Release Date: October 17, 2003
Starring: Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, Erica Leerhsen, Mike Vogel, Eric Balfour, Andrew Byrniarski, R. Lee Ermey, David Dorfman, Lauren German
Directed by: Marcus Nispel
Written by: Scott Kosar
Distributed by: New Line Cinema
MPAA Rating: R (strong horror violence/gore, language, drug content)
In 1974, the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which had a crude, low-budget production design, created a disturbingly realistic, almost documentary-like impression of horror that worked effectively to involve the viewer in the movie's scares. And while this remake (or reinterpretation) explores certain aspects of the true-life perspective in greater detail, overall, the film seems to more closely resemble contemporary horror films in its organization and conformity to the style of the genre.
Set in August 1973, the movie is about five teenagers on a road trip. While passing through Travis County, Texas, on their way to a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert, they pick up a mysterious hitchhiker. This hitchhiker, a teenage girl, sets into motion a chain of events that lead the teens to the remote farmhouse of Thomas Hewitt, the chainsaw wielding killer who became forever known as "Leatherface" after it was discovered that he wore a mask fashioned from the flesh of his victims. The press gives his killing spree infamy, and in newspaper headlines it is dubbed "the Texas chainsaw massacre."
Other than the story, the photography (done by the original film's cinematographer, Daniel Pearl) is the strongest link to the 1974 movie. The unnerving, claustrophobic quality is still present, developed through the use of extreme close-ups, but is complimented, much like the original, by the eerily beautiful long shots of the backlit house and woods.
Director Marcus Nispel wisely chooses to follow the lead of the original by limiting the amount of gore in exchange for inferred actions. Disappointingly, the film does not accomplish this primarily with sound, as implied by the theatrical trailer (which featured a long sequence with nothing but the soundtrack), but more or less by positioning the gruesome images just out of frame.
Characters are given a sufficient amount of development, and actually more than expected from a Texas Chainsaw Massacre film. And though Chainsaw purists may argue that the characters in the original are more representational of average people -- and therefore easier for viewers to relate to -- the upshot here is that the audience cares more about what happens to the characters in this vivid nightmare.
Scott Kosar's rewrite of the screenplay is very faithful to the original as it incorporates several identifiable trademarks from the 1974 film. The biggest change is that, although the basic structure is still present, certain characters have been added, completely removed, or expanded. It's also a very bold move to add women and children to the Hewitt family. But it does nothing to detract from the disturbing nature of this sick group of people. David Dorfman (who played Naomi Watts's little boy in The Ring) is fascinating as he plays the youngest member of the psychotic family whose intentions are frighteningly ambiguous.
Jessica Biel (best known from TV's "Seventh Heaven") takes more control as the protagonist than her 1974 counterpart did. She doesn't run through the woods for 20 minutes as the killer chases her, making stupid mistakes along the way. In fact, there were only two times throughout the entire film that the characters made boneheaded horror-movie blunders; the rest of the time, they're reacting as any rational human being might. Biel's character is street smart and tough, two qualities that she convincingly includes in her performance.
R. Lee Ermey transplants his career role as the sadistically authoritative Sgt. Hartman into the character of Sheriff Hoyt. Perhaps a more fearsome villain than Leatherface because of his direct, malicious nature, Hoyt couldn't have been cast any better. Ermey steals every scene he's in with this strong, pronounced performance, adding an extra element of terror to an already scary movie.
Being as it is a remake, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre will have a predictable quality to those who have seen the original. But there are a few suprises in this one, the most interesting of which is what director Nispel has chosen to do with the film's new look. Produced under the auspices of Michael Bay, the amateurish, low-quality aesthetic of the original has been expectedly lost. But he reinvents the film with help from his crew. Contrasting beautiful and grotesque imagery, cinematographer Daniel Pearl makes this one of the best looking films in the horror genre.
Nispel knows the art of implying violence without depending too much on gore, though he departs from that concept once or twice to give this film its R rating. The acting in this film is far superior to the original with Biel's contribution to the protagonist's believability and Ermey's disturbing performance as the sadistic sheriff. This remake does justice to the original and should appease those who were against its creation in the first place.
-- Ed Malinowski (edman_mal_pal@hotmail.com)