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Movies / On DVD / The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

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The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

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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

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Reviews for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

It's a gory, stylish, and occasionally scary push-button factory of shocks and shrieks remarkably better than anyone had the right to expect.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
10/28/03
Jamie Russell
Jamie Russell
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
10/14/03
Daniel Etherington
Daniel Etherington
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

You’ll have to overcome resentment towards this unnecessary remake before you can be properly terrorised but, on its own terms, it plays well.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's horrible and explicitly violent, but never authentically scary.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
01/15/04
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment Comment
04/16/08
Philip French
Philip French
Observer [UK]

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

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
10/11/03
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

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.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: UK Critic | comment Comment
12/14/03
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
UK Critic

Basically, if you like gory, scary slasher-flicks, then this delivers in spades.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
10/22/03
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Anyone who calls him/herself a horror fan should check it out. The squeamish should walk right past this one.

Full Review Source: 3BlackChicks Review | comment Comment
10/23/03
Kamal  'The Diva' Larsuel
Kamal 'The Diva' Larsuel
3BlackChicks Review

Too many production values get in the way here. Shock-horror movies shouldn’t have sizable budgets and familiar faces in the cast.

Full Review Source: Aisle Seat | comment Comment
10/19/03
Mike McGranaghan
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat

Even a paint-by-numbers slasher is a novelty in this decade.

Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | comment Comment
06/28/08
Tim Brayton
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy

Has the confidence and capability to wriggle under your skin and freak you out for 98 minutes, if not torment your dreams in the dark of night.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
10/19/03
Terri Clark
Terri Clark
Apollo Guide

She screams. He chases. She runs. We yawn.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
10/16/03
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

This bloody, exploitative mess is the cinematic equivalent of a dumpster fire -- stinky but insignificant.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
10/16/03
Bill Muller
Bill Muller
Arizona Republic

Here's a slice of advice: Go to the video store and rent the original.

Full Review Source: Associated Press | comment Comment
10/03/06
Christy Lemire
Christy Lemire
Associated Press

Completely watchable, but brings virtually nothing new to the horror/gore table.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
10/16/03
Bob Longino
Bob Longino
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

While it's far from bad, it also falls far short of the icy frissons produced by the original.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
10/22/03
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

Right up there with the "Faces of Death" series in the punch of nausea it likely will generate in some viewers.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
12/03/03
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

What's scarier then a faceless chainsaw wielding psycho? Right! A redneck inbred faceless chainsaw-wielding psycho!

Full Review Source: Blunt Review | comment Comment
10/17/03
Emily Blunt
Emily Blunt
Blunt Review
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
all

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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