The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

After picking up a traumatized young hitchhiker, five friends find themselves stalked and hunted by a deformed chainsaw-wielding killer and his family of equally psychopathic killers. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is far better than the later prequels and remakes but also has a far more better cast of characters who are pretty fun and we wanna see live plus Jessica Biel was pretty awesome and the end was really cool and something that we should have seen in the later installments as well. It's not perfect but it's an entertaining remake. (7.8/10)

While it may not stack up to the original (how many sequels and/or remakes can?) this movie is an excellent mix of modernized shock horror, perversion and sickening humor to both revile your moral fibers and yet grab hold of your full attention throughout the entire film.This movie is not for those who are looking for (for lack of better words) "clean horror". By that I mean horror movies that stick to the methodical "bad guy kills dumb teenagers" in a scripted and fully anticipated manner that has been rehashed a thousand and one times. If movies like I Spit on Your Grave, The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, etc. makes you want to run for the office of the Chairman of the FCC then this movie probably won't be your bag. Now by no means am I saying that this movie goes to the depths of depravity that those classics dove into. Simply implying that this movie (more often than not) crosses that fine line that separates "wholesome horror" from, well, "unwholesome horror". For those that are into Rob Zombie movies, think along those lines in terms of "holy ****, I can't be believe they did that!...cool beans!" reactions..If you think about it, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise is really best suited for pushing the boundaries. Unlike other horror mongers such Jason and Friday the 13th, Michael and Halloween, Freddy and Nightmare on Elm Street , the TCM franchise really doesn't revolve around one character. Leatherface is the "closer" but he's really not the main "antagonist". The crazy Hewitt family with it's infinite number of mix and match characters, each with it's own warped proclivities are. In this movie, one of the main charaters (Charlie Hewitt portrayed by veteran actor R. Lee Ermey) definitely steals the show as the depraved patriarch of the clan.Ultimately, to each it's own. But if you go into this movie with a clear mind and being willing to simply accept whatever the movie throws at you, I think you'll be overall surprised. Is it great? No, not in the grand scale of the horror movie universe, but for a "remake", this one is a pretty darn good watch. Bring some popcorn, watch with a friend, leave your high horse at the door.

This remake is not nearly as bad as you might expect, but its also not anything exceptional. The movie has several decent ideas and a few memorable scenes that are ultimately bogged down by its inconsistency.The film makes several notable deviations from the original. The most immediately obvious is the intro that acts as if it is a true crime story. This is an interesting idea and ultimately one of the best new ideas of the movie. In addition to this they also try to change to story in a few key ways that ultimately make you wonder, Why? why not just leave, why not just go smoke your 2 pounds of weed and listen to Lynnyrd Skynrd, why do you have to go to the freaky cannibal house. (I'm aware this is a common problem in these movies but it's very notable here) In the original it made sense why they were there. The most noticeable change though has to be its over reliance on gore.The original movie was relatively bloodless, some people look at this and think that's a good thing, I disagree. To me the bloodier the better, just don't dumb down the actual story, the tension, or build up. Use the gore to shock and thrill but do not use it as a crutch to pretend that it makes something scary, that is this films biggest flaw. The movie frequently just jumps straight into things with little to no setup, and when it does have setup its so obvious anyone who has ever seen a horror movie can see it coming from a mile away. If the creators had noticed this instead of just thinking of how brilliant they were to use deceptive shot lines the films would be so much better.However in its defense the film manages to have several good scenes when its not failing at building tension. The movie has several fairly good chase scenes that to me are easily the highlights. No spoilers, but when it gets its action going it executes well mostly. Especially notable scenes are in the basement and in the slaughterhouse, that is where it hits its stride. its just a shame it couldn't pull off slower areas as well.I don't mean this to discourage you from watching the movie; I do it to warn you. Underneath it's problems are a few good moments that i'm glad i saw, but really i'm just disappointed because if the films creators actually gave a damn this could've been something great.

It's been years since I've watched this remake, and I think it's grown on me since the last time I've watched it. In my opinion, I think it's better than the 1974 classic because the storyline is better, the characters are better developed and we sympathize with them more when they're killed off. Some remakes copy the original word for word like the Psycho remake and it was terrible. Some remakes like to update and make new characters, new dialogue and new ways to kill people like this and Dawn of the Dead. Rob Zombie's Halloween told a backstory, while remaking some scenes from the original 1978 classic. I think this one works really well because it was different. I'm glad they left out the annoying brother, Franklin and not having a Sally Hardesty character to scream her head off the last 15 minutes of the movie. This one felt more realistic and scary. At times, R. Lee Ermey's character, Sheriff Hoyt takes away from Leatherface, who is the main attraction while watching a TCM movie. Jessica Biel was very good as Erin, the main lead. Her acting was very convincing like she was actually being tortured, physically and emotionally. On August 18th, 1973, Erin and her friends are on their way to a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert after returning from Mexico to buy marijuana. They stop and pick a hitchhiker who looks like she's been thru Hell. She rambles about a bad man and shoots herself in the mouth. While looking for the Sheriff to take her body away, they run into Leatherface and his creepy cannibalistic family. If you love horror and remakes, you'll love THE Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE!!!