Inevitably, given a bigger budget, it lacks the cheap, raw quality of the earlier film that, along with George Romero's outfit in Pennsylvania, showed you could make profitable exploitation shockers on an independent basis far from Hollywood.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:151
Fresh:54
Rotten:97
Average Rating:4.8/10
Consensus: An unnecessary remake that's more gory and less scary than the original.
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Synopsis: On August 20th, 1973, police were dispatched to the remote farmhouse of Thomas Hewitt, the former head-skinner at a local slaughterhouse in Travis County, Texas. What they found within the confines... On August 20th, 1973, police were dispatched to the remote farmhouse of Thomas Hewitt, the former head-skinner at a local slaughterhouse in Travis County, Texas. What they found within the confines of the cryptic residence was the butchered remains of 33 human victims, a chilling discovery that shocked and horrified a nation in what many still refer to as the most notorious mass murder case of all time. Wearing the grotesque flesh masks of his victims and brandishing a chainsaw, the killer, known as “Leatherface,” would gain infamy when sensational headlines were splashed across newspapers throughout the state of Texas: “House of Terror Stuns Nation – Massacre in Texas.” Local authorities would eventually gun down a man wearing a leathery mask and declare they had their killer, which abruptly closed the case; however, in the years that followed, many close to the grisly murder case would come forward to level accusations that police had botched the investigation and knowingly killed the wrong man. Now, for the first time, the only known survivor of the killing spree has broken the silence and come forward to tell the real story of what happened on a deserted rural Texas highway when a group of five young kids inadvertently found themselves besieged by a chainsaw-wielding madman, one who would leave a trail of blood and terror that would forever become known as “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” New Line Cinema presents The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a terrifying journey into a heart of unimaginable darkness as five young adults are stranded in a rural Texas town, only to find themselves fighting for their lives against Leatherface and his bizarre clan. Inspired by the 1974 classic film of the same name, the new film stars Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, Erica Leerhsen, Mike Vogel and Eric Balfour. Co-starring are screen veteran R. Lee Ermey, Lauren German, David Dorfman, Andrew Bryniarski, Terrence Evans, Heather Kafka and Marietta Marich. Marcus Nispel, the mastermind behind many of the most powerful images and story-telling themes in contemporary music videos and commercials, makes his feature film directorial debut. New Line Cinema presents in association with Michael Bay and Radar Pictures a Platinum Dunes/Next Entertainment Production. The film is produced by Michael Bay and Mike Fleiss. The executive producers are Ted Field, Jeffrey Allard, Guy Stodel, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller. The screenplay is by Scott Kosar (based on a screenplay by Kim Henkel and Tobe Hooper). The creative behind-the-scenes team is led by cinematographer Daniel Pearl (who also served as director of photography on the original 1974 release), production designer Greg Blair, costume designer Bobbie Mannix, special effects make up artist Scott Stoddard, special effects coordinator Rocky Gehr, editor Glen Scantlebury and composer Steve Jablonsky. New Line Cinema will release The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (rated “R” by the M.P.A.A. for “strong horror violence/gore, language and drug content”) in theaters nationwide on October 17th, 2003. [More]
Starring: Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, Eric Balfour, Erica Leerhsen
Starring: Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, Eric Balfour, Erica Leerhsen, Mike Vogel, Lauren German, R. Lee Ermey
Director: Marcus Nispel
Director: Marcus Nispel
Screenwriter: Scott Kosar
Producer: Michael Bay, Mike Fleiss, Andrew Form
Studio: New Line Cinema
Reviews for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
You’ll have to overcome resentment towards this unnecessary remake before you can be properly terrorised but, on its own terms, it plays well.
The best one can say is that his version is not slavishly in thrall to Hooper's: boring, fright-free and pointless, maybe, but not craven.
There's a simple philosophy behind a movie like this: Add more squishing, add more screaming, and it'll be better. Or at least it'll make more money.
It's a gory, stylish, and occasionally scary push-button factory of shocks and shrieks remarkably better than anyone had the right to expect.
Basically, if you like gory, scary slasher-flicks, then this delivers in spades.
By the time it comes back to its bracketing device of police crime scene footage, Niespel, Bay and Kosar's movie has very much wasted its promising start and descended into a pointless exercise.
Mostly this is just another lame monster-in-the-backwoods movie that makes us flinch because of the sheer gruesomeness of what's on screen
An initially promising, but quickly disappointing retread of Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel's hugely influential horror classic.
'Inspired by a true story' presumably adds to the sordid thrills; maybe we should look forward to entertainments about Nazis torturing children.
Just needlessly ugly and unpleasant, not to mention Hollywoodized down to its muddy shoes.
Here's a slice of advice: Go to the video store and rent the original.
It adheres to the Hollywood formula for horror remakes: Twice the gore, half the scares.
Latest News for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
January 31, 2008:
Platinum Dunes, New Line Announce Plans for New Nightmare on Elm Street
In a move that should surprise no one, New Line has announced a partnership with Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes banner to reboot the Nightmare on Elm Street series. More...
November 14, 2007:
Marcus Nispel to Direct Friday the 13th Reboot?
You can't keep a good man down. Nor, apparently, can you keep an undead, hockey mask-wearing lunatic off the big screen. According to The Hollywood Reporter, director Marcus... More...
May 09, 2007:
Jessica Biel: "Street Fighter"?
Remember that pretty rotten Jean Claude Van Damme movie that was based on a video game called "Street Fighter"? Well, you can bet the producers of the new version wish... More...
January 18, 2007:
Box Office Guru Preview: "Hitcher" Aims to Terrorize Moviegoers
After a busy MLK frame which concluded with the Golden Globe Awards, Hollywood lets the dust settle this weekend as only one new film enters wide release - the horror remake... More...
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