Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013) Movie Review
Written By: LFG
Edited By: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Director: John Luessenhop
Producer: Carl Mazzocone
Writer: Adam Marcus, Debra Sullivan, Kirsten Elms
Date Released: January 4, 2013
Cast:
Alexandra Daddario as Heather Miller/Edith Rose Sawyer
Dan Yeager as Leatherface
Trey Songz as Ryan
Tania Raymonde as Nikki
Scott Eastwood as Deputy Carl Hartman
Shaun Sipos as Darryl
Keram Malicki-Sánchez as Kenny
Thom Barry as Sheriff Hooper
Paul Rae as Mayor Burt Hartman
Richard Riehle as Farnsworth
Rating = 2.5/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
Heather Miller (Alexandra Daddario) finds out that she is adopted after she receives a mysterious letter from her late grandmother, Verna Carson, who has left her with an inheritance. She and her friends Ryan (Trey Songz), Nikki (Tania Raymonde), and Kenny (Keram Malicki-Sánchez) embark on a road trip to Texas to support Heather as she claims her inheritance and learn more about her true family. The group encounters a dubious hitchhiker, Darryl (Shaun Sipos), who tags along with them, not knowing that he is a thief. They all arrive at the vast Carson estate, and Heather receives a letter from a lawyer with instructions from her grandmother that she must read it as soon as possible, but she fails to do so. They were all in awe of the house and decides to spend the night, so they leave the house to Darryl as they go on a quick grocery run for supplies. Darryl loots the house as soon as they left, but he gets killed by Leatherface who was residing in the basement all this time. The group returns to the house and is shocked to discover the chainsaw-wielding killer waiting for them as well as the truth behind the Sawyer family secret.
Gore Factor
The director did not hold back in showcasing gore in all its glory. There were a handful of violent, terrifying, and bloody scenes, the most notable one featuring Kenny who was hanged in a hook while being sawed in half. Another one is when Mayor Hartman meets his death by falling into a huge meat grinder. Lastly, the scene where Leatherface demonstrates how he sews the skin of his victims to his face was iconic.
The Grave Review
Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013) is the seventh installment of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre film franchise and the only one in 3D. This also serves as a sequel to the classic 1974 film, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The film also features a couple of the original cast from the aforementioned 1974 film, although the actors played a different role for this 2013 film.
The film started strong, showing a detailed scene of what happened to Heather’s blood relatives decades ago. They may be insane, but they were a tight-knit group. This helps the viewers understand why Heather is longing for a strong family dynamic as opposed to the one that she has with her adoptive family. It seems like they don’t have the best relationship, which is probably why she immediately resorted to learning more about the Sawyer family—her real family—despite not knowing who they were initially.
As with all Texas Chainsaw movies, family is a strong and consistent theme in this film. Heather already knew about all the monstrosities the Sawyer family did, her cousin Jed/Leatherface also almost killed her before he knew who she was, and yet she couldn’t help but sympathize and take his side when was almost killed by Mayor Hartman. She is a Sawyer at heart, and she declared this with conviction in the police car scene while grinning almost manically at Officer Hartman.
This is one of the more interesting installments in the TCM franchise, and this is because we have a protagonist who is technically “one of the bad guys,” although to be fair, she didn’t really kill anyone—she merely helped her cousin Jed. She embraced her roots and will stick up for her family no matter what.
Still, there were some unnecessary and questionable moments in the film, like when Leatherface chased Heather with a chainsaw going toward the carnival. He has spent the remainder of his life hiding from the people in their town, and yet he was bold enough to chase after her in public, throwing away all caution. Was he really that adamant at killing Heather that he would risk exposure? This somewhat goes against his persona and the film does not explain why he did this. Still, it was an excellent and thrilling scene that is enjoyable to watch.
For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013) two and one-half graves out of five graves.
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