The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

By Dr. Monkey • July 9, 2005

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Starring: Jessica Biel, Eric Balfour, Andrew Bryniarski, R. Lee Ermey, Lauren German

Director: Marcus Nispel

Writer(s): Scott Kosar, Kim Henkel, Tobe Hooper

Studio: New Line

Runtime: 1 hr. 30 min.

Rated: R

Official Movie Bar Score:

I remember when I first heard about the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre it was promoted as being one of the best of the genre, and a truly shocking film. When I saw it years later, what I got was a movie that was simply trying too hard to be over the top, and not really doing a good job of doing so. The film left me with a overwhelming feeling of disappointment, and because of this I was in no rush to see the remake. Luckily, I decided to give it a shot after all, and ended up being very glad I did.

The movie starts with five people traveling down the back roads of Texas in their van as they head to a Lynard Skynard Concert. Along the way they almost hit a young woman walking down the middle of the road. The woman seems quite upset and the four offer to give her a ride. Once in the vehicle, the female hitchhiker (one of the main differences between the remake and the original) starts crying and stating that “they’re all dead.” As they approach the nearby town the girl becomes hysterical before grabbing the steering wheel in an attempt to stop the car. After the van stops, the girl tells the four that “they’re all gonna die” before killing herself with a gun she had been hiding.

The movie continues as the four attempt to notify the proper authorities of the girl’s suicide. Of course with a name like “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” you can only imagine that things don’t go as planned. To me this version just played out better than the original, things seemed to have more of a purpose in this edition. Whereas, the original seemed like there was a bunch of things going without explanation.

Scene to look for

Andy trying to free himself, without a doubt. I can only imagine how bad it had to hurt to fall back down. You’ll know what I’m talking about when you see the scene.

Stand out Performance

Wasn’t much of a Jessica Biel fan before this flick but she really delivers a strong performance in this one. She gets her emotion across very strongly in every scene she’s in. Perhaps this is best shown when she enters the trailer while running from Leatherface.

Movie Bar Rating

I had no problems giving this film four beers. I was just totally caught off guard by how much I liked this film, and I truly feel that this remake is what the original was supposed to be. If you’re into horror flicks, give it a view, I doubt you’ll be disappointed.