TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D (2013)

Studio:       Lionsgate
Director:    John Luessenhop
Writer:       Adam Marcus, Debra Sullivan, Kirsten Elms
Producer:  Carl Mazzocon
Stars:     Alexandra Daddario, Dan Yeager, Tremaine 'Trey Songz' Neverson, Scott Eastwood, Tania Raymonde, Richard Riehle, Bill Moseley, Gunnar Hansen

Review Score:

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Summary:

20 years after the original massacre, Heather Miller inherits a secluded Texas mansion, as well as the chainsaw-wielding inhabitant who comes with it.

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Synopsis:     Show/Hide Spoilers

Immediately after original survivor Sally Hardesty escapes the Sawyer family farmhouse, the local sheriff arrives on scene to take the family into custody. Before the sheriff can negotiate surrender, however, other members of the Sawyer clan come to the house and hole up with Drayton, Grandpa, and Leatherface. But a band of vigilantes follows close behind and issues their own brand of justice by setting the house ablaze and shooting everyone inside, except for one baby girl who survives.

20 years later, Heather Miller learns of her adoption when she inherits a Texas mansion from a grandmother she never knew existed. With three friends and a hitchhiker, Heather sets off to investigate the house. Before long, it becomes apparent that Heather has also inherited guardianship of her cousin Jed, aka Leatherface. Leatherface manages to kill her three friends and the hitchhiker before she escapes through a carnival and into town. At the police station, Heather learns more about her true identity from a box of conveniently available evidence documenting the original chainsaw massacre.

Eventually, the remaining vigilantes from 20 years ago decide to extinguish the Sawyer family bloodline permanently, including Heather. Deputy Hartman brings Heather to the abandoned slaughterhouse and places her at the mercy of his father, the mayor. Hearing details over the police radio of an officer he just killed, Leatherface also goes there to eliminate the last girl who saw him at the mansion. But he realizes that Heather is his cousin when he sees the “S” of a Sawyer family necklace burned into a scar on her chest and he cuts her loose instead.

The tables are turned when Heather is freed, but Leatherface is captured. Even with an opportunity to escape, Heather decides to protect her family at the expense of the townspeople who presumably wanted her dead. Heather rescues Leatherface, and they kill the mayor, deputy, and another officer in the process. With no love lost between him and the vigilante mayor ever since they confronted each other at the first massacre, Sheriff Hooper allows the mayor to die and lets the duo escape. Back at the mansion, Heather assumes her role as Leatherface’s new keeper.

In a post-credits scene, Heather’s adoptive parents come to the mansion with selfish hopes of “sharing” in their daughter’s inheritance. Instead, they are greeted by Leatherface’s saw.

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Review:

Billed as a direct sequel to the Tobe Hooper original, Texas Chainsaw 3D has two different parts.  The first part is routine slasher fare with very little of interest.  Although there is a healthy share of flesh ripping and door rending with several noisy chainsaws, it comes with a heaping handful of overused horror film tropes, including: the car that refuses to start as the killer approaches (but finally does at the last moment), the (repeatedly) tripping heroine, and the open mirror that reflects something horrifying when it closes (accompanied by an appropriate musical sting, of course).  If pointing at the screen and shouting “I know that reference!” sounds like fun, then some fans may at least be distracted by the winks and nods to the original film, as well as a cameo appearance by Saw villain Jigsaw in the form of a costumed carnival attendee.

The second part of the film introduces a twist that at least commands more attention, even though it demands that plenty of disbelief be swallowed in the process.  Given the franchise history, it is fair to expect the fan faithful will grant a generous amount of leeway here.  It is just that a transition like this could have been handled with a touch more believability.  Since only the first Texas Chainsaw Massacre exists in this continuity, the filmmakers are already asking us to ignore the five films in between these two.  But ignoring any semblance of logic is another ask entirely.

Show/Hide Spoilers

When Heather Miller inherits a secluded mansion from her grandmother (Marilyn Burns), she discovers that it is a package deal. It also comes with its very own lunatic: Leatherface. The twist is that Heather ultimately makes a conscious decision to forsake her regular life and to become the new matriarch for a rejuvenated family of serial killers. That can be a potentially fun idea. It just is not one that makes sense.

Aside from a brief glimpse depicting Heather’s adoptive parents as a pair of white trash rednecks with seemingly little interest in her well-being, there really is no other aspect of her character that explains why she might be predisposed to murder, much less willingly live with a man-brute who sews human skin onto his face. She does work as a butcher and saves the animal bones for use in her artwork, though neither aspect outright signals murderous tendencies. She holds a job, seems liked by her friends, and otherwise gives zero indication that she could somewhat easily turn into a killer. Had she actually discovered that her boyfriend was cheating, or suffered more physical or mental trauma somewhere in her story, at least her emotional state would have been more questionable. As it is, she appears rather well adjusted and ordinary. Then again, she does decide to leave a hitchhiker she has just met alone in her new mansion with an unknown number of family heirlooms, so maybe making sound judgment calls is not her thing.

As a matter of fact, questionable choices seem to be somewhat commonplace in Newt, Texas. For some reason, the vigilantes out to extinguish the Sawyer family bloodline decide that chasing down innocuous little Heather is more of a priority than securing Leatherface, even after he just colored the shorts of nearly every person in town by chainsawing his way through a carnival.

On the other side of the equation is the issue that Leatherface does not initially exhibit the childlike qualities he had in the first film. In the 1974 original, the nature of Leatherface’s stunted mental state is evident by the way he emotes his frustration and confusion as teenagers repeatedly appear throughout his farmhouse. In Texas Chainsaw 3D, Leatherface is a ferocious force from the first moment he steps out of the darkness to ruthlessly grab and bludgeon a victim. Up until the slaughterhouse scene, Leatherface elicits zero sympathy. Once the vigilantes begin to torture him, the only reason we are given to say “Aww, poor Leatherface,” is that we saw him rescue Heather. That is his one and only chalk mark in the “Good for You” column. And that is not nearly enough to redeem him for the mayhem and murder perpetrated up until that point. Particularly considering that simple discovery of his existence is enough of a transgression to have his saw thrust in your gut.

Unless you are Heather. Then that lone chalk mark earns you a pass for butchering her boyfriend, best friend, and two others.

Nothing is missed by seeing the film in 2D.  With the exceptions of Leatherface tossing a chainsaw at the camera and the obligatory 3D staple of a whirring chainsaw pointed straight at the audience, the 3D effects go largely unnoticed.

Too much retread territory weighs the movie down and prevents it from being worthwhile as a whole.  However, the premise established for the inevitable sequel does have potential, even if it is hard to believe.  As a first act of exposition for that film, “Texas Chainsaw 3D” is passable.  As a movie of its own, “Texas Chainsaw 3D” is a pass.

NOTE: There is a post-credits scene.

Review Score:  45

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