I am writing this as a fan of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre film franchise. The 1974 original film is one of the finest horror films in existence and I thought the 2003 remake was entertaining and satisfying overall. This film does not deserve to be of the same name as those films. It makes me angry that Netflix and the filmmakers behind this thought this would pass muster. It’s not just that this film is stupid, lazy, and boring; it’s also that they’ve traded in suspense and fine camerawork for distasteful gore.
The script for Texas Chainsaw Massacre wishes it was mediocre. There is little to no thought behind anything you’re seeing onscreen. The plot is as generic as they come and a generic horror plot would have been fine IF they had given us one that was entertaining, suspenseful, and respectful to the source material. There’s only one character that has any sort of development or background and even that is minimal and comes off as lazy.
The characters in both the 1974 original and the 2003 remake were far more interesting and relatable. You need protagonists that you like and can root for and while I didn’t want to see these characters die, I couldn’t really care too much because they’re so blank and one note.
There’s also no real build up to the story that’s about to be told, we’re just thrown into it. You need some sort of a lead in where we can get acquainted with the main characters and where you can establish a decent storyline. But hey, Texas Chainsaw Massacre isn’t interested in boring details like plot and character development; this film aims to be nothing but a mindless bloodbath. I would’ve hated this film if it was just a stand alone horror film but what makes me really hate it is that is it making this iconic franchise worthless disgusting garbage.
If you go back and watch the original and remake, you’ll see that they actually were not very gory at all. They mainly relied on suspense. That method worked and it made things scarier. But oh no, this new film has thrown all that out the window in exchange for some of the most distasteful sickening gore and carnage you can imagine. I will never understand how someone could think that this switch is a positive thing.
And there’s also something to be said for how the original and remake gave the audience light at the end of the tunnel at the end. This film doesn’t do that either, but instead goes down a nihilistic path that fits in with the rest of its gruesome actions. But then again, those two older entries in the franchise were actual films with plotlines and characters, where as this is simply an exercise in lazy torture porn. Maybe some individuals find that to be entertaining but I do not. I don’t need to be every gory detail, not only is it sickening but it also greatly diminishes the scare factor.
Another detail that’s missing from this that was present in the older films is interesting direction and visuals. There was a great sense of scary environment in the older films that helped to create a feeling of dread and suspense. There’s none of that in this film. There’s nothing interesting to look at and the only setting we get is a run of the mill abandoned town.
After I finished watching this I tried to think of a single kernel of positivity that was embedded within this thing and I unfortunately could not. You would think bringing back an older version of the one that got away would be the one thing that could be exciting but even that is handled like a joke. And that silly handling of Sally is yet another disrespectful slap in the face to the original.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a lazy, disgusting, uninteresting insult to this horror franchise. Avoid like the plague!
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