TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE – “The over-the-top gonzo kills save it from being a complete bloody waste”

texas-chainsaw-massacre-netflix

RATING

DIRECTOR

David Blue Garcia

MAIN CAST

  • Sarah Yarkin as Melody
  • Elsie Fisher as Lila
  • Mark Burnham as Leatherface
  • Jacob Latimore as Dante
  • Moe Dunford as Richter
  • Olwen Fouéré as Sally Hardesty
  • Alice Krige as Mrs. Mc
  • Jessica Allain as Dante's girlfriend
  • Nell Hudson as Ruth
  • Sam Douglas as Herb
  • William Hope as Sheriff Hathaway

SYNOPSIS

It is a sequel to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and the ninth installment of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (TCM) franchise.

Melody, her entrepreneur friends, and her sister Lila come to the small town of Harlow, Texas with hopes of renovating the area. Unfortunately, their arrival ends up reawakening the deadly Leatherface, who begins to slaughter the newcomers. Meanwhile, the sole survivor of Leatherface's killing spree in 1973, Sally Hardesty, remerges to take down the murderer.

REVIEW SUMMARY

When it comes to David Blue Garcia’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the over-the-top gonzo kills save it from being a complete bloody waste. If you are expecting a high-quality years-later sequel akin to the new Halloween flicks, well, it’s best you curb your enthusiasm. There are some similarities though (you might also call them rip-offs), as this one also features the original film’s survivor returning to “finish the job.” But, with little in the way of backstory, or any real depth to the character, it’s hard to care. Ok, so it’s hard to care about any of the characters really. This is mostly thanks to a rather rushed set-up. And with the film clocking in at under 1 hour and a 1/2, it’s not like they couldn’t spare the time. It’s a shame really, as there were some progressive ideas played with – but they ultimately go nowhere. Of course, when it comes to gory slasher films (and they don’t get more gruesome than TCM), audiences are mostly looking for “fun kills.” The good news is that we get plenty of those here. I’d love to know just how many buckets of faux blood were used. Seriously, it might be a record – from that “bus scene” alone. So, here’s the thing, Texas Chainsaw Massacre isn’t a horror game-changer or an inspired follow-up for that matter, but it is wince-inducing fun in parts. And frankly, that’s not such a bad thing for this "slice ‘em up" genre.

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