I wasn't even planning to see this film. At least I wasn't planning on seeing it the day I went to the cinema anyway, I wanted to go see 'The Impossible'. Will I still see that film? Maybe, I've got a review for 'Gangster Squad' and hopefully I'll be seeing 'Les Miserables' on Sunday, but I might be able to squeeze in 'The Impossible'. But before we get to any of that, let's go back to Texas.
With memories of Michael Bay's Texas Chainsaw films (Yeah, as someone who has said he likes Michael Bay films, I didn't particularly like those Bay films) still fresh in my mind, I wasn't looking forward to this. Especially since it's in 3D. But my mate wanted to see it, so I went along.
Thinking that this is yet another remake, or reboot, whatever term they want to brand a copy, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this wasn't a remake. It's a sequel. To the original film. Yes, this is a sequel to the 1974 film, initially taking place just after Sally escapes, Sheriff Hooper (Thom Barry) goes to arrest Leatherface (Dan Yeager/Sam McKinzie who plays the younger version), however a mob lead by Mayor Hartman (Paul Rae) burn down the house, killing all but a baby, who is adopted by one of the mob members. A grown up baby Edith has become Heather (Alexandra Daddario), and she receives a letter saying her biological grandmother died. Upon finding she was lied to, she and her friends go to Texas to inherit her mansion. Unfortunately, there's a certain someone living in the basement. Someone else survived the fire.
Storywise, it's actually a nice change of pace. Oh yeah, a group of friends who pick up a hitchhiker still go to Texas, you know, like most of the other films in this franchise. But to see it continue in another direction rather than "here's a cannibalistic family. Enjoy". Again though, it is still so much like the other films, there is pretty much nothing to differentiate this film from the others......what was my point again? Anyway I certainly like how it goes to different locations, like the crowded fairground or the disused slaughterhouse, and the film does manage to mix in some humor as well. I'm not sure if it's on purpose, but there are some funny moments.
Setting aside the similar plot then, this film does a weird thing. It puts on Leatherface's side. Basically because the other characters are completely unlikable. Okay, Heather/Edith is a likable character, I suppose. She wears somewhat skimpy clothing and when she finally does get a change of clothes she only does one button on her shirt. And Daddario is beautiful and sexy. Even if she is suppose to be forty. Leatherface though, we do actually feel sorry for him. We see a...I wouldn't say caring, a more sympathetic character. Which is weird, you know, because he's a chainsaw wielding killer. Sheriff Hooper is also a very likable character since, even though it's the Mayor, he still tried to report the truth and went against the Mayor, he risked his career for what was right. While Kenny (Keram Malicki-Sanchez) and Farnsworth (Richard Riehle) are also pretty fun to watch.
But apart from them, every single other character, are the most horrible people on the planet. And when you start to like someone, well guess what? They'll do something to make you hate them. If you want to avoid why they're unlikable, skip the rest of this paragraph. If not, here's a list: Mayor Hartman is a self centered dick, Darryl (Shaun Sipos) attempts to loot the cast, Nikki (Tania Raymonde) had a fling with Heather/Edith's boyfriend Ryan (Trey Songz.....*sighs*) and wants to do it again, Ryan refuses before thinking "What the Hell" and willingly cheats on Heather/Edith, and the rest are generally dicks because they're dicks.
The acting is, overall, actually not that bad. Oh it could have been better, but it isn't horrendous. And the same could be said for the effects, though the 3D still sucks. A lot. The film goes the way of the original and shows a lot less gore than most horror films nowadays, oh it still shows gore, just not as much as you'd expect.
And that's really all you need to know about this film. It's not great but, Hell, it's not terrible. I certainly expected worse. But in the end, it isn't an awful film. I particularly like how, while it isn't filled with scares, it can BE scary, generally by tricking you into expecting somewhere else. But yeah, it's better than you'd expect. It's good, not great.
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