Well, well, well. We might again Chainsaw. Just when I thought we were finished. You've decided to crawl out from the shadows once again to remind me that I missed a film. A film that was made by one of the original writers of the Chainsaw '74, Kim Henkel. It was released by Columbia Pictures in its original form. After the film failed, Columbia took it upon themselves to recut the film a few years later and try again. Why did this happen?
Kim Henkel apparently didn't like the way Tobe had gone with Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2. He viewed that it was time to try for a more serious approach. Why he felt like that was what he delivered? That's beyond me. He managed to make a film that I believe is super ridiculous. Yeah, I get what he was trying to do. But how long can you take a young Matthew McConaughey that is delivering a Nicolas Cage level of performance seriously? Take into consideration that he's wearing a brace that is controlled by a remote control at one point. It's absurd. I was left wondering how the hell Leatherface had even come into the family in the first place. As Tony from Hack the Movies and Joe and Sean from Movie Dumpster discussed recently, it's almost as if he just came with the house. Now given that Henkel had decided to center the film's main idea around the idea of the "Illuminati" being behind the Family and such, it probably was the case. Or is Leatherface more like the title of 007 and this is another person that was shaped by the group into what they viewed "Leatherface" should be? Wait a minute, that actually doesn't sound too bad really. Call him "Double-Oh Chainsaw" with a License to Cleave. Would that work for a sequel?
As for someone that co-wrote the original '74, I thought Henkel would have been a good fit for the film. However, it feels like this attempt ended up turning the ridiculousness and parody up to 15. Whereas, I would say that Chainsaw Part 2 would be at a 10. I mean there are some ideas there. Illuminati being a way of commenting on the status of Horror at that current time which needed to scare people. That's kind of a interesting approach. However outside of featuring Leatherface, this isn't a 'real sequel' to the '74 classic like Henkel had conceived it to be. The original plan was to have Vilmer and W.E. being the Hitchhiker and Cook (Nubbins and Drayton) characters. Honestly, that all feels like Henkel was saying shit for the sake of saying shit. Whatever he had to do to get this film made - even though it kinda turns out to be following the same path of Chainsaw Part 2.
The kids in this movie are kids. They are the typical high school dramatic that everyone knows to be. Henkel just wanted them to be there for the family to attack and harass. They are complete caricatures of what everyone was doing in films back then. He wanted it to be goofy. Therefore, they are absolutely ridiculous and outside of Renee Zellwegger - there to be hated. This is the film where we are supposed to be rooting for the family. So go get 'em Leatherface, I guess.
This brings me to Leatherface. I have seen some people say that he's not like the Leatherface from '74. I honestly feel like to an extent it does feel similar. However, he's a humongous goof. I mean look at the porch scene between Zellwegger and Leatherface. He's literally screaming at her because they are both scared of each other. Leatherface ultimately feels like made more inept to attempt to lift up the other members of the 'family'.
I understand that there are some people that love this film. It is a complete Looney Tunes of a film. It revels in its absolute insanity. If you're looking for something serious, go find a different film. If you're looking for something that's completely off the wall, give this a shot. I honestly don't know if I'll find myself watching it again. I may get the Shout! Factory release to check out the Director's Cut (which I've heard is better). But the theatrical cut of this just didn't work for me and a lot of details were forgettable. On a positive note, this isn't the worst Horror movie that I've seen.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5. "All right, all right, all right.".
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