Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Netflix: Review of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (2022): More Murderous Mayhem

February 23, 2022




A group of rich millennials led by entrepreneurs Melody (Sarah Yarkin) and Dante (Jacob Latimore) bought the rights to whole ghost town of Harlow, Texas to develop it as the site for trendy businesses. One day, they went on an inspection tour of the place and get it ready for presentation to their investors. Accompanying Melody was her younger sister Lila (Elsie Fisher) who was still recovering from a traumatic experience of her own. 

They had a heated argument with an old woman Ginny who claimed that she still had a deed for the old orphanage where she and her "son" lived. She collapsed and had to be rushed to the hospital, but died en route. Her "son" went amuck and killed everyone in the police car. He then carved out the skin of his mother's face and put it on like a mask. He walked back to his home in Harlow with the sole intent to kill everyone else he blamed for his mother's death.

As I was not a fan of slasher films, I've never seen any of the previous "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" films, not the original nor any of its reboots and sequels. The first 1974 film by Tobe Hooper is considered a seminal work of gore horror. It spawned sequels in 1983 (also by Hooper),1990 and 1996. It was rebooted in 1983 and 2013 (presented in 3D). There were prequels in 2006 (TTCM: The Beginning") and 2017 ("Leatherface"). 

Essentially a sequel of the 1974 film, there was a TV news report at the start which summarized what transpired back then. This new one pretty much followed the usual gory formula, with each character getting stalked and set up for some really gruesome kills. The most memorable scene which set it apart from others should be that massacre of hipsters in a party bus bathed in blue lighting. A survivor even comes back to try to get revenge. 

The encounters between Leatherface and the two sisters (not really a spoiler) were actually all quite well-executed suspense sequences, as long as you keep your disbelief suspended. However, the ending was a real head-scratcher. Just when you thought our heroes have successfully escaped from all the bloody mayhem, there just had to be another shock to send us off, as well as set up for yet another sequel. 5/10.


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