'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' Review: A Reboot Posing As A Sequel With Nobody To Root For Except Maybe Its Imitation Villain

Arlington TX

21 February, 2022

2:49 PM

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By Joe Friar, Fort Worth Report February 20, 2022 As a resident of the Lone Star State and a fan of Tobe Hooper's 1974 shocker "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," it is with great sorrow that I have to report that the new "sequel" directed by Austin filmmaker David Blue Garcia is a hit-and-miss that performs a disservice by tapping into the original 70s horror classic. The connection is there but at best it's a meager attempt to bring back the franchise in typical reboot fashion. The annoying Gen-Z characters will have you rooting for an imitation Leatherface (whom I have dubbed Pleatherface) and that's only part of the film's problem. First, I have tremendous respect for David Blue Garcia, a talented Texas filmmaker whose 2019 debut feature "Tejano" was nominated for a TIFA award by the Houston Film Critics Society which recognizes outstanding films shot in the state. The Mexican cartel thriller with pacing reminiscent of William Friedkin's "To Live and Die in L.A." deserved a bigger audience and a wide theatrical release. Only a lucky few caught the indie film as it made the rounds of the festival circuit. This new "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" was cowritten by Kim Henkel, who helped co-write the Hooper original, although he's tried several times to reboot the franchise with 1995's "Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation" which stars Texans Renée Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey, and the early 2000 reboots "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and its prequel "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning." Other writers include Ian Henkel, Pat Cassidy, and Fede Álvarez, the filmmaker behind the 2013 "Evil Dead" reboot and "Don't Breathe." Who could forget the hair-raising ending of the 1974 original that found hysterical Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) in the bed of a pickup fleeing from chainsaw-wielding Leatherface (Gunner Hansen)? As the only survivor of the classic film, Sally returns 48 years later, played by Olen Fouréré (Burns passed away eight years ago), seeking revenge while trying to save a group of young Austin entrepreneurs who have descended on the ghost town of Harlow, Texas with dreams of turning it into a desert oasis, something between Vegas and Fredericksburg. To read the full article, click here. Fort Worth Report is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that produces factual, in-depth journalism about city and county government, schools, healthcare, business, and arts and culture in Tarrant County. Always free to read; subscribe to newsletters, read coverage or support our newsroom at fortworthreport.org.