Texas Chainsaw 3D is a proper sequel to the 1974 cult classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. However, if one goes into the theater to see Texas Chainsaw 3D without having any background with the series, it is not needed. It pays tribute to the 1974 original -- that gave us so many chilling The Texas Chainsaw Massacre quotes -- while picking up where it left off for a whole new generation.
The original film, and to an extent this one, is based on a true story of a rural Texas family who go to great lengths to ensure their chainsaw-wielding kin stays out of trouble. Of course we all famously know he doesn't.
In Texas Chainsaw 3D, the film shows that after one particular rampage, the town sheriff and some locals wielding shotguns show up at the family’s house. They are demanding that they send out the young killer. When they refuse, the locals that have swelled into a mob torch the house and all inside appear to perish -- except for a young baby.
Those familiar with the film and its subsequent sequels and remakes might be confused by the story teased in the Texas Chainsaw 3D trailer. Filmmakers took their inspiration from the original and produced what they are calling a sequel to a classic.
The first thing that stands out in this "sequel" is a gross error in arithmetic. If our continuity between the early 1970's original and today lies in the baby who survives the house fire and grows up to be Alexander Daddario's character, shouldn't she be in her late thirties instead of in her twenties? There's creative license and then there's this stretch.
Once you let that go, if that’s possible, the story has a unique way of tying together the past and the present... and as some hope for further sequels, a future. But Texas Chainsaw 3D is filled with the usual horror pratfalls instead of carving out its own unique ways of terrifying the audience. If this is a true sequel to the wildly original first film, then filmmakers should have pushed the envelope when it came to the scares. What we are given is standard run-of-the-mill shocks and awes.
There is a twist. Is it a good twist? Yes. Is it easy to swallow given the parameters filmmakers have given the audience? Our Texas Chainsaw 3D review says: No.
What does make this a compelling story is the character of Leatherface. With his weapon of choice revving while he comes at his victims wearing a mish-mosh of his previous victims' faces -- it's pretty scary. That’s probably why the story has resonated so much over the last four decades. In our Alexandra Daddario and Trey Songz exclusive interview, they clearly echo this sentiment!
But, this particular Texas Chainsaw horror-show suffers under the weight of a weak plot, predictable scares and an overall misfire effort to restart a franchise.