Massacre à la tronçonneuse : La Nouvelle Génération

Let's be frank. You don't complain to the manager of your local McDonald's when you don't get a five star meal. Guess what folks, you just ordered the value meal that's been sitting in the warmer just a little too long. The fourth installment of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre sucks... appropriately so.

Let me reiterate that this is the third sequel to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. If anyone is still surprised that it didn't land any Oscars, please please seek help. Personally, for yet another recycled dimestore drive-in flick, I thought this one paid off quite nicely... true, the writing was just this side of atrocious (although I had heard word of an original cut of the film I have had neither the luck to procure one nor the drive to even attempt to), the acting - for the most part - was terrible, but it's still fun to single out the future stars who actually did give performances of startling quality. I must say that I enjoyed the movie for being a regurgitated horror film... I got a few good scares out of it and quite frankly some scenes flat out disturbed me. Sound design was nice, and there were quite a few decent shots here and there, making good (though endless) use of lighting through dust and fog. Editing was nothing superb but oftentimes, the better the cutting, the less we notice it. Altogether, it was a technically aware movie. Not one to expect the unexpected I wasn't disappointed with the film's shortcomings, and when you try to dissect the plot there are some pretty substantial ones. Still, a fine delivery, particularly after the style-sterile attempt of the third film.

Not the greatest film ever, but far from being the worst.

At one point, a terrorized Jenny screams "I don't understand!" And Vilmer replies "Welcome to the real world." For me, this sums up everything I like about this movie.

The TCM series has -- at the best of times -- been about random violence...usually for the sake of sensationalism. But underneath it all is the creepy realization that not everybody thinks like you do. Some of them do things which make no sense to you. When you step into their reality, you're at their mercy, and you'll never understand exactly why.

This installment plays the "why?" theme to the hilt, eventually copping out somewhat near the end when they should have just left us wondering. Darla is wonderful as Vilmer's girlfriend, alternately getting hung up about seemingly trivial things -- having a quiet dinner for a change -- and goading Vilmer into continuing their twisted, mutually abusive relationship. Vilmer himself has fantastic moments, though none of the actors quite live up to Perensky & Zellweger's standards of convincing nuttiness and terror, respectively. Though Newmyer is also great in a role which is too small.

Outside of the mayhem, there's some wonderful dialogue, especially the first few lines in the movie: the teacher who simpers around the students and then gripes, "f*** I hate kids." Heather's friend with the absolutely bizarre mannerisms explaining that the gossip-monger is just trying to cause trouble. Heather saying that they might end up slaughtered and hidden away in somebody's basement, with Sean retorting, "that's stupid, the houses around here don't have basements." And finally, my favourite line: "Too bad about her face, Leather, but you can have her shoes!"

Despite all the bad press this movie's received, I hope Kim Henkel enjoys what she created as much as I enjoy watching it. Goofy, funny, real, unreal, terrifying and witty: good job.

This movie is definitely not winning any awards., but it is definitely a guilty pleasure for alot of people who like B quality horror movies and ridiculous cult movies. You know the ones, "So bad that it's good."

I had a few glasses of wine and let me just tell you that this made me laugh so hard my stomach hurt. Probably not worth it if you don't have alcohol handy. By the way... Renee and Matthew have OSCARS. THEY HAVE OSCARS and they were IN THIS FILM. So , never give up, okay hunny? <3

Well said, Rothman. Whatever this movie is supposed to be, it fails on every level. It's not scary, it's not disturbing, it's not entertaining, it's only funny periodically when you can't believe how stupid it is, and it essentially killed the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise until it was rebooted a decade later.

The only reason anyone would have any inclination to watch this is because of its leads - Renee Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey - who were young and naive back then, but they did they best they could with the material they had. Renee played a fine damsel in distress and McConaughey was perfect as an insane cannibalistic psychopath. You can tell he was having fun with the part, and the fun he has is contagious sometimes especially knowing how huge he has become since.

The movie itself is downright horrendous. It starts off as a typical slasher: a few teens leaving prom get stranded in the woods, then they encounter strange characters, and from then it devolves into a nonsensical screaming battle between everyone. Literally there are scenes in this movie where the only lines are "AHHHH!" Leatherface has gone full transvestite for this installment. They also end the movie with some sort of conspiracy that these cannibals have been around for thousands of years and there are men in suits that check up on them or something. It makes absolutely no sense and trying to piece it together will ensure a loss of brain cells.

This is the worst of the pre-millennial TCMs by a long shot. Only watch if you're a die-hard TCM completist or you want to watch McConaughey yell like crazy for a while. Either way, you're bound to be disappointed.