By: debbie lynn elias
Everyone knows the extreme level of trepidation I have when it comes to remakes, reboots or reimaginations of movies, and given the exhaustive amount of sequels, remakes, tv interpretations, short films and even video games that have been done ad nauseam to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise since Tobe Hooper’s 1974 classic, I held out little hope for TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D. Boy, was I wrong! What a film! I love it!
Forgetting everything that’s come between, TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D is designed as a follow-up to the 1974 original, continuing the saga of the Sawyer family and picking it up in present day with a trip back to Texas. Back in ‘74, self-appointed vigilantes had burned the Sawyer home to the ground, presumably killing every member of the family who were holed up inside. But as we now learn, not everyone was killed.
Fast forward to today and we meet a vivacious young woman named Heather. Working in a butcher shop/meat packing plant by day and creating 3D art from the bones of chickens and the like, Heather is suddenly gifted with an inheritance. She has been willed an estate in Texas by a grandmother she never knew she had. Confronting her parents, Heather learns that she was “adopted”. Immediately cleaving her relationship with her deceitful parents, Heather sets out with her friends on a road trip to Texas, intent on not only claiming her inheritance, but learning about her birth family. And while the inheritance is more than impressive – a massive Victorian mansion, perfectly apportioned with furnishings, silver, crystal, antiques – it’s the family history that sets Heather’s head, and various body parts of her friends and others, spinning, when the family home unleashes it’s greatest secret – Leatherface.
As Heather, Alexandra Daddario reminds me in appearance of a younger Tiffani-Amber Thiesen but with more chops – a lot more chops. As Heather, Daddario delivers a solid and visible emotional arc with a shift in her character. Adding to that are little story details of Heather’s love of creating 3D bone paintings and working in a butcher shop, as if inherently flowing through her veins. Daddario is more than emotionally and physically capable and I hope this reinvigoration of the franchise will continue with her taking on more prominence with Leatherface.
And how about Leatherface! Talk about a passing of the chainsaw! Starting with an opening cameo by the original Leatherface, Gunnar Hansen, the torch is eloquently passed to the new Leatherface, Dan Yeager. Admitting to have read “everything published about [Hansen] and all the interviews he did talking about the character, what it meant and how he did it, and then to meet him” was a highlight for Yeager. “He’s such an extraordinary person.”
An imposing man of 6’4″, Yeager is the physical embodiment of Leatherface, yet he has a kindness and gentility that he brings to the role which graces his performance. Had I not spoken with him, I would never have suspected this is one of his first “major” roles. He is masterful. Given that he is masked the entire film and has no dialogue, his only tools are his eyes and his body language. Difficult to lurch and limp and hunchback while lugging a 30-40 lb chainsaw, not to mention dealing with the vibration once it’s turned on, Yeager not only creates an imposing physical presence but tears into our hearts with a heartfelt emotional purity. According to Yeager, “That was what really attracted me to the character. . .They had the whole structure worked out. And I said to Carl Mazzocone [producer], ‘How in the hell did you do that? People aren’t going to believe this! We’re actually choked up about Leatherface.’ It was the most exciting part of the whole thing, that they could turn it on its head like this.” And for Yeager, meeting Hansen was a highlight
Joining in as one of Heather’s friends along for the ride is singer Tremaine “Trey Songz” Neverson. Putting his patented charisma to use, he makes the most of his time on screen as Heather’s cheating boyfriend, Ryan, establishing an insincere flippancy which plays well for the events that occur within the film. As Carl, Scott Eastwood, oozes good looks and charm, throwing one off balance for a moment with character surprise and intent, fueling the saga just a bit further.
One casting flaw is Tania Raymonde. Within five minutes of her appearing on screen as Heather’s friend Nikki, I was hoping for the character’s immediate demise. Beyond annoying, Raymonde can’t act her way out of a paper bag.
Huge nod to veteran Richard Riehle who delivers a surprisingly mousey persona with attorney Farnsworth. We’re so used to seeing Riehle in strong roles and so often one of the “black hat guys” that this was not only a surprise, but refreshingly different to see. Thom Barry slides easily into the role of Sheriff Hooper while Paul Rae delivers one of the most vile oil slicks of a character in the Mayor Hartman – something at which Rae always excels.
Celebratory is producer Carl Mazzocone’s determination to bring back some of the original 1974 cast members and honor the legend of the franchise and the original story on which TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D is now based. “Chainsaw” vets include Gunnar “Leatherface” Hansen, Marilyn Burns, John Dugan and from “Chainsaw 2”, Bill Moseley. Burns now appears as Heather’s grandmother and Sawyer matriarch, Verna Carson, while Moseley, who played “Chop Top” in “Chainsaw 2” takes over the role of Drayton Sawyer which was originally played by Jim Siedow, who is deceased. A real casting coup is John Dugan who reprises his original role of Grandpa Sawyer – the only original cast member to return as his original character.
Directed by attorney turned director John Luessenhop and written by Adam Marcus, Debra Sullivan and Kirsten Elms, TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D delivers honest-to-gosh, heart-pounding, heart-stopping, jump out of your skin moments that take you by surprise like a chainsaw with a silencer in the back of the head. Luessenhop is masterful at building tension, but once he scares the hell out of you and has you wondering, “What the hell is coming next?”, he zings you with laugh-out-loud humor that lightens the mood and lowers the blood pressure, before hitting you with another sensory and emotional attack – and this time he hits straight for the heart. I know, I know. A heartfelt horror flick? But, that’s exactly when we have by the third act. You not only sympathize with Leatherface, you empathize with him. Thanks to a carefully crafted story, once all the pieces of the puzzle have fallen into place and you see what Leatherface is doing, you understand the reason why and you not only feel for him, you root for him. At least I did!
Story structure is artfully designed with twists and turns and secrets of the past which, thanks to Randy Bricker’s rapier editing, are held at bay until the last possible moment for reveal. I suspect that Luessenhop, as overseer of this film, garnered many of these edge of your seat skills during his days as an attorney as it’s like waiting for that moment to hit a jury upside the head with earth-shattering evidence that makes your case. Masterful emotional manipulation. But at its core, there is a genuine story with purpose and heart, speaking to the issues of good versus evil, revenge and above all, family. This is not some hack and slash blood-letting. Characters are developed, understood and grow.
The saturation of color in a 3D world is beautifully executed and presented by Anastos Michos. His use of lighting and framing and negative space in the cellar world of Leatherface is stunning and stunningly effective. Blood is vibrant and alive while the lighting is a sallow sickening yellow. Wonderful visceral dichotomous visual contrast. And for me, one of the great money shots is the wide shot of Leatherface and Heather walking slowly up the path of Homestead Lane to “their home.” Actually quite poignantly beautiful. William Elliot’s production design amazes with the detail in the Sawyer house and its accouterments, especially when contrasted with Leatherface’s cellar lair which is as equally impeccable.
Shooting in 3D not only gave Luessenhop and Michos the opportunity to play with lighting and take their time, thanks to extended time needed for camera set ups, but it also allowed them to “make [the visuals] interesting” and design the production around the benefits of using shorter focal length lenses which allow you to see everything within a frame. “Busting [his] ass” to get in 23 shots per day, Luessenhop “[W]anted the beginning of the movie to be lush so that you could at least juxtapose it with the house. Once you get into the house and we saw what we were using, we polished the floors and the wood and a little bit of gloss and this and that. And we sort of go, “Okay. Great. Now let’s go down to the wine cellar. And the light gets different. The light gets a little purple in the wine cellar, too. Then, let’s go down the hallways, and it’s starting to get more crude and it’s just bulbs and it’s bare. . .and then to the slaughter room which has to be alarming. It was thought through that way.”
Going hand-in-hand with the cinematography, production design and effects is the use of blood and the killing effects. Not only extremely cool looking, but each methodology and instrument has a familial and historical tie-in to Leatherface, the Sawyers and the community. Similarly is the vengeful way in which Leatherface exacts his revenge. Violent and with intention. Not random movements, but determined and precise. And I have to say, even calm, deliberate and exacting madness and mayhem can have a deliciously dark comedic tone to it, as happens with the kicking fingers into the bone chipper (a scene which will undoubtedly become a favorite of my nephew, Tommy.)
And an important caveat for you: STAY THROUGH THE CREDITS! You won’t regret it!
This is what good horror film moviemaking is all about – story, characters, visual appeal and genuine jump out of your seat terror! TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D revs up the new year right, cutting deep with fright, fun and family!
Directed by John Luessenhop
Written by Adam Marcus, Debra Sullivan and Kirsten Elms
Cast: Dan Yeager, Alexandra Daddario, Scott Eastwood, Tremaine Neverson, Paul Rae, Thom Barry, Richard Riehle, Bill Moseley, John Dugan and Special Appearance by Gunnar Hansen
