Finally caught up with the recent Texas Chainsaw (aka Texas Chainsaw 3D in the US), which has just received a belated release in Australia. Having watched it, I can see why it went straight to disc over here. Another in a growing list of un...inspired modern horror sequels/remakes, filled with the usual unsympathetic young adults who do incredibly dumb things. The female lead (Alexandra Daddario) looks really cute in a 'Joan Jett meets a 70s giallo femme' kinda way, but geez is her character short on common sense. She choses the most ludicrous places to hide from Leatherface, and her eventual 'metamorphosis' makes Linda Blair's transformation into a crossbow-toting, skin-tight leather wearin' avenging angel in Savage Streets seem emotionally resonant and grittily realistic in comparison.
There are a few frights scattered throughout, but most of them are predictable and mostly just rehash similar set-ups from Tobe Hooper's classic 1974 original (which will never be touched). Blatant gore replaces the clever perceived graphicness of the original (which brilliantly conned many viewers into thinking they had seen a lot more blood and entrails than they really did). I liked the ideas of warring southern clans and vigilante justice, but they are given no weight or excitement here, just cliché upon cliché. I couldn't imagine 3D adding anything of value to the film. It also throws Hooper's own 1986 sequel on the trash heap in terms of series continuity.
The film's one genuinely unnerving and original moment is a brief scene where we see exactly what Leatherface puts himself through in order to attached that human skin mask to his face.
"Incredible! A perfectly terrifying follow-up to the original" - this quote from Tobe Hooper on the back cover of the DVD initially mystified me, until I realized Hooper's name was also in the film's credits as an executive producer.
There are a few frights scattered throughout, but most of them are predictable and mostly just rehash similar set-ups from Tobe Hooper's classic 1974 original (which will never be touched). Blatant gore replaces the clever perceived graphicness of the original (which brilliantly conned many viewers into thinking they had seen a lot more blood and entrails than they really did). I liked the ideas of warring southern clans and vigilante justice, but they are given no weight or excitement here, just cliché upon cliché. I couldn't imagine 3D adding anything of value to the film. It also throws Hooper's own 1986 sequel on the trash heap in terms of series continuity.
The film's one genuinely unnerving and original moment is a brief scene where we see exactly what Leatherface puts himself through in order to attached that human skin mask to his face.
"Incredible! A perfectly terrifying follow-up to the original" - this quote from Tobe Hooper on the back cover of the DVD initially mystified me, until I realized Hooper's name was also in the film's credits as an executive producer.
