those movies have much of a story. TCM3 is dreadfully boring and derivative, and The Next Generation is incoherent nonsense. Truth is, Texas Chainsaw does more for the TCM mythos than any other sequel. I enjoy The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 more than this one, but only because of its eccentricity. Texas Chainsaw is the only sequel to move this franchise forward.

That doesn't mean that Texas Chainsaw isn't without faults. A few of the young characters make some bonehead decisions that lead to gruesome demises. And a policeman makes some questionable calls; just call for back up, man. Also, the story moves at least 20 years from the events of the original movie, so how old does that make Leatherface? At least 50 years old, but I guess it doesn't really matter how old he is. These things aren't complete turnoffs, especially after seeing the other TCM sequels.

The story gives Leatherface a new reason to kill: revenge. Before it was always just to feed himself and his psycho family, so it was genuinely refreshing to see him take out the cops who had killed his family. I don't think Texas Chainsaw is the cream of the crop when it comes to recent horror/slashers at all; but if you think this movie is bad, have a Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie marathon, you might have a new perspective on this movie. To be honest, I want another sequel that continues this story, with Leatherface and his cousin living together.