Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022) has just dropped on Netflix. This is the latest endeavor in this franchise since Leatherface was released in 2017. Just like the new Halloween movies, it seems everything was retconned besides the first film as this is a direct sequel.
Within the first three minutes, the setting and music completely lined up with the previous movies giving a familiar vibe, which was nice. It starts out with the familiar noises of the camera flashing, just like the original, which was I though was promising.
Kills
The first kill scene in this movie was very bad-ass. It only took a few solid moves and almost everyone in an ambulance was killed by Leatherface. As for the rest of the kills in this film, some were interesting to watch but not nearly as good as that first scene. But there was an intense amount of gore and guts with almost all of them. The movie seems to rely on the violence of each kill more than anything else.
This installment appears to have the most kills among the others in the franchise I’ve seen. As usual Leatherface kills the “main group” of protagonists but he also boards a bus with a bunch of people on it and goes on a killing spree.
Leatherface
Leatherface has always been the absolute center of all of these movies and that hasn’t changed. In this film, Leatherface reprises his persona “the lady” by wearing his mother’s face after she dies. Personally, I don’t like the way the mask looks, I prefer the 1974 version. It doesn’t even look menacing to be honest, it’s just ugly and stretched out.
About halfway through, he finally gets his hands on his chainsaw. His mom hid it inside the wall of her bedroom before she died. She even told him, “Be a good boy. Don’t go in my room.” I thought that was a nice touch to the film. His values and traits haven’t changed a bit since the original, he even dons the original yellow apron and tie.
Unlike some of the other movies in the franchise, Leatherface’s current house is in the middle of a ghost town as opposed to being in the middle of nowhere. Although after the events of this film, he is headed towards his original home as seen in the original.
Story
As for the story in this movie, there pretty much is none. A group of friends go to the ghost town of Harlow with plans of reviving it by opening new businesses. So naturally, members of this group start to get picked off one-by-one. And while staying true in following the new Halloween’s footsteps, the original final girl, Sally, returns well-armed and ready to take down the predator. This plot is overdone now though. Every big horror franchise has done this except for Friday the 13th now. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that this new sequel adds anything memorable to the franchise.
Conclusion: Should You Stream Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)
This sequel just didn’t do it for me. Some kills were fun to watch, but the lack of original story, and that really killed it for me. No pun intended. In terms of sequels, I still prefer Texas Chainsaw 3D. I’d skip this movie, aside from maybe 2 really cool kills it’s a waste of time. Hopefully the upcoming Texas Chainsaw Massacre game from Gun. Media breathes new life into this franchise.
2.5/5
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