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Anthropophagus

-1

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"A flawed, but excellently creative, brutal and incredibly gory remake."

While it still cannot even compare to original's brilliance or pure terror in any way, shape or form, this remake of 1974's 'The Texas Chain Saw...
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"A flawed, but excellently creative, brutal and incredibly gory remake."

While it still cannot even compare to original's brilliance or pure terror in any way, shape or form, this remake of 1974's 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre' is not quite what you'd expect from a Hollywood remake of an old horror film and nowhere near as bad as people make it out to be if you give it a chance. While many critics and audience alike hated this film, there were still some who reviewed it deeper as a film on its own; not on how gory it is or on how it compares to the original bold, but on how the film works as a whole - and I, for one, are part of the latter group. 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' is bold, brutal, humorous and very well-written and stands out in my mind as being one of the most inventive horror remakes I've seen.

As I hinted to before, the film is not perfect. There is some spotty and, quite frankly, terrible acting here and there, the characters are almost the most unlikeable characters you could imagine, and while I'm certainly not complaining about this, but it does focus a lot more on gore and graphic, disgusting violence than the original did.

On the whole, for fans of the original, fans of horror in general or just someone who isn't squeamish looking for a late night movie, this film is worth watching - and I might just leave it at that.

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Posted sep 14, 2008 6:59 pm pt

belial_77

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This one was rather disappointing. Not the worst remake out there, but does a good job of destroying elements that made the original shine. The biggest thing that irked me about this one is the inclusion of so many night scenes. The fact the...
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This one was rather disappointing. Not the worst remake out there, but does a good job of destroying elements that made the original shine. The biggest thing that irked me about this one is the inclusion of so many night scenes. The fact the original took place in the glaring light of broad day was so unsettling (at the time, almost all horror flicks took place at night). and for them to do this, it shows the underlying problem w/ the remake- the film-makers just didn't "get" what made the OG work. But they attempted to cover over this w/ snazy FX, bigger body count, and trendy camera angles.

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Posted aug 8, 2008 5:59 am pt

kohllapse

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I like it, it was really intense scaping from thomas.

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Posted apr 3, 2008 4:30 pm pt

mr-jones

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The US remake their own films much better than botching up foreign classics, because the culture and understanding are already in place. Still I wish they had not attempted messing around with a film so Legendary. By no means a bad effort and I...
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The US remake their own films much better than botching up foreign classics, because the culture and understanding are already in place. Still I wish they had not attempted messing around with a film so Legendary. By no means a bad effort and I liked the use of liquids such as heavy rain, constant leakage and dripping. Wet.

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Posted oct 7, 2007 7:40 am pt

lokikitty

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I wasn't sure about seeing this film, as a lot of remakes are not that good. This movie exceeded expectations. I've seen the original a few times, and I have to say that they rank equally. While this version is more visually beautiful in...
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I wasn't sure about seeing this film, as a lot of remakes are not that good. This movie exceeded expectations. I've seen the original a few times, and I have to say that they rank equally. While this version is more visually beautiful in general, it doesn't have the same shock value that the original had. You've seen the original, you know pretty much what happens. The filmakers did change around the story a little, and the characters are different as well, so it's worth a viewing if you've seen the original. The chainsaw is still the star of the movie. The lead female character was not a great role model for other would be heroines, as her actions were not really based on common sense. That was alright, as the lead in the original was pretty annoying, so again, they are equal. The scenery is really nice looking, the cast looks great. I loved watching the film and seeing actors that are on the way up. One of the cast made a very early appearance in Buffy the Vampire Slayer series, and another was in the Blair Witch Project 2. It was nice to see them in something bigger and better. This film had a sense of dread throughout. I feel that this movie got a bad rap, simply because it's a remake.

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Posted sep 13, 2007 9:06 pm pt

skateordie19

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I thought this was better than the orignal.It wasnt as gory as the prequel but I still liked it.This movie was pretty scary too.

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Posted feb 27, 2007 4:23 am pt

hsimpson44

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Not as good as the original, but pretty good. I love the gore!
After coming back from Mexico, five teenagers pick up a hitch hiker, who blows her brains out. The five people are then stalked by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. They try and get...
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Not as good as the original, but pretty good. I love the gore!
After coming back from Mexico, five teenagers pick up a hitch hiker, who blows her brains out. The five people are then stalked by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. They try and get help, but it seems like veryone they find are helping the killer.

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Posted jan 21, 2007 11:30 am pt

RE4_Tipsters

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This one is not as gorey as The PREQUAL, But very good for a horror remake, I Enjoyed wacthing it!

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Posted jan 18, 2007 9:18 am pt

Interordeath

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I enjoyed viewing this film. It was pretty gory and really scary and was at the edge of my seat for most of it. I recommend it to anyone who is into this sort of thing.

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Posted dec 28, 2006 10:59 pm pt

• [+] Washington Post
  
  80
  What a superb job director Marcus Nispel has done re-creating, yet also revising, 1974's grisly, gristly, protein-centric masterpiece.

  by Stephen Hunter | Read Full Review »
• [+] Chicago Tribune
  
  75
  Has no pretensions about sneaking up on you -- it simply charges, motor humming and blades flying, carving the spot where masochism and entertainment meet.

  by Robert K. Elder | Read Full Review »
• [+] Dallas Observer
  
  70
  Adding R. Lee Ermey to the Leatherface clan was a masterful move.

  by Luke Y. Thompson | Read Full Review »
• [+] Premiere
  
  63
  Manages to pull off an adequate amount of scares, when compared to most horror flicks in theaters this Halloween season.

  by Addison MacDonald | Read Full Review »
• [+] ReelViews
  
  63
  The film delivers with enough consistency to warrant a qualified recommendation for those seeking a few extra scares at this time of the year.

  by James Berardinelli | Read Full Review »
• [+] Empire
  
  60
  The look, created by Hooper’s cinematographer Daniel Pearl, and expert art direction is persuasively nasty… but somehow that buzzing saw doesn’t sound as scary as it used to.

  by Kim Newman | Read Full Review »
• [+] The Hollywood Reporter
  
  60
  This particular reconceptualization actually does an impressive job of capturing the nasty dread of the original. It certainly is a vast improvement over those previous remakes/sequels.

  by Michael Rechtshaffen | Read Full Review »
• [+] Entertainment Weekly
  
  58
  The gruesomely unnecessary remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is such a smorgasbord of slimy grunge that to call the movie gross wouldn't do it justice -- it's downright sticky.

  by Owen Gleiberman | Read Full Review »
• [+] Christian Science Monitor
  
  50
  A lot more violent and a tad less creepy than the 1974 original, the much-changed remake delivers enough gory, belligerent mayhem to keep horror fans screaming.

  by David Sterritt | Read Full Review »
• [+] USA Today
  
  50
  The new version has a few jolts, some occasionally effective smoke-and-mirrors photography and a lead (7th Heaven's Jessica Biel) who could teach a grad course on walking provocatively in blue jeans.

  by Mike Clark | Read Full Review »
• [+] New York Daily News
  
  50
  Director Marcus Nispel, a rock video vet making his feature debut, knows how to ratchet up the tension. His remake is a far, far better-looking thing than the original. There's also more humor, especially in the over-the-top performance of drill sergeant-turned-actor R. Lee Ermey as the loudest of the inbreds.

  by Jack Mathews | Read Full Review »
• [+] Austin Chronicle
  
  50
  While it’s far from bad, it also falls far short of the icy frissons produced by the original.

  by Marc Savlov | Read Full Review »
• [+] Boston Globe
  
  50
  As the eviscerations ensue, the truth becomes undeniable: This is easily the most gruesome, most pointless, episode of "Scooby Doo" ever.

  by Wesley Morris | Read Full Review »
• [+] The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
  
  50
  Gruesome enough; what it lacks is a distinctive revolting personality of its own.

  by Liam Lacey | Read Full Review »
• [+] San Francisco Chronicle
  
  50
  The remaining twisted population that likes this kind of movie will enjoy a horror film that is surprisingly stylish.

  by Peter Hartlaub | Read Full Review »