‘The Texas Chainsaw massacre’(1974) was one of the early films in the slasher genres. It was also the first one introducing a masked madman on a killing spree. The original came out in 1974 & the remake was released in 2003. A lot of changes have taken place within these 29 years. US censorship laws are not any more stringent now. Any violent film is given R rating & not much attention is paid towards the gore shown in the film. Even the studios began to believe that more blood & more violent deaths bring in more viewers. This money making thinking has affected the slasher genre the most. The films of 80’s were more focused on the plot unlike today where the whole attention is put to show the most gruesome way to kill somebody. The problem is that now even the remakes of the old classic too aren’t spared.
The remake of ‘The Texas chainsaw massacre’ is a new addition to the films which spoiled the name of their originals.
The film begins with a voice telling the viewers about a gruesome crime that happened in 1973. The killings took place at a house on the outskirts of Texas. Two policemen go to the house after the bodies have been lifted from the different parts in and outside the house and begin to prepare a video report on the killings. The Film then goes to the time period of 1974 with 5 teenagers driving across Texas. They include Erin (Jessica Biel), Kemper, Morgan, Andy and Pepper. The problem begins when they pick up a distressed and traumatized girl from the road who commits suicide in their van by pulling the trigger of her revolver.
The group is stunned by this unexpected event. They decide to inform the local sheriff about it and go to a nearby store who tells them about the present location of Sheriff at the mill. When they don’t find sheriff there, Kemper and Erin go to sheriff’s home where Erin is killed by the ‘Leather Face’. Kemper is unknown of the fact and comes back to the mill thinking that he would have returned there. From here the things begin to go wrong with the group as they try to save themselves from the clutches of a chainsaw yielding masked maniac and his equally cruel family.
To cut my review short I would like to say that I liked a few scenes only in the whole film. Out of them too one came in the beginning & other at the end. In the middle the whole film is a complete mess.
The first problem is to understand the logic behind the happenings. It is never cleared in the film why leather face behaves like that & the reason behind the family’s cannibalism. The whole film is about the boys & girls running here & there trying to escape & falling back & again into the family’s hands.
One important element of slasher films is that there are a multiple ‘startling’ sequences. There are the moments which can be called as ‘paisa vasool’ moments. For example I vividly remember a scene from the film ‘Scream 2’where the masked killer suddenly drags the victim from the road into his van while the latter is on the phone. This remake lacks such kind of scenes. Most of the film is predictable and that works against it. The only bright spot is Jessica Biel who looks good & acts OK too.
A messed up plot, predictable storyline & lackluster suspense are the constituents of this film. The remake is a very pale shadow of the original. It is better if you just watch the beginning & the end.
I would give this film a star and half out of 5. Half is for Jessica.
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