Take another trip to “Texas”

By Gus Bode

‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning’ Rated R Starring: Jordana Brewster, R. Lee Ermey, Andrew Bryniarski Directed by Jonathan Liebesman Run time: 1 hour, 24 minutes 3 out of 4 Gus heads

Every once in a while, a sequel comes along that outshines the original in every way. In this case, that sequel is a prequel.

“Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning” takes place four years before the events of the 2003 remake of the original. The 2003 remake was an absolutely deplorable film – a movie that relished in disgusting violence and brutal torture rather than interesting characters and a compelling story.

Advertisement

Luckily for audiences, this film fixes about 70 percent of what was wrong with the first film and delivers a sick, slick horror movie that provides a purely visceral experience. It’s not a scary movie, but it provides enough jumps and creepiness to be worth seeing.

The film follows a familiar plot: Four teens drive down the road, their car crashes, they get picked up by Sheriff Hoyt (R. Lee Ermey) and they are taken to the house where Leatherface is waiting to turn them into mincemeat.

The teens are given a distinguishing characteristic so the audience can tell them apart from other horror movie teens. Since the film’s setting is 1969, two of the guys are going to Vietnam, with one planning on dodging the draft. Then there are the two girlfriends who are there to provide advice and be the sensible ones.

But this movie is about more than that: It provides the audience with the backstory of Leatherface (whose real name is Thomas Hewitt) and his family, showing his birth and how he and the Sheriff became who they are.

Unfortunately, the backstory is a little weak. The big reason this family butchers 33 people over four years is � poor Thomas Hewitt has a deformed face and antisocial tendencies? That’s a bit of a stretch. The Sheriff’s backstory is far better, showcasing a man who is tired of people beating up his son and worried because the town he lives in has dried up after the meatpacking plant closed down.

The movie gives us the setup and then tears loose with the violence. Squeamish audience members should avoid this movie like the plague, as it is even more brutal than the first.

Director Jonathan Liebesman avoids most of the visual quirks that plagued the first film, and the script by Sheldon Turner gives us just enough plot to care about the protagonists. The movie also wisely sidesteps many horror clich�s and gives us a compelling protagonist in Jordana Brewster. Although she lacks the charisma of Jessica Biel, she is a lot smarter and isn’t just a dumb horror movie girl who is reduced to screaming and running.

Advertisement*

The movie doesn’t completely avoid conventions: There are moments when characters go into rooms to save people when they should be running for their lives, but at least it makes a valiant effort, and that’s saying something.

The best moments in the film involve Ermey, who tears up the screen in his gleefully whacked-out performance. Also notable for fans is watching Leatherface’s first chainsaw murder and the construction of his first skin mask.

The only other problem is the ending. The movie is absolutely relentless for the first 80 minutes but then ends abruptly. The ending provides closure to the story, but the audience will probably want a little bit more, seeing as they have been run ragged by the rest of the film.

“Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning” is not a particularly necessary film in that it isn’t anything the audience hasn’t seen before. But for a movie landscape plagued with bad horror movies, one could do far worse than this one. Just check out the original for an example of that.

Advertisement