TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D Film Review

My buddy Jill joined me last night for a private screening of Texas Chainsaw 3D at the local Premiere Cinema. We did not schedule a private screening, it just appears no one else in BCS wanted to subject themselves to such murderous mayhem at 5:15 on a pretty Wednesday evening. So be it. Still, Jill and I both walked away more than pleased, admitting this Chainsaw drastically exceeded our expectations. 

A little background: this is the seventh film in the Leatherface franchise, but it's the first legitimate sequel to follow the 1974 original. Other Texas Chainsaw Massacre films in the ‘80s and ‘90s offered far out supplementary Sawyer family retellings. Thanks to Michael Bay productions, 2003 saw a cheesy remake of Tobe Hooper’s original, followed in 2006 by a stellar (and ridiculously brutal) prequel to the original. The fact that Texas Chainsaw 3D is the first actual sequel, following the events of Sally and company's demise, makes this one a must-see horror-geek priority.

The film begins with spliced footage from the '74 original, showing all the kill scenes (including the meathook!) and finishing on Sally's escape from the Sawyer house through the dining room window. The original footage ends with Leatherface dancing in the street and Sally laughing hysterically in the escaping truck bed. The new footage picks up immediately with a sheriff's car driving past Sally and the pick-up truck. This sequel begins not only the same day, but within an hour of the original film's finale. Not even Kill Bill 2 shaved it that close.

Through a series of events the film progresses to the present day where we meet college aged Heather Miller who suddenly finds out she was adopted from the Sawyer family. She never knew of her birth family until her biological grandmother, Verna Sawyer, died. As the last remaining member of the Sawyer family, Heather loads up her road-tripping New Orleans bound friends and heads to Texas to check out her inheritance. As expected from the infamous Sawyer family, Heather inherits more than she bargains for and discovers something distinctly powerful in her newly realized roots. 

This is a lot of plot to rehash, but I rehashed it for one reason: Jill and I both agreed that, more than any other film in Leatherface franchise, Texas Chainsaw 3D told an engaging story about the value of family, the crux of identity crisis, the commitment of friendship (in and out of the face of betrayal), and even of old school small town family feuds. Indeed, some of the 3D effects, dismemberment gore, and direction were laughable, but none ever stole from the story, which is something I never thought I would say about a Leatherface film. Generally these things follow a strict formula of kids in a van + kids on the wrong road = kids in a scattered putrid pile. Not this time. Here the film had a bit of heart and actually entertained as a narrative and a gore flick. Go figure.

I gave Texas Chainsaw 3D 3.5 ferris wheel hops out of 5. Yes, it was silly and gross, featuring abdominal gore and full face-peeling, but it also expanded a flat franchise with a bit of integrity and style. I heartily recommend this flick even if you have not seen the original.