Horror in the Aughts, Issue 4: A Remake that Doesn’t Suck
[Editor’s Note: Our very own Eric Mayo came to me in December with an idea for a new series. While he plans to still chime in about video games from time to time (including our delayed best of 2023 series which will appear before the end of February), 2024 is the year in which he’ll be putting together some great pieces highlighting his favorite horror films from the first decade of our current century… or as many refer to it, “the Aughts”. Since this decade was also a very important one for my horror tastes and sensibilities, I will be joining him in this venture, highlighting some of my faves, as well. Each installment will be dubbed an “issue” in keeping with our early 2000s theme – think of it as our very own horror fanzine… something that punks, film nerds, and other weirdos like us will remember as a big part of the 90s and aughts. If you head over to the first issue, you can read Eric explaining the column’s inspiration himself – thepaintedman]
or a brief time in the 90s, horror movies were surprisingly not very profitable and were mainly considered a dead genre of films. While that doesn’t mean we didn’t get some stellar offerings (Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness leaps to mind), it was just not an overall positive time for horror fans. When Scream came onto the scene in 96, it kickstarted a horror renaissance for the genre. Everyone wanted in on the action. This slasher revival didn’t last too long, however, as two major events led to a shift in the nation and what horror was used to convey its stories. First was the Columbine High School shooting in 99, leading to a call for reduced violence in media. Second was the Twin Towers falling on 9/11, leading the nation into a time of fear and darkness. The Horror genre pivoted from the slasher’s that were prominent post-Scream to a meaner, nastier version of itself. Dark, violent, vicious and unrelenting, horror refused to hold back and showed us all the violence. The most definitive movement of the era was the remake boom. Every single horror film from the 70s and 80s that had any sort of name recognition and chance for profitability got a remake across the aughts, and it all started from one man, action director Michael Bay. Bay formed a production company, Platinum Dunes, with the express intent of creating horror movie remakes on the cheap to maximize profits (like what Jason Blum would eventually do with Blumhouse). Their first venture was pitched to major studios with a teaser that simply showed a black screen with chainsaw sounds and screaming in the background. They wanted to remake the Tobe Hooper classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. A veritable classic of the genre, it was a bold move to want to remake something that most people felt was the perfect horror film. Eventually, New Line Cinema agreed to distribute the film and in late October 2003, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was released into the world, and the horror genre experienced a new era of nasty.
Traveling through Texas on their way to a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert, five twenty-somethings – couple Erin (Jessica Biel) and Kemper (Eric Balfour), nerdy spaz Morgan (Jonathan Tucker), meatball Andy (Mike Vogel) and recent addition and free spirit Pepper (Erica Leerhsen) – make the ill-fated mistake of picking up a wandering, distraught woman on the road (Lauren German). After she ends up committing suicide via gunshot in the back of their van, they eventually decide – much to the chagrin of the men – to call the police to explain what happened. Little do they know they will soon run afoul of the infamous Leatherface and his entire Sawyer clan, led primarily by self-appointed sheriff and general psychopath Hoyt (R. Lee Ermey). These five individuals will experience a night of pure terror and bloodshed never seen before, going down in the annals of history as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
Despite all the naysayers and people who generally shit on the ‘aughts horror output, there are definitely a few classic gems among the litter, and the 03 remake of TCM is one of them. Director Marcus Nispel, making his feature film debut, made the wise choice of employing original 74 TCM cinematographer Daniel Pearl to helm the filming of this remake, and the reverence it shows for the original while also forging its own path is evident. The sepia tones invade all frames of this film, bathing it in dirty browns and burnt oranges to truly convey the feeling of filth, dirt and general heat of this film, more so visually represented by the constant layer of sweat that encompasses every actor. The movie feels like it needed a shower weeks ago, and the viewer will also feel that same vibe once they have finished viewing this story. While it’s not excessively gory as most people think, a similar sentiment that befell the rather tame original as well, you certainly feel the pain and suffering of each character and what they endure. This is one of those “feel bad” movies for sure but it still manages to deliver a suspenseful and “enjoyable” experience.
Our core five are all reasonably developed and make us feel for them as they begin to fall one by one to the Hewitt clan. Leerhsen’s Pepper probably has the least to do in terms of garnering sympathy from the viewers, but everyone else gets their moment in the sun, so to speak, delivering true raw emotions as they come to the realization of their inevitable fate. The van standoff between Hoyt and Jackson’s Morgan and the emotional anguish sequence between Erin and Vogel’s Andy as one of them clings to life stick out as memorable scenes that make us care for the characters. Balfour’s Kemper also is left a little short in the impact department, but not due to any script issues but more the fact that he is out of the picture rather early. Our Hewitt clan also makes quite an impact, but for very different reasons. R. Lee Ermey brings his usual intensity and visceral presence to the character of Hoyt, causing so much unease and pain for our heroes that you truly want to see him get it REAL good by the conclusion. Andrew Byrniarski adequately fills in for Gunnar Hansen in the iconic role of Leatherface. Bryniarski has a hulking, brutish presence felt throughout and when he is chasing you down with a chainsaw, you will be scared. If there was one kink in the armor overall, it would be the inclusion of David Dorfman’s Jedidiah. There was the “weird creepy kid” craze that was sweeping horror back in the aughts, and it all started with Haley Joel Osment’s turn in 1999’s The Sixth Sense. It seemed like every horror movie just HAD to have a creepy kid saying creepy things and just generally being not like any kid you have ever seen before. 03’s TCM doesn’t skip out on this trope, and Dorfman’s character (side note – it’s funny that Dorfman played another creepy kid in the 2002 remake of The Ring) just feels unnecessary and could easily be excised, and it would be all for the better.
The star of the show, however, is Jessica Biel’s Erin. Biel carries the emotional heft of the story as she witnesses her friends succumb to evil one by one, displaying raw emotions throughout but especially in the back half of the film, where she is left alone to the nightmare. She is a tour de force that is the glue that holds it all together. Her reaction to seeing Kemper’s skinned face on for Leatherface is truly a haunting image and the anguish that washes over her face is heartbreaking. In addition, I have always said that no one in history has ever looked better before or since than Salma Hayek as she appeared as Santonico Pandemonium in 1996’s From Dusk ‘Till Dawn. And while that still kind of holds true to this day, I believe Biel is a close 2nd in this movie. She looks iconic, she is iconic, and jeans have never hugged someone so well in history. Biel also started the trend of “hot girls in white tank tops” that seemed to bleed into 2000’s horror flicks (Eliza Dushku in Wrong Turn and Elisha Cuthbert in House of Wax spring to mind), but no one has done it better than Biel.
The 2003 version of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a rousing success in my book on how to update a movie for modern audiences without losing sight of what made that original special. I would even argue that the main protagonists in the 03 version are much more sympathetic and connect with the audience more so than the 74 original (Franklin is the WORST), and while I do think the Sawyer family from the OG leaves a much more burned in impression than the Hewitt clan of 03 – probably due to the lack of the iconic dinner scene in the 03 remake -, that takes nothing away from the impact this remake brings to the table. Technically brutal, wonderfully macabre and beautifully brutal, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a great remake and an intense horror film. Don’t let your feelings for the classic OG get in the way of enjoying one of the best experiences the aughts have to offer.
I loved this remake. I remember seeing it in theaters and enjoying it, especially the amazing sound when the Chainsaw was turned on!! Not all remakes are perfect but this one is just as good in my opinion.