The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was made for the lowest budget ($9m) of Michael Bays career, but dont go thinking that this is a little movie struggling to compete against the studio big guns. That label couldve been applied to the 16mm Drive-in movie Tobe Hooper shot in his backyard in 1973, but the remake is an exploitation picture for the modern era. Its bigger, faster and has more of everything but it isnt necessarily better. Chainsaw 03 is all about suffering, mostly the audiences, but whereas other films that set out to make a quick buck from over-the-top brutality, from Last House On The Left to Chaos, usually have the kind of production values found in hardcore pornography or amateur snuff films, debuting commercials director Marcus Nispel, probably under orders from Bay, gives us Torture Porn: The Music Video. Intercutting close-ups of open wounds and lopped-off limbs with the sort of visuals youd expect to see in a Pepsi ad, this is the Spinal Tap of reboots, constantly going up to eleven, which because its irresponsible, shameless and slow on the uptake, it considers an impressive feat.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
