Texas Chainsaw 3D

Texas Chainsaw (promoted as Texas Chainsaw 3D) is a 2013 American slasher film directed by John Luessenhop, with a screenplay by Adam Marcus, Debra Sullivan and Kirsten Elms and a story by Stephen Susco, Marcus and Sullivan. It is the seventh installment in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise and was presented in 3-D. The film serves as a direct sequel to the 1974 film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (ignoring the events of the second, third and fourth films, not including the remake films). The film stars Alexandra Daddario, Dan Yeager, Trey Songz, Tania Raymonde, Scott Eastwood, Thom Barry, Paul Rae and Bill Moseley, with Gunnar Hansen and Marilyn Burns, who had appeared in the original 1974 film. The story centers on Heather, who discovers that she was adopted after learning of an inheritance from a long-lost grandmother. She subsequently takes a road trip with her friends to collect the inheritance, unaware that it includes her cousin, Leatherface, as well. Filming began in the summer of July 2011, and it was released January 4, 2013.

Upon release, the film received negative reviews by critics and fans of the original film. It did, however, perform well at the box-office, making $47.2 million from a $20 million budget. It was also the last film both Burns and Hansen starred in before they both died in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

Plot

Picking up after the events of the original film, the people of the small town of Newt, Texas, led by the corrupt Mayor Burt Hartman (Paul Rae), burn down the farmhouse of the Sawyer family for their role in aiding Jedidiah "Jed" Sawyer (Dan Yeager), also known as "Leatherface", in several murders. The arsonists are celebrated as heroes in the community, and the entire Sawyer family is presumed dead. However, an infant, Edith Sawyer, is found by one of the townsmen, Gavin Miller (David Born), who quickly murders her mother, Loretta Sawyer (Dodie Brown), and adopts Edith with his wife Arlene (Sue Rock). Thirty-nine years later, Edith has been raised by Gavin and Arlene as Heather Miller (Alexandra Daddario). One day, Heather is notified that her estranged grandmother, Verna Carson (Marilyn Burns), has died and left everything to her. Discovering that she was adopted, Heather, her boyfriend Ryan (Trey Songz), and their friends, Nikki (Tania Raymonde) and Kenny (Keram Malicki-Sánchez), travel to Newt to collect her inheritance. Along the way, the group pick up a hitchhiker named Darryl (Shaun Sipos).

When they arrive, the Sawyer family attorney, Farnsworth (Richard Riehle), gives Heather the keys to the family house along with a letter from Verna. Excited about the property she now owns, Heather and her friends look through the house, decide to stay the night, and immediately set off to buy supplies and food, trusting Darryl to stay behind and look after the house. Darryl begins to loot the home and believes he will find valuables in a locked room in the cellar. Upon entering the locked room, Leatherface appears and kills Darryl. Heather and her friends return and discover the house has been ransacked, but choose to let it go. As Kenny prepares dinner he explores the room where Darryl was killed, Leatherface then impales him on a meat hook. Nikki tricks Ryan into having sex with her in the barn. While searching through a room upstairs, Heather finds a decomposing body and runs to find her friends, but she is knocked unconscious by Leatherface. Heather wakes up in Leatherface's room, from which she manages to escape to the graveyard. Meanwhile Leatherface slices Kenny in half with a chainsaw. Hearing the screams and the chainsaw, Ryan and Nikki come out of the barn to find Leatherface. Nikki draws his attention, so the pair run and hide in the barn. As he goes after them, Heather escapes and runs to the van. From there she manages to save the remainder of her friends.

In the ensuing chase, Leatherface saws through one of the van's tires, causing it to crash and subsequently kill Ryan. Heather escapes and makes her way into a carnival, while Leatherface avoids the police as they patrol the grounds. Sheriff Hooper (Thom Barry) realizes that Leatherface survived the fire and is still alive. Mayor Hartman sends Officer Marvin (James MacDonald) to the Sawyer house to kill Leatherface against Hooper's orders. While looking for Leatherface, Marvin is startled by Nikki and accidentally shoots her, before being killed by Leatherface himself. While at the police station, Heather learns what the townspeople did to her family and flees. She is soon caught by Mayor Hartman's son, Deputy Carl Hartman (Scott Eastwood), Carl ties her up and gags her with duct tape at the long-abandoned Sawyer slaughterhouse. When Leatherface arrives and discovers Heather is his cousin. Leatherface decides to free Heather. He is then attacked by Mayor Hartman and Ollie (Ritchie Montgomery), an alleged accomplice to the Sawyer house arson. At first Heather begins to flee, but upon hearing her cousin being beaten, she decides to help him defeat Hartman, who still wishes to harm her. Heather kills Ollie with a pitchfork and gives Leatherface his chainsaw, which he uses to force Mayor Hartman into a meat-grinder. Afterward, Heather and Leatherface return home, where Heather reads the letter in which Verna tells her Leatherface will protect her as long as she takes care of him. Realizing Leatherface is the only family she has left and traumatized by her ordeal, Heather decides to stay with him. Leatherface non-verbally promises to love her and protect her like he tried with his family members before.

In a post-credits scene, Gavin and Arlene show up at the mansion to visit Heather, intending on greedily splitting her assets. As they wait in front of the door, Leatherface answers with his chainsaw in hand.

Cast

• Alexandra Daddario as Heather Miller: The film follows Heather, who is travelling through Texas with her boyfriend Ryan to collect an inheritance.^[4][5]
• Dan Yeager as Leatherface: Luessenhop stated that he picked Yeager because he felt a sense of "menace" after witnessing Yeager's 6'6" frame, "farm boy arms", and "brooding brow" stand "quiet and circumspect". He claimed he could no longer think of another actor afterward.^[4]
• Trey Songz as Ryan: Heather's boyfriend, who accompanies her on the trip through Texas.^[4]
• Scott Eastwood as Deputy Carl Hartman: Town deputy and Burt's son.^[4][6]
• Tania Raymonde as Nikki: She is described as a "small town girl with an attitude", and the best friend of Heather.^[7]
• Shaun Sipos as Darryl: A hitchhiker who catches a lift with Heather and her friends; Darryl "knows more than he lets on".^[4]
• Keram Malicki-Sánchez as Kenny: Ryan's friend^[4]
• Thom Barry as Sheriff Hooper: Town sheriff^[4]
• Paul Rae as Mayor Burt Hartman: Town mayor and Carl's father.^[4]
• Richard Riehle as Farnsworth: The Sawyer family lawyer.^[4]
• Bill Moseley as Drayton Sawyer: Moseley is acting in place of Jim Siedow, who portrayed Drayton in the 1974 film and its sequel, who died in 2003. Director Luessenhop chose Moseley because he felt that he could portray the same "essence" that Siedow brought to the character.^[8] Moseley previously portrayed Chop Top in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.
• Marilyn Burns as Verna Carson: Burns portrayed Sally Hardesty in the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre.^[4]
• John Dugan as Grandfather Sawyer: Dugan is reprising his role as "Grandpa" from the 1974 film.^[4]
• Gunnar Hansen as Boss Sawyer: Hansen last portrayed Leatherface in the 1974 original film.^[4][7]
• David Born as Gavin Miller. Foster Father to Heather Miller.
• Sue Rock as Arlene Miller. Foster Mother to Heather Miller

Production

In January 2007, Platinum Dunes executives Bradley Fuller and Andrew Form stated that the company would not be producing a third film in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot franchise.^[9] In October 2009, it was announced that Twisted Pictures and Lions Gate Entertainment were attempting to purchase the rights to the franchise, with Twisted Pictures producing and Lions Gate distributing. According to Variety writer Michael Fleming, the plan was to create a contemporary film in 3-D, with Stephen Susco writing the script. The contract, with rights-holders Bob Kuhn and Kim Henkel, would be for multiple films.^[10] In May 2011, Lions Gate announced that it would be partnering with Nu Image to produce the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and that John Luessenhop would direct the film. Mazzocone will act as producer, with production having been set to begin in June 2011. Mazzocone also announced that the story would pick up where Tobe Hooper's original film ends.^[11] Adam Marcus and Debra Sullivan were brought in to write the script; Kirsten Elms and Luessenhop worked on rewrites and script polishing.^[12] Neither Twisted Pictures nor Nu Image had a credit on the finished film, which had to be re-cut before release, as it received an NC-17 rating due to excessive gore during its initial submission to the MPAA.^[13]

Reception

Critical reviews

Based on 75 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, Texas Chainsaw received an average 19% overall approval rating, with an average rating of 3.4/10; general consensus is that the film is making a "bold move" in trying to turn Leatherface into a "horror anti-hero", but ultimately is nothing more than "ugly and cynical" in its attempt.^[14] On Metacritic, the film received a score of 31 out of 100, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews", based on 17 reviews.^[15] IGN editor Eric Goldman wrote, "A few fun 3D-aided jump-scares aside, Texas Chainsaw 3D is a generic and laughable attempt to follow the original."^[16] The film received a CinemaScore of "C+", with 63% of moviegoers being under the age of 25.^[2]

Box office

On its opening night, Texas Chainsaw took first place, earning approximately $10,200,000 at the North American box office.^[17] The film ultimately took first place for the entire weekend, making $21,744,470.^[18] As of March 2013, the film has made $39,093,317 worldwide.^[19]

Home media

On May 14, 2013, the film was released on DVD and Blu-ray/Blu-ray 3D, which includes an UltraViolet digital copy of the film along with multiple commentaries and featurettes, an alternate opening and the trailer.^[14]

Merchandise

In March 2015 Hollywood Collectibles released a 20-inch Leatherface action figure, based on Dan Yeager portrayed figure.^[20]

References

External links

• Texas Chainsaw 3D at the Internet Movie Database
• Texas Chainsaw at AllMovie
• Texas Chainsaw at Rotten Tomatoes
• Texas Chainsaw 3D at Box Office Mojo