Reviews

An uneven return for Leatherface, Texas Chainsaw Massacre only cuts skin-deep

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022 | USA | 81 minutes | David Blue Garcia)

In 1974, Tobe Hooper changed horror as we knew it with the timeless and terrifying The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. A macabre masterpiece of a film made on a shoestring budget with minimal gore, it was made iconic because of the craft devoted to its atmosphere. It introduced us to the terrifying Leatherface, a chainsaw-wielding force of murder and destruction.

Now, nearly fifty years later, a direct sequel to Hooper’s original film attempts to continue where he left off. Simply entitled Texas Chainsaw Massacre, it is by no means the worst of the many other entries in the series. Unfortunately, it also squanders much of its own potential and proves yet again that no one has been able to capture the magic quite like Hooper.

David Blue Garcia ignores the events of the seven other entries in the series in order to establish continuity for his sequel, but is most constrained by a narrow scope of premise and haphazard characterization. Here, we follow a group of Instagram chef influencers — not a joke — who have gone to the small town of Harlow, Texas, supposedly in order to reinvigorate it. It is a flimsy explanation that only gets more so. 

Leading the efforts are Melody (Sarah Yarkin) and Dante (Jacob Latimore) who are convinced the whole town is abandoned. Melody has brought along her sister Lila (Elsie Fisher) who recently survived a school shooting and is still haunted by visions of the violence. There also is a bus of other cannon fodder… I mean… characters who also come to the area. Positioned as stuck-up gentrifiers, they soon discover that the violent forces of history are still lingering and don’t take too kindly to strangers. 

When breaking down this film, it would be impossible not to discuss the behind-the-scenes issues that struck it. There are certainly times when a film can succeed despite chaos behind the scenes, though this isn’t one of them. As released, the film’s credited director is relative newcomer David Blue Garcia, though that wasn’t always the case. According to Deadline, a week into production in Bulgaria the film’s directors Andy and Ryan Tohill were fired over “creative differences.” That was when Garcia started over from scratch. The film’s theatrical release was also pulled and went straight to streaming with little fanfare. 

With all that context, it is understandable why the film does not live up to its potential and it feels clear that the studio had low expectations for it. There is certainly a lot of work put into the gore and effects with an unhinged bus scene, in particular, serving as a standout. Less noteworthy is that all the unsettling effects are in service of an experience that is just never all that scary. Some of this is due to failed attempts at humor that completely deflate any atmospheric tension. The “try anything and you’re canceled bro” line from the trailer proves to be the worst offender among many. The uneven tone creates a feeling that the film lacked the confidence to let the craft speak for itself and injected unnecessary gags that only end up being distractions. 

This is a shame as there are praiseworthy efforts put into much of the filmmaking. While not as perfect as the original, there is something to be said about how the film makes better use of sound to instill fear than any of its predecessors. As you hear the echoing of the chainsaw around the small town and aren’t sure where Leatherface himself is, the dread created is palpable. Praise must also be given to Mark Burnham who gives one of the best physical performances of the murderous character in recent memory. As someone who was excited to see Fisher in another horror project after her role in the television series Castle Rock, she is another brief bright spot as she brings a great deal of emotion to a glib backstory.

Unfortunately, there are the other characters in the film. The rest of the cast is just not up to the same task as her, reduced to being one-notes up until they are bloodily dispatched. Much of this is due to the shallow writing of the film’s characterizations that paint in broad strokes of cliches that never feel authentic. One could hope that some characters could break through with a good performance, but it is clearly asking too much. 

The rare return of a character from the first film also proves to be a squandered opportunity. A wasted Olwen Fouéré takes on the role of Sally Hardesty, the sole survivor of the events of the original attack all those years ago. Without going into too much detail, she has apparently been hunting Leatherface all these years without any luck. That is, until tonight. The easy joke is to reference the repeated and simplistic “evil dies tonight” mantra from last year’s disastrous Halloween Kills that was said on repeat as a simplistic rallying cry. No one says that here, though they might as well have. Much like Laurie Strode in that film, Sally mostly is kept out of the action and is woefully underutilized until the very end. If you are going to bring back such an iconic part of a prior film, don’t reduce her to being a cardboard cutout.

The most unfortunate aspect is that there are some good intentions mixed in with the mostly poor rest of the film. It does try to do something different than just a retread of what came before, though ends up going in a direction that lacks the same vision of its predecessor. The film is deeply uninspiring and the attempts at something resembling commentary feel way out of their depth. If you look hard enough, you can imagine a solid horror film underneath. Unfortunately, it is almost entirely buried under the rest of the film. Whether this marks the end of the story of Leatherface is an open question. There are perhaps worse ways to say farewell, though none as disappointing as this.  

Rating: 2 out of 5.

You can watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre on Netflix starting Feb. 18.