Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III was the beginning the fall of the horror franchise originated with the classic 1974 film by Tobe Hooper. Granted, Hooper didn't really make a good succession with the first sequel, but the third takes the series away from the comedic roots set up in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and back to the grittiness of the first. However, something was lost in translation: the heart of the horror movie.

You know the story: a couple gets lost on their way through Texas, stop at a random gas station, get some directions with a "shortcut" (more like a...BIG CUT muwhahaa), and are set up to encounter this cannibalistic family with a chainsaw wielding madman who prepares the meat. Now, with the help of a hunter that they meet along the way, they must survive these crazies or be eaten.

This is a different incarnation in the series because Leatherface (the killer who wears a mask of human skin) is with a completely different family and doesn't have much in common except for some ties of Leatherface taking his "grandpa" to live with some other relatives (really loosely tied together).  Along the way, this film adopts a heavy metal interface with bumping music playing at all turns including a really corny fight sequence with it in the background.

Ken "Dawn of the Dead" Foree is in the film as Benny, this hunter guy who the couple runs into. He's the real hero of the film (and a complete bada*s, like always). Along for the ride is Viggo "Aragorn from Lord of the Rings" Mortenson, who also provides some good stuff as one of the members of the family who lure them towards using the shortcut with his dashing good looks.

The new members of the family are gross including a disgusting mother who talks out of one of those voice-box things, the creepily corpse of a grandfather (with great makeup), and a twisted little girl who plays with bones. A lot of reviewers (and people I know) don't like this movie based on the lack of gore, but I don't know if they saw the same version I did. On the DVD, the theatrical version is available along with the unrated one. I haven't watched the regular one (as why would you if you can watch an uncut one?), but there seems to be an ample amount of violence and what have you. Either way, I wasn't really impressed necessarily by the gore effects or anything.

For being the title of the movie, Leatherface is a really lame character in the movie. This entire film was directly fairly tamely with no real scares or gruesome parts-it's just boring. There's also a bit of humor (whether it be intentional or not) relating to Leatherface playing this spelling game, which I found detracted from his character...even though those walls were really broken down with the last sequel.

While this isn't my least favorite Chainsaw (as four years later, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation would be unleashed...), but it's definitely a weak sequel. It tried too hard to capture the same magic of the original with some gritty details and atmospheric effects, and the family is pretty entertaining, but the acting overall is pretty shoddy.

"What can I expect from this type of film?" Well, acting that is over the top, but still fun; what this has here was a terrible script along with a soundtrack that was grinded on my ears worse than a chainsaw. I think that Leatherface wasn't utilized enough, there weren't enough "scares", Ken Foree wasn't used to his maximum ability, and the campiness did nothing to stimulate me. I'd recommend this to the hardest of the hardcore TCM fans, but everyone else should skip it.

© Jason Haskins, 2009

You should look up the trailer on YouTube, though, because THAT'S more entertaining than the movie.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre


The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: DVD