Review of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) by Samuel R — 29 Oct 2014

It is hard to conceive of a movie as unrelenting and gruesome as the 1974 Texas Chainsaw Massacre, so they remade it instead of writing a new movie. There are a number of small changes in this version, most of which are bad.

The original characters are not particularly likable. This time they are intentionally annoying and completely unlikable, except for the main character, played by Jessica Biel. I did not mind Jessica Biel, but having a main character is bad because it immediately spells out who will live and who will die.

Worst of all the filmmakers want the audience to root for the murders as they do away with annoying teenage douchebags, a strategy I always hate. This time there is even more gore and the violent acts are slower and more torturous, as if the old grizzly swift killings are not hard enough to watch already.

This actually works against the cause because slowing down the pace diminishes the heart-pounding horror and excitement. R. Lee Ermey is normally a good character actor, but this movie goes too far with his rewritten character.

This movie makes less sense and just goes for the gross out dirty rednecks and plenty of gore.