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| Images courtesy Netflix |
The project which was once meant as a theatrical release was almost shelved then moved to Netflix sometime during production due to on set issues amid a continuing global pandemic. The resulting movie is another in a long line of poorly managed sequels that have nothing in common with their namesake and truly take away from the mystique surrounding the original film and the terrifying main character.
The tone is all wrong, the lighting is too bright, and the grim nature of a modern death spree is uninspired, misguided, and doesn't work in any narrative shape or form. Moving old man Leatherface from the family farm to an orphanage under the care of an old woman may have been an interesting plot device but all other resulting moments have zero evidence of creativity or any thought process. The characters which line this thing have zero personality and lack any connection to the audience other than pure annoyance at every turn. No one is likable. And the way that all teens and post-teens of this era are portrayed as categorically dim witted buffoons may be viewed as altogether insulting.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022) is an effort to do the same thing that Halloween (2018) did by ignoring all subsequent sequels or continuations and is meant to be the official follow up some 48 years later. When a crew of younger folks show up in the town of Harlow looking to repopulate the ghost town, all hell breaks loose as the chainsaw wielding madman begins slicing and dicing his way through a batch of fleshy new arrivals. The set up may be a little unique but the writing is creatively barren as a totally wasted Sally Hardesty shows up to take vengeance on the long missing Leatherface.
After several choice efforts to bring this franchise back from the dead, it's become apparent that there is nowhere to go with our main antagonist. The classic film was a product of post-Vietnam war mentality and took a hard edge stance on the hippie movement, as our central characters were eviscerated one by one. Alvarez and team attempt to bridge that gap here by poking their script at Gen Z and millenials but it doesn't really have the same oomph. There's no heart. Their push to try and make some type of political statement just doesn't have any ambition. It's pure laziness transcribed to the digital medium. It actually hurts my head to think about the gaping plot holes and missed opportunities here. Leatherface could still be a menacing masked killer if he was handled properly and with some respect for his legacy.
TCM74 had a grindhouse quality to it that was told through film grain and a sense of morbidity and amplified fear. TCM22 misses the mark in almost every category other than the kill factor. The death scenes are some of the best in the series. The gore (although nearly all CGI) is phenomenal. Some may think that's enough for them to hang their hat on. But even the best slashers have some semblance of story behind them. This "requel" is simply another in a long line of terribly rendered misfires that should have been destroyed along with any evidence of its production.
We'll be over here still waiting for a good Leatherface movie. To think that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation is high art compared to this is baffling. Other than some great looking cinematography in some specific spots, this is a must skip. This franchise should be handed over to someone that actually respects the first movie and can make something with actual vision.
-CG