'Leatherface' is now the second...or third prequel/reboot/remake of the popular franchise. It stars Lily Taylor and Stephen Dorff and was just released in select theaters so imagine my shock when I saw this listed in my little hometown. Being both a horror fanatic and a sucker for punishment, I headed down to my local cinema and checked it out expecting the worst and with good reason. Despite being the most influential modern horror film 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' spawned some really weak sequels and a remake. It's easily one of the worst horror franchises out there despite its strong history and talent behind the camera, so you can understand my skepticism going into 'Leatherface'. I didn't read great reviews and the film was being released on a meager budget and limited to Pay-Per-View rentals and home video. But coming out of the theater, I was more disappointed in how not disappointed I was, as 'Leatherface' despite all odds is the best film in the long running series to come by in some time.
As stated before, the film is another retelling of how the infamous cannibal family came to be and while I agree with most that what you didn't know about Leatherface and his clan the more scary they were but here they at least give a realistic and grounded story that doesn't go for goofy over the top moments like 'The Beginning'. Instead, we get a sort of 'Bonnie and Clyde' style road chase flick until the film starts to finally feel like a 'Chainsaw' film in the last act. And as strange as that sounds, I commend them for coming up with something different, at least as far as these films go. Oddly, it occurred to me watching 'Leatherface' that the film takes a lot from Rob Zombie's 2005 film 'The Devil's Rejects' which took a lot of its influence from the 1974 version of 'Chainsaw Massacre'. It even follows the same beats to a certain degree: crazy family driving through Texas with hostages while an equally crazed sheriff tries to catch them all. Only in the last twenty minutes or so does this feel like a film in the same universe.
That drastic shift is also what cripples 'Leatherface' from becoming the best sequel of the bunch. At times, it feels a bit too different and hardly feels like a 'Chainsaw' film at all. I wouldn't mind another 'Devil's Rejects' like film out there but when you label it as 'Leatherface', you kind of have an expectation and this film doesn't give enough. Overall, I still recommend it as its at least worth a rental. It's tone goes everywhere and it takes too much from better movies but its still a better film than the last three in the franchise.
( C )
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