New ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ acceptable, but unnecessary

Four years before John Carpenter’s classic film, “Halloween” set the standards for horror in 1978, there was Tobe Hooper’s “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” a disturbing, low-budget film that essentially introduced the idea of no-holds-barred filmmaking.

Although it is not as violent as the title suggests, it is still a truly unsettling film and not for all tastes. However, it is also a brilliantly made chiller in the most terrifying sense, and those looking for classic horror are encouraged to seek it out.

Now, 29 years and three sequels after the fact, music video director Marcus Nispel and notorious director-producer Michael Bay have brought us a re-imagining of this movie, keeping the basic premise but changing much of the story while connecting the word “chainsaw” in the title. No one can possibly expect the remake to even approach the manic genius of the original, but its good elements keep it from becoming a complete washout.

On August 18, 1973, five teenagers—Kemper (Eric Balfour), Erin (Jessica Biel), Morgan (Jonathan Tucker), Pepper (Erica Leerhsen), and Andy (Mike Vogel)—are on their way to a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert in Dallas after a jaunt in Mexico. Along the dusty Texas highway, they encounter a disturbed young woman, who gives a foreboding warning before shooting herself.

The teens seek help at a nearby gas station where the angry sheriff (R. Lee Ermey) is called and takes away the body. Out of curiosity, the teenagers disperse and search around. But they are unaware that the area is inhabited by a family of murderous backwoods nutcases, the most threatening of which is the tall, mysterious man who wears a bizarre facemask and carries a large, threatening chainsaw.

His name is Thomas Brown Hewitt, but perhaps you know him better as Leatherface (Andrew Bryniarski).

One of the very major problems with the 2003 version is that it too often follows the plots of the old trashy slasher flicks of the 1980s. Hooper’s 1974 original had a slick script, which successfully administered horror without clichés (mostly because the clichés didn’t exist yet). Not so with the 2003 version, where characters will wander around for an eternity, shouting the names of their missing comrades while the audience knows fully well that the only reply they will receive is the buzz of a chainsaw.

Furthermore, another aspect of the slasher, superfluous sex, weaseled its way into the remake. There’s nothing wrong with a little sex appeal, but Jessica Biel and her tight tank top are splashed with water so many times that it becomes downright ridiculous.

Luckily, the third infamous bullet of the horror genre, atrocious acting, is deftly dodged. The actors are fine, and R. Lee Ermey has always had a talent to be especially chilling.

Scares are not hard to find; in an era when jump scares have become obsolete, the remake manages to pull a few punches on the unsuspecting audience. The new version also has the benefit of a higher budget, and it actually works in the film’s favor. Whereas the original’s chainsaw sounds were taken directly from the machine itself as the camera rolled, the remake has been pumped up with audio mixing, making the chainsaw much more sinister. Leatherface himself has always been a terrifying presence, and the remake treats him with fear and respect.

Tobe Hooper took hold of something special when he made “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” something he has not been able to replicate since then in his schlocky later efforts. The new “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” does not mindlessly ape the original, and for that I give it great praise.

However, there are too many unnecessary scenes and ridiculous plot points left in the final product. Comparison to its classic origins is to be expected, but Hooper’s superb original will always trump its successor in pure quality. n