The Sawyer Massacre

I heard about The Sawyer Massacre before checking it out and had certain expectations. Although it started out slowly, the story was good. The "scary" parts were fewer and farther between than I expected and there were some mild gore parts. The scenery and cinematography were what I found most interesting. The acting is solid, some of the characters are developed nicely. You don't really care about anyone, except for Jimmy and Allison played by Jordan O'Neal and Nika Louw. For those looking for a diverting, low budget horror experience with a creepy and thrilling ending, this movie ain't half bad.

In 1974, Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel created a unknown masterpiece that has earned the title among horror fans as one of "The Most Horrifying Horror Films Ever Made". The film also made its villian, a Horror Icon. The name "Leatherface" is now synonymous to the likes of the Universal Monsters, Hammer Horrors, and the like. Nothing like this had ever been seen before on the big screen, such brutality and depravity without thought or remorse.

Over the years there has been sequels, reboots, and even the fans have joined in and shown their love of the saw. This one fan goes by the name of Steve Merlo. He is a first time director and a huge fan of the series. This isn't just any ordinary fan film, this is what he likes to call an "Unofficial Prequel to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" and this reviewer has to agree. You can tell he has put his heart and soul into this project, now there will be grey areas that I will have some objections to but you can tell that from the opening credits that Mr. Merlo is one to watch and that he a a true fanboy of the genre.

The film opens up, introducing us to the man that will be called "LEATHERFACE" but brutality that foreshadows future events as well as the wolves that are disguised as sheep leading the others to their bloody demise are the true monsters of this tale...

The year is 1965, the day is June 30th. Jimmy, Gene, and Brent (played by Jordan O' Neal, Bryley Bell, and Jordan Fortiz) are three friends who take a weekend trip to the Texas countryside, in desperate need of escapism from city life and tragedy. Upon arrival of Brent's isolated cabin, the boys realize they need supplies and food. During their trek to pick up supplies, they meet two sisters who have purchased a home not too far from where they are staying. The older sister, Loraine (played by Alicia Jade) and the younger and more adventurous sister, Alison (is played by Nika Louw) befriend the three youths over the weekend as they decide to spend time together.

This is where their weekend of fun in the sun turns into a nightmare of hellish proportions, as they meet Drayton, Grandpa, The "Schizo", a new family member "Rex" and ultimately "Leatherface".

In between all the happening there are various people introduced that are meat fodder, some have a bit or spirit but ultimately, they are in the film to be used as "food".

Under the guise of food and camping supplies, Rex is able to decieve his victims through disinformation and guide them into their lair of blooth and metal teeth. Once there, the group of strangers must team up and out wit their captors or become part of the body count that is "The Sawyer Massacre"...

Rex (played by William Instone) does an amazing job as the main Antagonist in the film, you can tell he likes to get dirty for his roles and really get into character. The actor who played Drayton (Bill Houskeeper), I personally feel he was miscast just mainly due to Jim Siedow's build and personality in the 1974 film. That being said, his acting was very well done. The Schizo (played by Vitor Parachini) that is another one who I thought did a wonderful job and really understood the character he was portraying. Scotty Parkin who donned the dead skin mask, portrayed "Leatherface" in a way that would have made Gunnar, Dan and Bill proud.

The music and the sound effects were top notch and really added to the ambiance and the creep factor. You could feel the dread in the air in several scenes, it was quite forthcoming and unsettling. The gore effects weren't over the top nor were they in your face, which is a good thing, Merlo and crew made sure that that when setting up the brutality and the death house that is was just uncomfortable enough to make the viewers uneasy just like hooper and henkel did in the original classic. Everything in this film was done with love and precision and from a fan's perspective, meaning if you are looking and listen carefully there are several "Easter Eggs" in the film that cover the entire TCM franchise.

This was an indiegogo film project that has a runtime of 1:33:42 and it should be honoured as part of the TCM canon. I think Merlo and Team made something that would have made both Tobe and Kim proud.

This is a fan film telling a prequel of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre .

The story starts off with a group of young adults on a road trip, a group on a camping trip, a couple passing through and a few bored women looking for some action. The couple passing through stops at a gas station looking for food and is greeted by and elderly man and a very greetful off set man named Rex who guides them to a farm and a house where Rex's grandfather has the food.

With hesitant upon arriving with Rex he says to go to the house while he fetches the food. The couple manages to go inside but what awaits them is more than doubts and creepiness.

This fan film follows the formula and roots of the classic, the less usage of a score adds the feeling creepiness and unease on its own through out each scene.

The story fixates on the characters emotions than just actions and invites the viewer to feel and even hope they live though this nightmare. It almost sets up that the old man sawyer of how he can't stand to see people killed but later enjoys watching as seen in TCM. The Hitchiker makes a cameo as a crazed kid working at the gas station than digging graves and making grotesque art.

Grandpa makes a large part of this story and even directs when and who to kill. Leatherface is straight to the kill and even changes faces almost as if he uses the faces he cuts as a different emotion. We are invited into Terrors home room by room. It can give the audience the suspense as to how much time the victims have before Leatherface gets them.

This fan film does fair well with good film shots, the acting performance fits the moments, the characters fit and Rex makes a chilling invitation for death to visit. For TCM fans you'll want to witness a more personal experience on this one.

...is obviously something that a TCM related film must have and there is one. The movie is set as a unofficial prequel to TCM 1974 and does a fairly decent job as such. The tone is set early on and the feel of a desolate rural area emerges along with the plot. Most of the characters are only there to satisfy the saw, except for Jimmy (Jordan O'Neal). There are a few inconsistencies and/or plot holes, but they can mostly be overlooked and disregarded. Now, Leatherface (Bubba) is played by Scotty Parkin and he does a fine job as the infantile, subdued killer. His facemask looks partly like the Hulk, partly like Lou Reed with a splash of Linda Perry. The FX are gory, but I guess that budget was an issue so they aren't very elaborate. All in all, the Sawyer Massacre holds its own and is well worth your time if you happen to enjoy low budget Horror that is connected to the TCM franchise.

I was pleasantly surprised by this low budget indie.

The location was ideal and set the tone for the film. The characters of Drayton, Leather Face and Rex were sufficiently menacing and they carried the story along nicely. The victims characters were interesting and they had back stories that fleshed them out. I believe great care was taken to keep the "look" authentic to the time period (vehicles, home decor ect.) . The butcher room was scary and blood covered giving the victims no hope of escape. Steve Merlo will be a name to follow and I look forward to his future projects. I think it was an awesome idea to release this fan film on YouTube allowing it as much exposure as possible. Nice job Steve and crew the film kept me entertained.