Watching a foul film doesn’t essentially should be a foul expertise. Even the worst movies can boast a good suggestion or two, and that’s why we’re attempting to look on the intense facet with The Silver Lining, the place we shine a light-weight on one of the best components of historically maligned horror flicks.
This time, we’ll be discussing John Luessenhop’s 2013 legacy sequel, Texas Chainsaw 3D!
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre has all the time been my favourite slasher franchise, and I consider that each single entry within the sequence has one thing uniquely lovable about it. Of course, a few of these films are extra likable than others, and Texas Chainsaw 3D is certainly one of many least-appreciated sequels on this ever-expanding saga of blood, guts and cannibalism.
Keeping with the franchise custom of solely actually acknowledging the primary movie when crafting a sequel, Luessenhop’s TC3D was Lionsgate Films’ try at distancing the sequence from Platinum Dunes’ surprisingly profitable remake and prequel. Wanting to start out recent with out essentially re-introducing your entire TCM mythology, the studio opted to develop a brand new movie instantly following the occasions of Tobe Hooper’s 1974 basic.
Featuring hip casting and state-of-the-art 3D results, TC3D was meant to make the franchise well-liked once more whereas additionally offering audiences with a brand new tackle an aged Leatherface and his prolonged household. In this 90-minute slasher, Alexandra Daddario performs Heather, a troubled younger girl who inherits a mysterious property in Newt, Texas a few years after the occasions of the primary movie. Naturally, the home comes with various strings hooked up, resulting in a disturbing reckoning with a household historical past that merely refuses to die.
So What Went Wrong?
TC3D wasn’t precisely a box-office flop, hauling in over double its unique finances, however the 19% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 4.8/10 on IMDB show that neither critics nor audiences have been all that impressed with this try at modernizing Leatherface. In some methods, one may argue that this legacy sequel was just about doomed from the beginning.
Not solely was Adam Marcus and Debra Sullivan’s unique script swiftly rewritten forward of manufacturing as a way to tone issues down and make the flick extra marketable, however the filming schedule was additionally means too tight for a 3D characteristic on this type of finances. In the tip, the crew was pressured to work 24-hour days and even needed to change cinematographers midway by way of capturing, placing an incredible pressure on the mission.
The unique manufacturing firm wasn’t even credited within the completed movie, with Lionsgate scrambling to re-edit the image on their very own as soon as the supposed last minimize obtained the dreaded NC-17 ranking from the MPAA. This resulted in a messy and disappointingly tame theatrical launch of a film that had already been streamlined for broader audiences.
Hooper’s basic could have been surprisingly gentle on violence when in comparison with trendy horror flicks, however TC3D’s lack of correct gore appears a bit extra egregious as a result of its ensemble of forgettable chainsaw fodder. Despite that includes acquainted faces like Trey Songz and even Scott Eastwood, the haphazard writing makes you’re feeling like these characters are solely right here to pad out the body-count. The lack of attention-grabbing characters even applies to the antagonists, with Leatherface not being backed up by different crazed members of his household this time round.
The look of the movie can also be fairly bland, missing the gritty aesthetics of earlier entries within the franchise whereas additionally forgoing the slick and trendy cinematography of the remake and its prequel. The lackluster visuals even prolong to the consequences, because the CGI-enhanced violence is usually laughable. Sure, the make-up and designs are creepy sufficient (so long as you don’t assume an excessive amount of about how the props, wardrobe and casting don’t add up with the timeline), however there are few real scares to be discovered right here. Viewing the image in 3D definitely helps, making the expertise really feel extra consistent with a tacky carnival journey, however that’s clearly not going to work for everybody.
The Silver Lining
Plenty of issues went fallacious with the manufacturing of TC3D, however I stand by my opinion on the franchise as a complete. This could also be my least favourite film of the bunch, but it surely’s nonetheless a schlocky enjoyable time in case you can look previous its troubled beginnings.
For starters, the film’s intro is a loving homage to Hooper’s basic, with the Sawyer household standing by Leatherface as an indignant mob gathers exterior, Frankenstein-style. Set mere minutes after the tip of the unique movie, this nostalgic scene options cameos from Marilyn Burns, Gunnar Hansen and franchise-favorite Bill Moseley standing in for Jim Siedow’s iconic Drayton Sawyer. Hell, even John Dugan is again because the vampiric Grandpa!
The remainder of the movie principally ignores Leatherface’s prolonged household, however TC3D really does an excellent job of re-imagining the long-lasting cannibal as an growing old sufferer of injustice. The unique movie portrayed Leatherface as a helpless pawn of his circle of relatives, simply doing as he was informed, and Dan Yeager’s portrayal isn’t too far off from that concept. His model of the character retains the long-lasting childlike tantrums and mannerisms whereas additionally having grown older and bulkier, making for a downright terrifying interpretation of an iconic Slasher.
The household dynamic between (spoiler alert) Leatherface and Heather can also be a surprisingly attention-grabbing concept that harkens again to Hooper’s makes an attempt at subverting the normal American household. Having a seemingly rational individual help and shield a maniacal serial killer due to blood ties is an undeniably creepy idea, and completely consistent with the unique franchise. It’s only a disgrace that the film doesn’t go for this reveal sooner, because the closing moments when Daddario accepts her destiny as Leatherface’s new caretaker cement her as probably the most attention-grabbing last women within the franchise.
It will not be Shakespeare, however this rusty previous chainsaw remains to be value revisiting in case you’re within the temper for some dumb enjoyable, particularly if you may get your fingers on a 3D copy.
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