Here is the review of Netflix’s new attempt to reignite the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise with the aptly titled Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Does this movie provide anything new to get excited about, or is this horror series Dead in the Water? Let’s talk about it.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022) Review
Texas Chainsaw Massacre is directed by  David Blue Garcia and written by Chris Thomas Devlin. It stars Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, Mark Burnham, Jacob Latimore, Moe Dunford, Olwen Fouéré, Alice Krige, Jessica Allain, and Nell Hudson.
After nearly 50 years of hiding, Leatherface returns to terrorize a group of idealistic young friends who accidentally disrupt his carefully shielded world in a remote Texas town. In a spiritual sequel to the original film.
So how bad is it? This is what my friends kept asking me this week after hearing that I got to see the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
So obviously expectations can’t be too high for this one, right? I am a huge fan of Toby Hooper’s gritty classic and say what you want about the 2003 Jessica Beale-led Michael Bay-produced reboot, but that shit is still terrifying to this day, so there is a soft spot in my heart for this franchise.
Unfortunately, the less said about the 2006 and 2013 films, the better. But once I heard that Fetty Alvarez would be producing this spiritual sequel after he was able to revamp the Evil Dead franchise in such a sickening way, my anticipation for this movie skyrocketed even though I kept my expectations extremely low.
And honestly, I’m glad I did because even though there are a couple of things to really appreciate about this new version of Texas Chainsaw, it’s mostly a hot pile of garbage.
The one thing this franchise really cannot get right along with most modern horror films nowadays, is its characters. Not a single one of these young 20 somethings are at all interesting or captivating to watch.
I was hoping that at least Elsie Fisher, who shined in the leading role in Bo Burnham’s 8th grade, would be able to elevate the material. But no dice. These actors are given so little backstory and such broad archetypes that they literally have nothing to work with.
And if you don’t care about the characters, you can’t root for them and in turn, the thrills and tension become nonexistent.
Also, our writer here, Chris Thomas Devlin, along with Alvarez, have seemingly put in a lot of effort to come up with fresh new ideas to make Leatherface in this franchise relevant.
The whole plot revolves around an old Texas town being bought out by progressive rich influencers who are trying to start a new idealistic life. With weighty topics such as gentrification, school violence, and income inequality that come into play.
This all could have led to something that was intriguing and thought-provoking, but ends up feeling completely unnecessary because it all gets muddled in the cheesy and horribly plotted storytelling.
And my last major qualm is that Texas Chainsaw just lacks any real scares is it just me or does this new iteration of leather face look kind of silly?
The original and even the 2003 version got under your skin, Provided genuinely shocking moments, and made you feel this unrelenting dread along with all of the violence.
All this 2022 reboot has to offer is the violence and that negative also leads me to my positives. I really do think gorehounds are going to at least appreciate the work done here. This is one bloody nasty mess-up movie.
The CGI and practical effects are extremely impressive. There were definitely a few moments that I was grossed out by the explicit Gore but also just couldn’t look away.
That all comes to a head in one of the most brilliantly ludicrous and amazing displays of violence I have seen in a movie in the longest time.
This extended scene delivers on everything that you could ever ask for in a movie called the Texas chainsaw massacre. It’s just unfortunate that the whole movie Couldn’t have been like that.
And I have to give a shout-out to the cinematography. This is a beautifully shot horror film that is far more polished than it has any right to be but I couldn’t help but think that could also be considered a negative.
This franchise was originally born as a gritty, grimy, low-budget piece of work that almost felt like a snuff film that you shouldn’t have been laying witness to.
This 2022 version is a pristine looking glamorized by-product of the Hollywood mass-market machine. Whether that works for you or not will be up to your own personal taste but a spiritual sequel to the original, I just think that’s a real stretch.
So I am going to give Texas Chainsaw Massacre Movie 2.5/5.
Despite some impressive Gore effects and one particularly explosive scene that delivers on all of the goods, this reboot remake retread whatever you want to call it of a dying franchise does little to reignite any confidence that it is worth saving. Skip this and just watch the original.
Guys thank you so much for reading the review of the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie review. See you next time.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre Trailer
Here is the trailer of the new Netflix slasher film Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2022. Check it out.
- Design
