Netflix's Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022) Review: A Bloody Hit-and-Miss
- Beanie White
- Feb 22, 2022
- 3 min read
(Minor Spoilers)
The latest in a series of “legacy sequels,” Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022) sees ol’ (literally old, he’s very old) Leatherface swinging his iconic yellow chainsaw once again. With a series of forgettable sequels, it was about time that this franchise got the reboot that it deserves. But the Netflix Texas Chainsaw Massacre probably isn't’ it…
The premise of Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022) is interesting. A group of politically fed-up young adults, including Lila (Elsie Fisher), who has recently survived the intense trauma of a school shooting, and her older sister Mel (Sarah Yarkin), attempt to take over the abandoned Texas town of Harlow. They have big plans for it to become a sort of hipster safe haven for left-wing Americans. Unfortunately for them (fortunately for you if you like big-time blood spillage) they have stumbled right into the hiding place of Leatherface, a cannibalistic killer canonically known to have vanished after the original movie: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre back in 1974.
The plot certainly takes some liberties, for example Leatherface’s age. In the 1974 OG it is clear that Leatherface is a fully fledged adult but in this new iteration his past is rewritten to include being housed in an orphanage. It’s a bit of a stretch to imagine that an older Leatherface (potentially 70 years old if we follow this new timeline) would be strong enough to massacre an entire busload of adults in their prime. We can believe it with a character like Michael Myers (Halloween 1978) due to his potentially supernatural origins, but realistically it just isn’t feasible for Leatherface. Also, this version of Leatherface is strangely silent in contrast with the pig-like shrieking of the original role which does strip him of a vital sense of character. The roles of Sally and Leatherface have also been recast, with Olwen Fouéré and Mark Burnham taking on the challenge due to the death of the OG’s, Marilyn Burns and Gunnar Hansen.
Much like the new Scream franchise instalment, a fractured sisterly relationship is established as the bulk of the film's emotional gravity. It almost works, it would have been fantastic to see more of this dynamic and to further explore Lila’s trauma surrounding her survival of the school shooting. In fact, a sort of reflection on Texan gun culture probably would have been more effective than the idea of a supercharged Gen-Z collective setting up smashed avocado brunch spots (why didn’t they just employ me to write the film)?
I consider myself a consistently complimentary reviewer so I’m going to pull apart what DOES work for the movie (there are good points, I promise) … The gore, more gore, all the gore. You want creative kills, this has ‘em in abundance. TW: A character has his wrists broken and is literally stabbed to death with his own bones - I audibly screamed. As the WRC resident horror gal, I’m ashamed to admit that I had to pause and take a break halfway through (a horror fan that can’t stomach gore, the shame). I was also super impressed with the cinematography (Ricardo Diaz), there are some truly breathtakingly frightening shots – Leatherface popping up like a grim scarecrow from a bed of dead sunflowers, Leatherface holding his new mask up to utilise the translucency of the dying sunlight – and a particular focus on using light and reflection to cultivate terror.
I also really enjoyed the return of Sally Hardesty, and the parallels between her repressed trauma and the fresh new trauma of Lila’s experience. The idea of a Final Girl handing over her mantle to a new generation is strong, however, I did feel that Sally was underused, and I would have liked her to exist outside of her trauma and to have shared more of a moment with Lila and Mel.
I’m going to take a guess and say that this won’t be the last we see of Leatherface. If David Gordon Green’s Halloween movies can get it so right, I’ll maintain my faith in these legacy sequels. Right, who’s next? Freddy, Jason? You’ve been awfully quiet…
Have you seen Netflix’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre yet? What are your thoughts? Drop us a line below!
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