Visually I really enjoyed David Blue Garcia’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre for it’s retro approach to horror, which is to say the movie offered ample amounts of gore, most of which looked practical. It’s not something you often see these days, so it’s always welcome when you do.

What I didn’t particularly like is that the writing was either spotty – particularly the tendency to imbue Leatherface (Mark Burnham) with capabilities far beyond those of ordinary psychopaths when the the story found it convenient – or attempts at social commentary, such as when Leatherface boarded the bus with his chainsaw and everyone pulled out their cell phones to ‘cancel’ him.

I can’t speak for anyone else but if someone who looks like a walking abattoir boards a vehicle I happen to on, never mind carrying a chainsaw, I’m trying to figure a way out of the situation and while I may not survive the encounter, the reason won’t be because I’m standing about like wheat before the scythe.

I haven’t seen Tobe Hooper’s 1974 original in quite awhile (a situation I intend to remedy) though I do recall it being about actual people, a claim Blue’s version – now matter how awesome the FX happens to be – cannot make.