Michael Bay's Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Horrors have a bad reputation for poor sequels and bad remakes, which is why when people heard there was a remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the general thought was that they would be butchering the classic(excuse the pun).

However this is a terrifying, shocking, emotional thrill of a movie. It may not be up to the standards of the 1970s version, but to be fair, nothing is. The acting is quite well done. The film takes advantage of the time its being made in and the budget, with this version having much better production values, its much more gory but not at the cost of story telling.

The realism is superb and the movie is, at times, as sad as it is scary due to the emotional torture of the characters, i'm sure many people will say its not as good as the original but it could have been a lot worse

I am a hardened spectator; that means, I have only seen a couple films in my whole life which I considered scary. I like horror films but usually get disappointed with them, as 99% of them do not frighten me in any way. This one did. It is an extremely consistent and successful effort to create a sense of horror which is, in the end, the ultimate means of the genre. It is not even about the plot; it is about the director's possibility to create an atmosphere of hopelessness which penetrates the film from the beginning on. The tension is built in a masterful manner, cinematic means like light, soundtrack and camera shots highlight the events in the most fitting way, the pace is just right, all elements contribute to a consistently thrilling and gruesome outcome. This film seems very modern in its effects and camera style but somehow retro in its imagery which is a successful tribute to the original version of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre". A seldom example of a good remake.

The original is a classic, I guess that's why there's a copy of it at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.

Taken as a remake, this is a good film. The story was different enough to keep me guessing, the characters were, uhhh, fleshed out a little more. While the original at times seemed like a documentary, this one was a straight-up horror movie, though without too many of the cliches that make modern horror movies tedious.

On it's own, this was a very good horror movie. Well-filmed, well-acted, suspensful, with good characters. The kids in this movie are not all just obnoxious kids--they get into trouble because of a good deed, so I found myself rooting for them, even the annoying one or two. The casting of Lee Ermey as the sheriff is icing on the cake; he definitely brought the movie up a few notches.

While not a classic, this remake is worth seeing.

The horror/sci-fi movie critic Richard Scheib coined the term "Backwoods Brutality" to describe the slew of low-budget movies that emerged in the 1970s which had as their main theme the violent and abrupt destruction of middle-class serenity. The concept has occasionally found expression outside of the horror genre (Straw Dogs, Deliverance), but since Wes Craven's Last House on the Left (1972), it has been a mainstay of the horror genre. Even thirty years later, the basic idea continues to be remade and re-interpreted.

In my view, the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) is the most successful exponent of the genre. As it often is in the American variations of this genre, the TCM takes the so-called blue state/red state dichotomy to a grotesque extreme: the backroads of the Deep South is another country and its inhabitants exhibit uncontained contempt for every unsuspecting wayfarer. Its use of tension, which is meticulously established in the movie's first 45 minutes, and release -- the last 45 minutes -- is almost elegant in its simplicity. Throughout, violence is used in sparing and sudden bursts until the adrenaline-fueled final act, during which it is mercilessly sustained.

With some minor qualifications, this description also fits Marcus Nispel's 2003 remake. Here the enlarged budget and technical expertise have worked both for and against the film. On the one hand, a variety of new elements have been added to the story. Some, like the mysterious little boy or the ending, are so-so, while others, like Leatherface's skin mask or the "extended family," are effective. On the other hand, the professionalism and attention to detail demonstrated by Nispel and Daniel Pearl (whose cinematography here is magnificent) on down to those responsible for filming locations and set detail, is consistently impressive.

So the basic "tension-release" framework has been lifted from the original but instead of improving on it the filmmakers have saddled it with characters, situations, drama, and violence. (We learn from the DVD extras, happily, that some "tender moments" were left on the cutting room floor.) I give it a 7 because ultimately I think it works as a horror movie on its own terms -- in fact, I don't think a better American horror movie has been made since 2000 -- and Nispel/Kosar deserve credit attempting to revise the concept in minor ways for fans of the franchise. On the balance, however, the original's low-budget guerilla-like realism as well as some of its visceral power has been compromised.

Of note, finally, is the performance of Jessica Biel. Having earned her acting chops on the Christian TV show/cheesefest, Seventh Heaven, Biel has as of late found a niche playing physically tough, but likable and intelligent characters. She's quite excellent here; as it was for the original TCM's Marilyn Burns, Biel's performance is exhilarating and intense -- a kind of endurance test. But one easily believes she has the acuity and toughness to survive the ordeal.

Let's face it. There aren't, if any, good horror classic remakes. Good horror movies are not supposed to be remade, period. However, there are some remakes that come pretty close to "good" remakes, (such as The Ring) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of them. I watched this movie alone in the dark at midnight, with my DTS surround sound speakers, and it scared the HELL out of me! This movie intends to makes you feel damp, filthy and frightening. It takes itself very seriously, no jokes. The horror is non-stop, not allowing you to take a break. The fright and the gore satisfies most horror fans. Good style, good cinematography, well-directed. Of course, this movie cannot be compared to the original, but this is a pretty damn good horror movie itself.