Texas Chainsaw (2013)
Beginning soon after the end of Tobe Hooper's classic shocker, a vigilante band of angry townsfolk surround the Sawyer farmhouse and in a desperate shoot out kill the whole family and burn the house to the ground.
Fast forward to the present day and a young woman (A very good Alexandra Daddario) learns of her inheritance of a large mansion in Texas. Once there with her friends, she learns the terrifying truth about herself as well as the realization that someone may have survived the farmhouse massacre.
The opening siege is lifted directly from Rob Zombie's The Devil's Rejects. However from there on we have a wholly original story proving the point that evil doesn't just wear a dead skin mask. It can wear mayoral robes as well.
A fast moving film that has plenty of gory moments including a guy being sliced in half with by Leatherface's chainsaw. The film takes another leaf out of Rob Zombie's book by painting Leatherface as a kind of absurd anti-hero, so come the climax you are just willing him to take his blade to more than one of the characters. Because of this change in tone and attitude toward the character the film loses the psychological horror of the 1974 classic and in a way becomes just another horror film, albeit a crowd pleasing popcorn muncher.
A few misfires aside, Texas Chainsaw is a lot of fun.
It was great to see so many of the original production have something to do with this film. Tobe Hooper produced and Gunnar Hansen and the late Marilyn Burns cameo. All three are all over the numerous docs and three commentaries on the extras packed Blu-ray.
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