After what seemed like an eternity for this to be released, I have to admit I wasn't expecting much. The last film I enjoyed in this franchise was The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006). I could not stand the 2013 reboot at all and the Leatherface prequel in 2017 wasn't much better. So as I stated, I had low expectations.
This film exceeded them in almost every way. I didn't hate these main characters. They didn't feel like they were just here to die, even though it's pretty obvious that the majority of them are. They tried to do something different with the plot that didn't retcon the original and still builds upon it. The gore did not disappoint; this film is BRUTAL. Leatherface hasn't felt this menacing in a long time. The characters try to fight and do the smart thing more times than not and I was very pleased with that. There were some very good moments of tension in here that kept me guessing what would happen next. The plot, at least for me, wasn't predictable from beginning to end and that left me very satisfied.
My only complaints after one viewing -
It's pretty obvious that they were influenced to bring Sally Hardesty back because of Halloween (2018). But man, did they do her DIRTY! She didn't have much character work to do throughout the film and came off a bit static, as she only had maybe a little over 10 minutes of screen time, but I still cared for her deeply. Her death scene left me feeling disjointed... not because I was angry that she died, but it felt a little disrespectful. I didn't know if I was expecting her to survive or not, but I don't think it was a proper sendoff. It definitely could have been worse, though. Had the late Marilyn Burns still been with us and reprised the role herself, I may feel differently about this. It would have felt much more iconic. Olwen Fouéré does a phenomenal job with the material she was given, however. Mad props to her for still bringing the role to life. Also, I wish that Dante, Ruth, Richter, and Catherine had been fleshed out a little bit more, because this whole cast gave some great performances! I felt bad for characters when they died, especially Ruth. Had this film been 15-20 minutes longer, there could definitely have been some more characterization.
I do recommend this film to fans of the franchise. I haven't had this much fun in a chainsaw film in almost 16 years. Give it a watch!
This film exceeded them in almost every way. I didn't hate these main characters. They didn't feel like they were just here to die, even though it's pretty obvious that the majority of them are. They tried to do something different with the plot that didn't retcon the original and still builds upon it. The gore did not disappoint; this film is BRUTAL. Leatherface hasn't felt this menacing in a long time. The characters try to fight and do the smart thing more times than not and I was very pleased with that. There were some very good moments of tension in here that kept me guessing what would happen next. The plot, at least for me, wasn't predictable from beginning to end and that left me very satisfied.
My only complaints after one viewing -
It's pretty obvious that they were influenced to bring Sally Hardesty back because of Halloween (2018). But man, did they do her DIRTY! She didn't have much character work to do throughout the film and came off a bit static, as she only had maybe a little over 10 minutes of screen time, but I still cared for her deeply. Her death scene left me feeling disjointed... not because I was angry that she died, but it felt a little disrespectful. I didn't know if I was expecting her to survive or not, but I don't think it was a proper sendoff. It definitely could have been worse, though. Had the late Marilyn Burns still been with us and reprised the role herself, I may feel differently about this. It would have felt much more iconic. Olwen Fouéré does a phenomenal job with the material she was given, however. Mad props to her for still bringing the role to life. Also, I wish that Dante, Ruth, Richter, and Catherine had been fleshed out a little bit more, because this whole cast gave some great performances! I felt bad for characters when they died, especially Ruth. Had this film been 15-20 minutes longer, there could definitely have been some more characterization.
I do recommend this film to fans of the franchise. I haven't had this much fun in a chainsaw film in almost 16 years. Give it a watch!
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