Review of Texas Chainsaw

This film was not exactly what I expected. I went in knowing that there would be plenty of severed body parts and basically an hour and a half gore-fest. And the case was that there was a reasonably high body count, but there was actually a plausible story amidst the carnage. The film provides a rapid fire back story that was a bit comical as victim after victim walked into a cleaving. This is followed by law enforcement showing up to handle the situation which gets totally out of hand. The film tells a twisted story of the lengths people will go to protect their family and broaches the question of nature versus nurture. When we first encounter Heather (Alexandra Daddario), she is at work and her vocation is a hint into her nature. Since this is a horror flick, the story quickly moves to place the players in harm's way. Typically, horror flicks have nonsense moments and this story was no exception. I released an audible 'wow, really' a number of times as I sat at the edge of my seat watching this story play out, especially the events surrounding the situations with Darryl (Shaun Sipos). After seeing the trailer, I had questioned why these young people would wind up in an isolated home with a chainsaw wielding murderer on the loose and as the story unfolded it made sense. There were many predictable scenarios in this film, one more than others and that being the simple fact that Ryan (Tremaine Neverson) was amongst the soon to be victims. As the onliest brotha* in the group of young people secluded in the woods equation and given the genre of film there was no doubt as to his fate. As far as Trey Songz' acting debut I will say that he wasn't bad. I am glad that he didn't burst into song though, which would have been totally out of place just like the timing and location of the little tryst that he decided to participate in. The flash imagery in dim light to show the eviscerated bodies and the conditions of Jeb's living quarters was appreciated since it is never necessary to see this type of gruesomeness in detail. The 3D premium should stay in your pocket since it was only used on the chainsaw; there was more 3D variety in the preceding trailers. I give this film an amber light.

*Note: 'Why'd you have to shoot Jimmie, he was my onliest brotha…' dialogue originated in Hollywood Shuffle.