Parents' Guide to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

This film is extremely violent and bloody, the profanity never stops, the characters aren't likable, and the story doesn't make sense. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is gratuitously graphic. The suicide scene is so disturbing that, during the film's original release, several people walked out of the theater immediately afterward. The original movie's violence was considered edgy in the 1970s, but it seems downright quaint when compared to modern horror movies like this remake. At least in the original, there was a thin justification for the violence as social commentary. That's completely missing from this version. The acting is also mediocre at best, and, even at 98 minutes, it feels way too long.

Jessica Biel leads the cast of doomed characters, but considering that she's the biggest name in the movie, you're pretty certain that she's going to stick around the longest. After all, if she were killed off too soon, viewers wouldn't be treated to the many shots of her wet, white tank top, as the director finds multiple excuses to dump water on her (rain, sprinklers, flooded basement, etc.). The rest of the cast isn't memorable at all, with the exception of R. Lee Ermey's unsettling portrayal of the sheriff. There's no good reason to see this movie; mature teens and adults would be better off just watching the original.