cleaver

This movie looked so mediocre, but the DVD looks kind of badass and it's got a decent price at BB next week, so should I buy it? Please compare it to other horror movies, like "better than F vs J," "worse than Blair Witch 2," etc.

antennaball

infinitely better than Blair Witch 2...

i might be in the minority on this board, but i fully enjoyed it as a thoughtless slasher horror movie. some of the scenes were cringe-inducing and there was just enough suspense to keep you from getting too comfortable.

i would say it's somewhere between Wrong Turn (good movie) and House of the Dead (horrible movie).

NaturalMystic79

Dark, gritty, and VERY atmospheric. I, too thought this was an excellent slasher/horror film. Acting was better than average, considering the genre. R. Lee Ermey is fantastic! The DVD is the icing on the cake: DTS sound, reference quality anamorphic picture, and loaded with great extras. I would say YES, a good blind buy.

Tony Dvdfan

This is a good one, and looks like a great dvd....not as good as Dawn of the Dead, but better than Wrong Turn, Blair Witch, etc. The dvd looks to have a bunch of cool features and DTS...worth the sale price.

mdc3000

I thought this was one of the worst horror flicks I've seen in the last while... I'd rank it on par with Blair Witch 2... FvsJ, Wrong Turn and most other flicks mentioned are far better than this "extended music video" of a movie.... bleh.

MATT

Groucho

I was going to buy this one blind...until the talking banner ad was introduced.

Jepthah

Save your money and buy the original...assuming you don't already have it.

PHMustang2000

I am going to get it for 2 reasons
1) I watched it in the theatres and enjoyed it.
2) At The end of the movie Jessica Biel is running around in the ran with a grey tank top
I pre-ordered it. I should get sometime this next week.

madgame

Jessica Biel is the movie

matome

Buy it

NaturalMystic79

Leatherface seems more relentless and intimidating in the remake. In the original he's a scared timid momma's boy. Remember how he was freaking out when he realized more people may be coming to the house? Or how he got his ass bossed around by his dad and brother.

Julie Walker

Leatherface in the original was intended to be that way in the original & not just a mindless slasher

He was a confused retard who knows nothing about morality & what is wrong. So in that aspect,he sees nothing wrong with killing & torturing. Pretty disturbing in my opinion.


Now Leatherface in the remake is just your standard slasher,while intimidating. The movie did ruin it by giving him a pathetic reason for his actions..& sadly the director seems to adhere to it being the sole reason,he is the way he is. Which really disappoints me,since you could easily look at it as 'they are just speculating!'. Had they not tried to explaing Leathers behavior,it would have been far more terrifying in the aftermath.

Instead I left the film not disturbed or really freaked out. Could easily eat a nice dinner or go to sleep afterwards without any nightmares.


Yet if you get scared easily & have not seen many horror films. You will probably love the film alot as evidenced with the audience I saw it with...who were in a state of shock afterwards. The women were shaking,could barely walk,the men were just feeling queesy. So it did it's job..& I give it props for that.

I will say the film was good,dark,mean & atmospherically grisly..up until the final chase sequence,which went on forever & bored me..since I knew Jessica would not be in any real danger of being killed or injured. Basically it falls into the cliched safe horror trap studio horror films today fall into,which make the ending less intense or interesting.

But if you are a leering horndog,you do at least have some jiggly action in a wet t-shirt durring that portion. Nice to look at ,but on a scare level,it made me feel like napping.


So the film is a mixed bag in my opinion,i rate it about **1/2 out of ****. Would have been a *** at least,had they not given Leather a motive..& had more guts for the last half of the film.


A decent time waster though,I may be getting the dvd..as it was one of the better horror films in recent years. Which pretty much shows up the sad state of U.S. horror today.

G. Noel Gross

Uh huh. The Saw remake leads my current column. Includes, ahem, photos.

cleaver

Thank you for tackling the tough issues in you review. I'd have to say I'm leaning against it now.

QuiGonJosh

it aint no where near the original...but it was a stupid fun slasher movie...and Biel looks delicious!

It woulda been better suited if it was called TCM 5 and set in present time...

Squirrel God

I saw it in the cinema and it's great fun. I laughed all the way through. Some innovative cinematography to boot! I can't wait to get my hands on it on DVD! Just get it!

kurupt

I think that it's a pretty damn good dvd (I have the SE). While the film is not the dirty, gritty, masterpiece of horror of the original (and really, what is?), I also thought it was a pretty good hour and a half of mindless entertainment...I thought in a couple of spots the director did a great job manufacturing tension. The extras are fantastic and the audio and video presentation is great as well. If you can get a good deal of the SE, I'd say it would be worth it.

NaturalMystic79

The 2 disc CE is fantastic! Spent the whole afternoon watching the movie, and checking out all the extras (haven't heard all of the commentary tracks yet, though). The documentary on the 2nd disc is very indepth and fascinating. It's almost as long as the movie is, too. The Ed Gein documentary is very interesting and gives alot of insight as to how his behavior and killings became a catalyst for all these serial killer movies.

The film itself looks very good (anamorphic 1.85:1), and the DTS track is excellent. Very good clarity and speaker seperation and adequete low end. The chainsaw sounds awesome! That being said, if you can find a good price for the 2 disc CE, I'd pick it up!


Julie,

You're explanation makes alot of sense. Leatherface is definately a different killer in this film. As I watched the documentary and the film again, I realized that the producers and director of the remake didn't want the film to be exactly like the original. The original is a masterpiece, and you can't really replicate it. So, they took a different perspective on what happens, the characters, and a few twists and turns in the end. I think they are different movies. It's hard to say which I like better. I love them both and am happy to have them in my collection.

jaeufraser

I actually quite liked this flick. I'm a horror nut, so anything that works is good for me. And this movie...well I've never been a die hard fan of the original (I only have the original cause now they were givin it away free with purchase of this 2 disc set) so I wasn't holding it up against that. But this film was a dirty, gritty atmospheric slasher movie. It's intense, mean, and noisy. And it doesn't play for stupid laughs. So overall I was quite impressed.

Rammsteinfan

I never knew about Ed Gein until now... he was one sick mutha.

oh and the DVD rocks!

Julie Walker

Natural,I agree,but I really did not like the exposition on why Leather is/may be the way he is. I prefer my madmen with no motive,then I find them much more creepier. Still it is abit less annoying than having a killer tell you his plan blah blah blah at the finale. So yeah,Leather is still pretty intimating & creepy in the film.

Other than that,I pretty much agree with all the other postive views on the film,despite a few criticisms.


I also bought the dvd today..& was just viewing the deleted scens & trailers. Excellent stuff.


I am a horror nut as well. I rarely bother with todays stuff,but have seen a few worthy horror films get released lately..& this is one of them. At least it took itself pretty serious,as intense & grim. Really frightened the hell out of the audience I saw it with. So I will give it props for that..& all the more reason to purchase it

LiquidSky

I purchased the 2-disc. Love the making-of documentary with the shots of Eric Balfour naked!!

Mike Long

I don't see how anyone who calls themselves a fan of horror movies, and especially a fan of the original TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE could have liked this film. This is the epitome of the unnecessary remake, and a really bad movie to boot. This is simply an exercise in watching dumb characters do dumb things and the new TCM NEVER does any anything to separate itself from all of the other dumb slasher films out there. The entire film is a series of contrived clichés and there isn’t a moment of suspense or tension. R. Lee Ermey plays the same character that he’s played in every other movie, one which has become a parody of itself. The last scene is the only interesting part of the movie, and it was stolen from another really bad horror movie. The original TCM is a masterpiece of gritty tension which plays upon the viewers raw emotions, and the death of one character in particular plays heavily upon the audience, as most people probably wanted this person to die, but were uncomfortable with those feelings. It truly saddens me that movies like this remake are popular, for this means that Hollywood will continue to pull away from backing truly original and scary horror movies.

LiquidSky

Well, the original is my favorite horror film of all time....and I did like the remake. Go figure.

If you want to experience a real exercise in dumb characters doing dumb things watch "Cabin Fever".

Mike Long

I have. The movie that proves being a fanboy doesn't make you a good filmmaker.