Mark Reviews Movies: TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE

Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Netflix

Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter | Become a Patron

Review by Mark Dujsik | February 18, 2022

Serving as yet another rebooted sequel in this series, director David Blue Garcia's Texas Chainsaw Massacre actually understands the foundation of what made Tobe Hooper's great, influential 1974 film with a similar title work as well as it did—except when it occasionally doesn't and until it really doesn't. That's more than can be said of the majority of the various sequels, remakes, and prequels (to both the original and a remake) in this franchise that didn't have Hooper's creative involvement. That's at least some kind of accomplishment.

The foundation, of course, is in pure, unadulterated, and uncompromising terror—not the bloody, gruesome carnage suggested by the series' name. Garcia and screenwriter Chris Thomas Devlin get that, giving this entry, which serves more or less as a direct sequel to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, an assortment of chilling, suspenseful sequences that use sound, perspective, and, naturally, surprise to offer a sense of mounting helplessness.

Those are the scenes that really work here. Since that's basically the entire point of this movie, it's tempting to leave the critique and analysis at that, dubbing the effort a success. Unfortunately, that would be to ignore the elements that undermine the effective bits, including a third act that sacrifices tension, suggestion, and skillful craft for an orgy of blood and some silly action. The movie's worthwhile components may be a big deal, but so, too, are the ones that make us question how the same people who get so much right could get other things so wrong.

Set in the present day (roughly or exactly 50 years after the events of the original film), the plot features a pair of young entrepreneurs, who have brought a couple of loved ones on a business trip to auction property in the ghost town of Harlow, Texas. Melody (Sarah Yarkin) and Dante (Jacob Latimore), the ones looking to make a financial killing from this small-town gentrification, are accompanied by her sister Lila (Elise Fisher) and his fiancée Ruth (Nell Hudson).

By the way, Lila is the traumatized survivor of a school shooting. The initial surprise and discomfort of Devlin using such a tragedy as the sole piece of back story for an archetypical horror movie character eventually changes into a depressing realization. After decades of senseless and avoidable murder in places of education and safety, we've finally crossed a cultural Rubicon into an era when such tragedy is so commonplace that it's used in this indifferent manner. To be sure, this is a distasteful decision, especially in how Lila's strength as a survivor eventually brings her to using a couple firearms, but it's more reflective of how cold and ineffectual our society has become in this regard.

On the way to town, the four get into some culture-clash bickering with Richter (Moe Dunford), a gun-loving-and-toting good ol' boy who's actually fixing up storefronts for the auction (The out-of-place political jabs, references, conflicts, and gags are one of the more minor undermining features of the movie). Upon arriving, the four encounter Mrs. Mc (Alice Krige), the elderly and ill proprietor of a rundown orphanage (with a somewhat familiar interior layout). She's unaware of the forthcoming changes to the town and refuses to leave, since she still has a single orphan—a silent hulk (played by Mark Burnham)—for whom to care.

The big guy, of course, is Leatherface, who returns to violence on account of his caretaker's mistreatment by the newcomers. Our re-introduction to the character's brutality comes in a dynamic, divided sequence, which begins with the grisly shock of sudden violence (A fractured arm is one thing, but its further use is something dementedly clever) and transitions into a scene of notable suspense (Someone has a good view of Leatherface, which means he has a good ear for any movement or calls for help, so there's this subtle game of cat-and-mouse with minimal physicality and vocalization).

The rest of the story is more of the same, essentially, with characters going into places where they definitely shouldn't, encountering Leatherface, and trying to hide from the killer or meeting a foreseeable end from his various tools. It's predictable, of course, but Garcia pulls off some neat tricks using reflections, some neater ones using sound (The noise and direction of creaking floorboards serve as an alarm and a hazard, depending on who's doing the stepping), and a particularly effective extended bit of suspense by having the patience to keep one character trapped under a bed. The eventually payoff, a game of hide-and-seek and a chase with the participants on different levels of the house, possesses a relentless momentum.

The occasional fumbles until this point in the story don't amount to much damage. However, the third act—which focuses on an actual massacre in a tight space and the arrival of initial Leatherface survivor Sally (Olwen Fouéré, taking over for the late Marilyn Burns), looking for vengeance—is a mess of blood, guts, limbs, and laughably terrible decisions from each and every person who survives until the movie abandons what works and exactly why it works as well as it does.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre runs a meager 74 minutes (without credits). A good portion of that is tightly constructed and smartly executed, but within its limited run time and scope, the effect of the movie's unfortunate finale is significant.

Back to Home

Buy Related Products

Buy the Soundtrack (Digital Download)