The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of the best remakes around
*SPOLIERS AHEAD*
Plot: Five teenagers, Erin (Jessica Biel), Kemper (Eric Balof), Andy (Mike Vogel), Morgan (Jonathan Tiersten), and Pepper (Erica Leersen) are driving through Texas to a concert when they pick up a deranged hitchhiker who warns them against the route their taking and promptly shoots herself through her mouth. They drive to an ab anded mill to wait for the sheriff (R.E. Leermy) to come and pick up the body. Weird occurrences happen and as the night progresses the teenagers have to fight to stay alive from the fury known as Leatherface (Andrew Bynarski)
The Good News: This film takes no prisoners and is pretty brutal in dealing with our characters. The family, especially the sheriff played brilliantly by R.E. Leermy really enjoys torturing the kids and I personally think that Leatherface here is the scariest of them all. I love the mask here and the movements he makes and his brutality is really amazing. Andrew Bynarski makes a truly impressive Leatherface. Also noteworthy Is Jessica Biel who delivers a raw and emotional performance which rivals Marilyn Burns performance from the original and she could become the next scream queen of this era of horror if she took on a few more roles like this. The rest of the supporting cast is good with no real standouts, but nobody impresses themselves either. The film is shot beautifully by Marcus Nispel and at first glance a horror film with dark muted colors all through the running time may seem like a bad choice, but it works wonders here and during the second half you get a serious case of claustrophobia. You really believe they are in the middle of nowhere and makes the events that happen that much more urgent. People have attacked the script and called it sloppy and hackneyed, but I seriously couldn't find anything wrong. The score helps the film out Marjory and elevates it to a scale which the actors cant. The score never hurts the film and the prime example of this is the dramatic scene where Erin is forced to kill Andy. It's powerful enough with just the actor's expressions and movements, but with the score it becomes something truly special. You literally feel the tension and feel like you're there and this is really happening which is the object of every horror movie and this one secedes. Very noteworthy. This film also contains a classic use of suspense. The entire second half is incredibly suspenseful and provides shocks and chills. Watching this film at one in the morning made watching the trailer scene almost unbearable. That scene made me want to turn it off and finish it in broad daylight. The torture is pretty impressive and the gore is smartly done, never throwing gallons of blood on the screen at every kill instead making the blood very realistic and nice. The footage in the beginning and end of the movie was also a nice touch. This is definitely one of the better remakes around and does the original justice. The missing dinner scene wasn't a problem and just kept the action at a constant speed. The film never bores you and it has a high re watch ability factor. This could've been a ton worse.
The Bad News: The only complaint I have is there really needs to be a bigger body count and there needs to be more chainsaw deaths.
Conclusion: Recommend highly to fans of the original and for all other who have a passion for horror films or are getting started in watching horror movies, but if you are a expecting a great big massacre go ahead and still watch it and just know that if you want a massacre you'll have to watch a Friday the 13th. Recommend.
Rated: R
*SPOLIERS AHEAD*
Plot: Five teenagers, Erin (Jessica Biel), Kemper (Eric Balof), Andy (Mike Vogel), Morgan (Jonathan Tiersten), and Pepper (Erica Leersen) are driving through Texas to a concert when they pick up a deranged hitchhiker who warns them against the route their taking and promptly shoots herself through her mouth. They drive to an ab anded mill to wait for the sheriff (R.E. Leermy) to come and pick up the body. Weird occurrences happen and as the night progresses the teenagers have to fight to stay alive from the fury known as Leatherface (Andrew Bynarski)
The Good News: This film takes no prisoners and is pretty brutal in dealing with our characters. The family, especially the sheriff played brilliantly by R.E. Leermy really enjoys torturing the kids and I personally think that Leatherface here is the scariest of them all. I love the mask here and the movements he makes and his brutality is really amazing. Andrew Bynarski makes a truly impressive Leatherface. Also noteworthy Is Jessica Biel who delivers a raw and emotional performance which rivals Marilyn Burns performance from the original and she could become the next scream queen of this era of horror if she took on a few more roles like this. The rest of the supporting cast is good with no real standouts, but nobody impresses themselves either. The film is shot beautifully by Marcus Nispel and at first glance a horror film with dark muted colors all through the running time may seem like a bad choice, but it works wonders here and during the second half you get a serious case of claustrophobia. You really believe they are in the middle of nowhere and makes the events that happen that much more urgent. People have attacked the script and called it sloppy and hackneyed, but I seriously couldn't find anything wrong. The score helps the film out Marjory and elevates it to a scale which the actors cant. The score never hurts the film and the prime example of this is the dramatic scene where Erin is forced to kill Andy. It's powerful enough with just the actor's expressions and movements, but with the score it becomes something truly special. You literally feel the tension and feel like you're there and this is really happening which is the object of every horror movie and this one secedes. Very noteworthy. This film also contains a classic use of suspense. The entire second half is incredibly suspenseful and provides shocks and chills. Watching this film at one in the morning made watching the trailer scene almost unbearable. That scene made me want to turn it off and finish it in broad daylight. The torture is pretty impressive and the gore is smartly done, never throwing gallons of blood on the screen at every kill instead making the blood very realistic and nice. The footage in the beginning and end of the movie was also a nice touch. This is definitely one of the better remakes around and does the original justice. The missing dinner scene wasn't a problem and just kept the action at a constant speed. The film never bores you and it has a high re watch ability factor. This could've been a ton worse.
The Bad News: The only complaint I have is there really needs to be a bigger body count and there needs to be more chainsaw deaths.
Conclusion: Recommend highly to fans of the original and for all other who have a passion for horror films or are getting started in watching horror movies, but if you are a expecting a great big massacre go ahead and still watch it and just know that if you want a massacre you'll have to watch a Friday the 13th. Recommend.
Rated: R
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