Pretty Good

Expected more

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Went in with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised! Great visuals and filming, new ideas, unique characters and consistent action. Fantastic acting - particularly by Jessica Beil (Erin). Great suspense and terrifying set. One of the very few excellent horror films of this era.

In most cases, Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes label has made dismal attempts at horror remakes (see their Elm Street and Friday The 13th for cringe cases in point). However, the version of Texas Chainsaw Massacre they did was pretty damn good on my barometer, a brooding, darkly humorous and fiercely frightening piece that reworks the barebones, grainy vibe of Tobe Hooper's original classic into something more dingy and atmospheric. It's the 70's, and rural Texas is as humid and inhospitable as ever, particularly so in Travis County, right in time for a Volkswagen bus full of nimrod partygoers to trundle through and get caught in the snare of the severely disturbed Hewitt clan, spearheaded by big ol' Leatherface (Andrew Bryniarski), a mute, disfigured monster with a penchant for taking a chainsaw to people's vitals and wearing their skin over his own, inspired by the less imposing real life killer Ed Gein. Sexy Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, Eric Balfour and Mike Vogel plays these ill fated kids, serving mainly as power tool sharpening blocks. I love the slow, eerie buildup of this one, as they begin to realize that the town isn't just sleepy or hidden, it's pretty much dead save for these last straggling residents who are clearly off their head. A huge asset for the film is R. Lee Ermey as the creepy, hostile county Sheriff, who let's just say... isn't really the Sheriff at all. He gets many chances to mean mug, terrorize and intimidate these kids and the old gunnery sergeant has a ball. The rest of the townsfolk are a creepy bunch of hayseed yokels without a brain or conscience between them, and serve as a luring posse to Leatherface. The killings are appropriately gory, and hats off to director Marcus Nispel for a striking opening shot that sees his camera pan through the still smoking head-wound of a poor girl who's just blown her dome off with a giant revolver. Ew. The high praise I'm giving this one does not apply to the follow up prequel called The Beginning, which ditches all mood and pacing for an exercise in abrasive, unforgivable sadism and lazy plotting. Ermey goes full nutso in that one and still is having fun, but not even he can pull it out of the shit. I'd imagine same goes for the host of others that came after, including a new entry that's slated for this year, if memory serves. This one got lucky because it played it's cards right, and earned the position of a remake that does indeed hold a candle.

This movie is infamous for receiving a rare zero star rating from Roger Ebert. He called the movie vile and ugly and how everything was disturbing about it. I'm going to admit that it's bad, but it's not one of the worst movies ever. This is from someone who liked the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre". The worst part is this movie is probably how they cut out the best sequence from the original film where the killers are around the girl at the dinner table. This film lacks the atmosphere that made the original good.I admit that the first thirty minutes aren't really that bad. It's not until after that where we get a really ugly looking film. Everything is filmed in the dark and the acting is quite bad. It offers nothing new to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise which doesn't have much dignity to begin with. I do kind of like Leatherface in this movie but everything is still rather cliché with the girl being chased and the killer and everything. Most of this movie is in fact very unpleasant and just pointless to watch. *1/2

I do prefer the old one. I'm glad someone told me to watch it. I rent it like few months ago and I enjoy it. It's not bad what some people say. No I'm not saying this film is misunderstood it's just the film if you hate it or love it and I like this film. I like how the death is gruesome man it's bloody. Not the greatest horror movie remake but it's good in it's own way.