Thank god, Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III is just as good as I remember it. It’s back to the original roots of the first one, but updated with more money. If you didn’t like the second movie, I’m thinking this will be the perfect one for you. Let’s saw into the review to find out why…
Short nitty-gritty plot description from IMDb is as follows: A California couple and a survivalist encounter the cannibal family.
TCM III wisely chose to ignore the second movie and continue on from the first. I found this was a benefit to the movie, as it allowed them to give you some nice nods to the original (I really enjoyed that Leatherface had a leg brace on). R.A. Mihailoff, who played Leatherface, did a great job channeling Gunnar Hansen. He wasn’t the hip swaying nincompoop from the second movie, that’s for sure. Some other notable appearances come from Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead), as the gun totting weekend warrior, who really knows how to kick some serious Sawyer ass. Viggo Mortensen also appears in the movie and I won’t spoil anything on the role he is given.
A few things I wasn’t a fan of was the “homage” to the hitchhiker from the first movie. Tom Everett plays Alfredo Sawyer and you can tell he was trying his hardest to channel the hitchhiker and I really think it wasn’t necessary. Also, even though there is an unrated version, you can still tell a lot of gore was cut.
Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III to me, is a fantastic sequel to the original. It has some nice gore (when shown), a fierce Leatherface and no over the top screaming. They decided to go for a gritty and realistic look to the movie, with little humour. This to me is what makes the film a treat to watch. It never overstays its welcome, with a runtime of 1 hour and 25 minutes (unrated version) and has a good amount of suspense. If only we could’ve continued on from this point, but instead, we got the abomination known as Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (look for that review in a couple days). If the saw is family, Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III is like that cool uncle who buys you beer.
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