With a bunch of old slashers getting revived in recent years, it comes to no surprise that we are being given “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” - one of the legendary franchises of the genre. But this 2022 sequel was a disappointing mess with almost no nostalgia, soul, life, or substance to it.
A bunch of influencers are on their way to Harlow, Texas - the town of which they have bought as they plan to auction it off to their fans. On their way, they also find out about the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and its masked perpetrator nicknamed Leatherface - a case which has remained unsolved for decades. Once they arrive, they soon find out that the orphanage still houses its former owner and with her is one of her orphans who is now an adult. Due to their disturbance, the owner has a heart attack and dies and this angers the orphan who soon reveals his real identity - Leatherface.
At less than 90 minutes long, we instantly got worried about “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”. From the get-go, we felt that its pegged runtime was going to be a tad short to really eke out a substantial narrative. And our initial fears came true as we found ourselves frustrated with the lack of character development - may it be Leatherface or the victims of his eventual gory spree. We wanted to know the dynamics between the group. Is Dante and Mel faking their relationship fror their following? Is Dante in love with another girl? Did they really buy the deeds to Harlow or not? Every element in this film felt rushed. It presented tidbits in one scene and totally trashed them after that. We were frustrated time and time again as the film was trying to lead audiences to a seemingly significant topic only to do nothing with it. This flip-flopping means that we rarely got to engage with anyone and the deaths just come and go without much impact. Admittedly, as a pure slasher, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” was just gruesome. Not scary or terrifying but it was gory, messy, and awesome in that regard. Outside of the kills though, this felt like a “Halloween” remake rip-off gone wrong.
Rating: 1 reel
Why you should watch it:
- the kills were at least a whole lot of fun
Why you shouldn’t watch it:
- there was no character development
- lacks any soul or nostalgia considering this is tapping to one of te best known slasher franchises
Comments
Post a Comment