'Texas Chainsaw' Fails to Carve a New Niche

The name might say “Texas Chainsaw,” but Johnathan Liebesman’s new film bears little other resemblance to the horror classic. Instead, it falls more in line with contemporary gross-out horror films like “Hostel” and the “Saw” series where nausea is favored over fright.

“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning” attempts to fill in the back-story of both Tobe Hooper’s original movie and its 2004 remake. In the film, four friends start a road trip to California but wind up stuck in a small Texas town and having to fight their way out of certain death after being captured by the murderous family that produces Leatherface (Andrew Bryniarski), the Freddy Krueger of the “Massacre” series.

Unfortunately, “The Beginning” ignores elements like story and establishing character in favor of escalating gruesomeness. Leatherface beats someone to death with a sledgehammer within the first ten minutes of the film and then moves on to more brutal implements.

Even “Hostel” took the time to make its characters sympathetic enough for the viewer to want them to get out of peril before fingers start coming off hands. Screenwriter Sheldon Turner (2005’s “The Longest Yard”), however, places our heroes in danger so early that we know little more about them than how they scream and plead.

Despite the minimal attention seemingly paid to everything else, “The Beginning” succeeds in providing maximum gore. Chrissy (Jordana Brewster), the film’s female lead, spends the majority of the film with cuts all over her body. Leatherface cuts off someone’s face and then wears it like a mask.

The newest addition to the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” line wears the ‘more is more’ approach to horror proudly on its blood-soaked sleeve. But when all you have is a bloody sleeve, it’s time to throw away the shirt.

The unrated edition of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning came out on DVD January 16, 2007. This review refers to the theatrical version.