Crammed with extra social commentary than its lean 83-minute body can frankly carry, the brand new Texas Chainsaw Massacre—out on Netflix—outstays its welcome earlier than a single particular person has been killed. Directed by David Blue Garcia, the movie squeezes in mentions of a highschool capturing, the controversial Stand Your Ground regulation and Confederate flags with the depth of a marvel film name-dropping characters from its personal shared universe.
What made the unique movie such a traditional was the truth that all of the intellectualisation round it occurred within the aftermath of its launch in 1974. It was, at the start, a slick slasher film a couple of murderous madman. The evaluation in regards to the Vietnam battle and vegetarianism got here a lot later.
The new film, nevertheless, by no means stops being about one thing. Even although, on the floor, nothing a lot occurs apart from a handful of insurable youngsters being sawed to loss of life in a Texas ghost city. The film follows the identical fundamental construction as Tobe Hooper’s unique, and serves as a direct sequel to that movie, ignoring the over half-a-dozen films that the franchise has churned out within the meantime.
But as an alternative of a ramshackle Ford van—an emblem of the Flower Power period—the children on this film drive round in a flowery Tesla, which just about comes throughout because the movie’s method of scoffing at them. This, by the best way, is a serious downside. At no level is it clear if the film is a takedown of vest-wearing, MAGA-minded rednecks, or if it is really satirising the brunch-loving, environmentally aware millennial protagonists.
So, when one of many youngsters declares within the movie’s opening couple of minutes that they’ve come to the city of Harlow with the intention of ‘constructing a greater world’, the film would not reduce out of the scene. It permits the gun-toting Texan whom they’ve already insulted to fireplace a comeback. “Sounds like a cult,” he drawls, as if we’re meant to agree with him. Around the identical time, when one other character—this one’s Black—spots a Confederate flag limply connected to the aspect of a century-old constructing, he calls for that it’s taken down. Once once more, the film makes room for a similar native Texan to make the children really feel dangerous about it, nearly as if it is wagging a finger at them for disrespecting native tradition.
But do not get me incorrect, maybe I’m simply giving the film the advantage of the doubt. For all we all know, it may really be on the aspect of the Trumptards. But may you think about how a lot worse that may make it? It’s fairly insufferable as it’s, even at lower than an hour-and-a-half lengthy; 74 minutes, actually, with out credit.
Self-awareness, nevertheless, is hardly one thing you’d anticipate from a film that’s, basically, the fifth reboot of a franchise that stopped being related after the primary movie. In truth, it is the third time that the sequence has been rebooted within the final decade alone.
The solely motive this one was mildly fascinating within the first place was the involvement of Eighth Grade breakout Elsie Fisher, who will get to do little else apart from slouch round, and the filmmaking duo Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues, who beforehand labored on the Evil Dead reboot , however extra impressively, are behind the 2 Don’t Breathe films. They ought to’ve recognized higher.
Completely devoid of environment, unimaginatively shot on a studio backlot, and crammed with wall-to-wall kill sequences of diminishing creativity, the brand new Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a mind-numbing mess.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Director – David Blue Garcia
Cast – Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, Mark Burnham, Jacob Latimore, Moe Dunford, Olwen Fouéré, Alice Krige, Jessica Allain
Rating – 1/5
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
