The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

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Lee Ermey                           Sheriff Hoyt  </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 38 WIDTH="588"><div> Directed by Marcus Nispel. Horror.  Rated R (for extreme violence, language). New Line Cinema.  Running time: 90 minutes.  </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="588"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="588" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="588"><div> <B> 6 feet deep in the heart of Texas</B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <B> </B></div> <bR> <div> You can count on one hand the number of contemporary horror films that manage to work up a sense that pure evil exists in the world.  There are only a few that come to mind immediately - Demme's "Silence of the Lambs," Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby," Craven's "Last House on the Left" - and Tobe Hooper's 1973 classic, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."  The film, notorious at the time of its release, still ranks among one of the most disturbing, visceral experiences ever committed to celluloid.  In the superfluous new remake of the same title, the players and game have changed, and though the subject matter is treated with a bigger budget and more glossy style, the evil is gone, and the thrills have pretty much followed suit.  </div> <bR> <div> The plot of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" remains loosely the same. A group of spirited youths, traveling the barren Texas back roads, causally pick up a suicidal hitchhiker, who sets in motion a chain of absolutely macabre events that go down as one of the most notorious crimes in Texas history.  </div> <bR> <div> This time out the appealing kids are played by Jessica Biel, Eric Balfour, Mike Vogel and Erica Leerhsen (a tad too contemporary for 1973).  As the film opens they're enroute to a Leonard Skynard concert when they pick up a wounded, hysterical and suicidal young woman (Lauren German).    Inadvertently, they end up in the hands of a crazy, murderous family, and it's not long before old Leatherface makes his appearance and the body count starts to stack up as high as the stock redneck characters. </div> <bR> <div> As a remake, this new version doesn't have any real sense of evil or many truly disturbing images, though director Marcus Nispel certainly has a handle on creating a creepy, dank atmosphere.   Sure, there's a handy shot of a suicide bullet's point of view, passing through the cranium of a young victim.  But beyond a few other show-offy moments like that one, the film is routine stalk and slash, and doesn't approach the grueling immediacy of the original.   </div> <bR> <div> It's more of a teen thriller that loosely incorporates the original plot in a more high-concept way. The new film also jettisons the focus and perverse logic of the original by removing some of the most memorable characters. It's glossier and more expensive, and doesn't really scare in the same way <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Symbol" >¾</FONT> it just doesn't have the same sense of visceral fatalism.  </div> <bR> <div> "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," in the end, is just not scary enough.  All of the elements are in place, but beyond the occasional startling, jump-from-the-shadows, and stock horror film boo stuff, there's not much else going on thematically or otherwise. </div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="591" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> Lee Shoquist © 2003</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> <A HREF="mailto:info@reelmoviecritic.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:info@reelmoviecritic.com"><U><U>lee@reelmoviecritic.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> The new film is more of a teen thriller that loosely incorporates the original plot in a more high-concept way. It's glossier and more expensive, and doesn't really scare in the same way -- it's more about things that jump out at you and chase you around until you fight back. Though it's straightforward and serious in its approach, and refreshingly absent of any teen hijinks, trendiness or hipness most modern horror films consider prerequisites to scares, it just doesn't have the same sense of visceral fatalism.  It's lighter, if you can believe it, and more audience-friendly. There are also some fine little white trash performances in there, but it gets a little sidetracked in its ambition and focus, with many chases in different locations.  The original, relegated to the Old Dark House, and its surrounding grounds, was more tightly and more efficiently directed.   </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>  </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>