Review of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (2003)

Surprisingly Good Remake

The horror/sci-fi movie critic Richard Scheib coined the term "Backwoods Brutality" to describe the slew of low-budget movies that emerged in the late 1970's which had as their main theme the violent and abrupt destruction of middle-class serenity. The concept has occasionally found expression outside of the horror genre (see Straw Dogs, Deliverance) but since Wes Craven's "Last House on the Left" (1972), it has been a mainstay of the horror genre. Even thirty years later, the basic idea continues to be remade and re-interpreted.

I believe the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) is the most successful exponent of the genre. As it often does in the American variations of this genre, the TCM takes the so-called blue state/red state dichotomy to a grotesque extreme:  the backroads of the Deep South are another country and its inhabitants exhibit unrestrained contempt for every unsuspecting wayfarer. Its use of tension, which is meticulously established in the film's first forty-five minutes, and its release--the last forty-five minutes--is almost elegant in its simplicity. Throughout, violence is used in sparing and sudden bursts until the adrenaline-fueled final act, during which it is mercilessly sustained.

With some minor qualifications, this description also fits Marcus Nispel's 2003 remake. Here the enlarged budget and technical expertise have worked both for and against the film. On the one hand, a variety of new elements have been added to the story. Some, like the mysterious little boy or the ending, are average; others, like Leatherface's skin mask or the "extended family" are effective. On the other hand, the professionalism and attention to detail demonstrated by Daniel Pearl (whose cinematography here is magnificent; he was the lead cinematographer on the original after all) on down to those responsible for filming locations and set detail is consistently impressive.

So the basic "tension-release" framework has been lifted from the original but instead of improving on it the filmmakers have saddled it with characters, situations, drama and violence. (We learn from the HD extras, happily, that some 'tender moments' were left on the cutting room floor). Ultimately I believe it works as a horror movie on its own terms--in fact, I don't believe a better horror movie has been made until the genre's recent resurgence (i.e. The Walking Dead, etc)--and Nispel/Kosar deserve credit in attempting to revise the concept in minor ways for hardcore fans of the franchise. On the balance, however, the original's low-budget guerrilla-like realism as well as some of its visceral power have been compromised.

Finally of note is the performance of Jessica Biel. Having earned her acting chops on the former TV show-slash-Cheesefest "7th Heaven", Biel has as of late found a niche playing physically tough but likeable and intelligent characters (see Blade: Trinity). She's actually quite excellent here; as it was for the original TCM's Marilyn Burns, Biel's performance is exhilarating and intense--almost a kind of cinematic endurance test. But one ends up actually believing she has the acuity and toughness to survive the whole ordeal.

(Some fun trivia courtesy of IMDb:  A then unknown John Larroquette provided the narration in the original TCM. Despite becoming a distinguished actor in the years since, he more than happily agreed to reprise his role for the remake).