By Brent Snyder (Feb. 18 2022)
For a peek inside the process, here are my raw notes while screening "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" on Netflix:
Watching Texas Chainsaw Massacre and having a bloody good time so far.
TCM 2022 reminds us that if we see Chekhov's chainsaw-shaped corkscrew in the first act - it's going to be used by the third.
Everybody - and I mean everybody - has already posted their opinions and/or reviews of TCM online. But so far, I haven't seen anyone mention the vintage van on the side of the road that's revealed to be a County Sheriff's vehicle. That's a clever Easter egg to both the original TCM and the remake.
As an "educated" and "progressive" Texan who went to UT but now lives in DEEP rural Texas, this flick rings true to me on so many levels. Like, I KNOW these people - the "city folk" as well as the "town folk." ("Educated" and "Progressive" are slung at me as insults down here. They used to call me "Queer" and "Communist" so I guess it's a step up? Not that there's anything wrong with being "queer" OR "communist." I wore both names as a badge of honor. But I digress. Back to the flick.)
Oh not not Mama! Uh oh. Here we go. Holy shit this is brutal. But this field of dead sunflowers is shot beautifully!
And there's Leatherface!
And there's the chainsaw!
And there's Sally!
People would always tell me that a modern TCM movie would only last 10 minutes because "We have guns." Leatherface ain't scared.
We're gonna need a bigger bus.
This party bus sequence is one of the most bonkers horror scenes ever. I need to go back and watch it again just for the livestream comments.
Oh no - Texan Dude should have done a "Show me everything" scene with Little Sister and the rifle, like Hicks and Ripley in "Aliens."
And Sally passes the torch - erm, shotgun - to the new Final Girl!
OMG is that a pool of old rancid popcorn butter under the floorboards of the movie theater?
Hell yeah "T2" Sarah Connor shotgun fu!
Was really hoping at THAT moment the Final Girl's sister would scream at Leatherface: "Get away from her YOU BITCH!" like Ripley in "Aliens." But then, if they did that, they would have had to follow up the Final Girl's "T2" shotgun fu with the old Robert Patrick "Uh-uh-uh" finger wag. And that probably would have been too much, even for TCM.
Don't just walk away! Set that pool of popcorn butter on fire! Nuke 'em from orbit just to be sure.
HOLY FUCK! Even though I knew that ending was coming, it still got me.
These end credits slap. That tune is a banger.
Yes to the post credits scene. Well done.
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