The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), directed by Tobe Hooper, was a truly revolutionary film for it’s time. With it being banned in over 5 countries and coming in at #5 on Rolling Stones “The 10 Best Horror Movies of All Time”, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) is a hard movie to top. David Blue Garcia did not manage to do that. While I do give him props on taking on such a high profile project, the movie itself could have been done in a better fashion.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022), directed by David Blue Garcia, opens with the classic documentary footage that has been in every rendition of TCM. Soon after, we are introduced to our main character Lila and her sister Melody. Lila and her sister’s two friends are moving to Harlow with the goal to make it into a tourist-type town.
Right off the bat, this is already a big deviation from the original movie, which starts with five friends that are visiting Sally Hardesty’s grandfather’s grave after it was vandalized. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022), is a direct sequel, ninth in the franchise, to the 1974 movie of the same name. According to Fede Álvarez, producer, the film is technically canon, meaning that it still follows the original story line and does not erase any previous films. While it’s good that it’s continuous, it leaves room for quite a bit of plot holes.
The movie takes place about 50 years after the first one, making Leatherface about 66-67 years old. Now, in all versions, Leatherface is incredibly strong, but he’s 66 in this. I find it very unlikely that someone of that age is capable of murdering someone with their own broken bone. The first time we see Leatherface is in his childhood home with his adopted mother, Virginia. The only issue here is that Virginia says Leatherface has been with her since he was a boy, which doesn’t line up with any previous movie. In The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), Leatherface is about 16, but he’s living with his two brothers and his grandfather after being abandoned at a meatpacking plant as a baby.
Despite watching it 4 times, I can not honestly say that I enjoyed this movie. Without the plot holes and strange dialogue, it might have been better. I’m sure David Blue Garcia and Fede Álvarez truly tried their hardest at renewing The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, this edition was a swing and a miss.