The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) Review

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was directed by Marcus Nispel (who also directed Exeter and Friday The 13th) and stars Jessica Biel (from Total Recall, The Tall Man), Jonathan Tucker (from The Ruins, Pulse) and Erica Leerhsen (The Butterfly Room,  Living Hell). It’s about a group of friends traveling through BFE Texas who have the misfortune of finding themselves being terrorized by a psycho family of cannibalistic killers.

What you know about fear… doesn’t even come close.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a remake of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre from nearly 30 years prior. That Texas Chainsaw was a low budget horror that became an instant classic due to its gritty realism. This Texas Chainsaw is a very big budget Hollywood horror remake from the king of Hollywood remakes, Michael Bay. This remake is believed to be the start of the horror remake trend which included big franchise names like Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Omen, Halloween and more.

Unlike some of the aforementioned titles, this remake wasn’t half bad at all. And this was a surprise considering the many duds this franchise has spit out over the previous 3 decades (I wish I could purge Texas Chainsaw 3 and Next Generation from my brain). This particular remake was stunning visually. The cinematography was brilliant and the overall vibe and atmosphere was as gritty and shocking as the original. Modern audiences are far more desensitized than they were back in 1974 of course, so the grit and shock is now more a product of graphic gore than disturbing concepts. This remake is all carnage candy. If you like blood and gore, this movie is for you.

The entertainment value of this movie is high, but part of that is because it feels like a cliche horror movie, the kind people make fun of. Our terrorized teens make poor decisions constantly. The screams and jump scares almost seem as if they’re self-aware for comedic effect. None of this was intentional of course, it’s just very formulaic to a cliche degree. It doesn’t take away from the movie, it’s just very, very Hollywood.