The leads in this installment are Alexandra Daddario, Trey Songz, Tania Raymonde, and Dan Yeager. It is directed by John Luessenhop; 'R' rating is for violence (involving said chainsaw), and language.
Texas Chainsaw 3D begins by showing clips from the 1974 Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and picks up right after that plot so this should be considered a direct sequel to the original. The local sheriff named Hooper (Thom Barry) shows up at the Sawyer family farm to make an arrest after the attack on Sally, the murder of her friends and brother. The Sawyer's kin have all shown up to provide family solidarity, but after some verbal sparring with Hooper, they reluctantly decide to allow the simple minded Jed Sawyer (aka Leatherface) to be taken into custody. Unfortunately an angry lynch mob also arrives, led by mayor Burt Hartman (Paul Rae) and they want "justice served". The mob opens fire on the Sawyer house killing several of them, and then the house is set ablaze to take care of the rest. During the commotion a young Sawyer woman attempts to escape carrying a newborn baby girl, however, a member of the mob named Gavin Miller kills her and takes the baby. This mob of thugs are subsequently celebrated as heroes of the community.
Fast forward a few decades - Heather Miller (Daddario) learns she just inherited a mansion in Newt, Texas from her grandmother Verna Carson, whom Heather was previously unaware even existed. Heather, her boyfriend Ryan (Songz), her friend Nikki (Raymonde), and Ryan's friend Kenny hop into a van and head for Texas (does this sound familiar?). Verna's lawyer meets Heather at the house with a set of keys, some paperwork, and a letter from Verna to Heather. The attorney quickly leaves while the friends head inside Heather's new place, with Heather failing to read to the letter.
Locked in the basement of the mansion is Leatherface (Yeager), who is soon let out to begin a new round of killings - in 3D, no less. Heather's friends are all dispatched following typical horror movie cliche behaviors; wandering off alone into a dark basement, doing drugs, and having sex. Heather escapes the mansion after some tense moments and hiding, to eventually make her way to the sheriff's office where we see that Hooper is still in charge. Heather, going through an old police file learns of her true identity - she is a Sawyer who was kidnapped by the Millers the night her kin were slaughtered by the lynch mob. Mayor Hartman shows up to administer another round of "justice" realizing that Jed Sawyer survived the arson in 1974, and Hartman also figures out that Heather is a Sawyer, so she is marked for death and disposal at the old slaughterhouse. Leatherface shows up at the slaughterhouse, and ultimately working together, Heather and he survive the night with Hooper turning the blind eye to Hartman's painful demise, since he believes the lynch mob has now reaped what it sowed.
Back at the house, Heather finally reads her grandmother's letter explaining that Jed lives in the basement and he will protect her because they are Sawyers and that is what families do, and it falls to Heather to take care of him, as well. Credits roll. There is a 20 second scene after the credits of a surprise waiting for the Millers for the kidnapping.
Highs, lows, and everything else:
- The 3D did very little to increase the experience of this movie. I did not jump or twist in my seat at things "coming out of the screen", which is what I want when seeing a horror movie in 3D. On a postive note the director / producer did not attempt to rely on special effects or the 3D to drive the movie.
- Heather would now be 28 years old based on the movie timeline, but she and her friends come off more like younger 20-somethings in their behaviors and dress. A minor detail, but worth noting.
- The plot unfolds predictably but does manage to build several reasonably tense moments, mostly set up as some individual wanders the mansion basement alone, and in one case that person even knowing that a killer lies in wait. Beyond the banality, some supporting characters also garnered no sympathy. Nikki was the scantily clad, drug-using type, who had sex with Ryan, a black male (and sure horror movie target), just prior to both of them being killed. As far as the main character, I will state that Daddario did a serviceable job as Heather. The director even went so far as to show the audience early in the film that deep inside she was 'different' or 'conflicted' about her current station in life, and that we could expect a possible transformation or awakening moment from her in the proceeding minutes. No other character really shined, but Yeager as Leatherface, standing 6 foot 6 tall, dominated the screen when part of the action.
- The ending might lead us to think we are now supposed to see Leatherface in a more sympathetic light, that somehow he could be thought of as a misunderstood child trapped in an adult body. I understand why the plot had to go in this direction, basically to facilitate Heather's survival (another sequel, anyone?), but somehow this just did not feel right based on his actions to this point, especially considering the savagery he unleashed on Heather's friends.
- I did not personally find this movie overly gory considering this is a "chainsaw splatter" film, however, I did read that several cuts (ha,ha) had to be made for "gore" to bring it down from an initial NC-17 rating.
Conclusion: Too many plot holes keep it from being great, but '3D' is worth seeing for some mindless horror movie fun. As far as its place in Texas Chainsaw mythology, I do actually think this one of the best additions.
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