Michael Bay's Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Eine oberflächliche und selbstzweckmäßige Unterhaltung. Der Regisseur Marcus Nispel befasst sich mit Videoclips, er ist in der Lage, effektvoll Dinge aufzunehmen, die keinen Aussagewert haben. Die Kamera und ihre bunten Filter erinnern an David Fincher. Zusammen mit der finsteren Musik tragen sie zu einer düsteren Stimmung bei. Die fehlende Steigerung der Handlung, die Schreckmomente, die nicht funktionieren, und der fehlende geheimnisvolle Charakter erinnern aber eher an ein Fließbandprodukt eines billigen italienischen Trashmakers der 70er Jahre (z. B. Joe D'Amato). Außerdem ist der Film außergewöhnlich ekelhaft. Sieben fand ich auf eine gewisse Art und Weise auch ekelhaft. Das großartig aufgebaute Drehbuch mit einer tollen Pointe und einem tiefen Gedanken hat mich aber begeistert. Michael Bay's Texas Chainsaw Massacre fand ich ekelhaft. Der Film hat mich als eines seiner Opfer weggestoßen. (16.01.2004)

The bleakness of the backwoods setting, where you’d only stop if your car broke down could, be felt much more intensely in the original, but Nispel's film has a certain amount of atmosphere. The casting is pretty good, the representatives of the local rednecks and brutes are really disgusting and their appearance and behaviour adds to the film's impact. But while watching Hooper's original I felt horror, dismay and disgust at Leatherface's family, that panopticon of creepy creatures, Nispel's film didn't produce similarly intense feelings. Some scenes looked spectacular, but they were quite illogical, and the final chase did not avoid the clichés that have been repeated countless times. Leatherface in Hooper's film was a believable character, a weirdo with a rather perverted hobby; Nispel's swung his chainsaw too much, making his behaviour seem unnatural and out of touch with reality. I guess that's why I wasn't scared, there was no deeper experience and Nispel's film became in my eyes just one of many teenage slashers. (17.07.2004)

At the moment when the camera goes through a hole in a bullet and it's neither cool nor impressive, but just unnecessarily disgusting, I should have realized that the whole movie would be like that. From minor gossip emerged a total disaster with relentlessly annoying characters, only one powerful scene, and one stolen Blair Witch. 30% (25.04.2006)

The upsides are the solid cinematography and editing, which make the film quite raw and brutal - something where the director goes a bit too far at times. (16.10.2004)

Also: Eine unheimliche Stimmung, Spannung, ein allgegenwärtiges Angstgefühl… In Michael Bay's Texas Chainsaw Massacre findet man nichts davon. Einen Stern hat die Musik verdient, den zweiten ein paar gute Augenblicke (ungefähr zwei Szenen, die wirklich nicht schlecht waren). Ein überflüssiges Remake. Eine Sache hat mich aber überrascht: Der Film spielt im Jahr 1973, man merkt es aber überhaupt nicht. Seltsam. (09.05.2010)

As a stand-alone contribution to the genre, it’s barely average; as the remake of the horror legend that kick started the genre and remains flawless, it’s awful. In the original, every decision of the characters and stylistic choice had an unshakable position in the overall system and the atmosphere; in this one, the characters behave very stupidly and the violence and most of the editing feel overly stylised, killing all the naturalism and the potential of the harsh Texan setting. Only the male audience will be in danger, because after seeing the scantily clad and sweaty Jessica Biel they may feel their pants very tight. That, plus some interesting ideas and the traditionally good Ermey are the only things worthy of attention. (21.01.2019)

"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is simply just a remake, and for me, a remake in the worst sense of the word. A film that only tries to "update" an older movie for contemporary times. But when you look at the original film, you still understand that it is much better, has a better atmosphere, and is much more terrifying. And Leatherface also looks more menacing, partly because we never see its true face. (06.02.2015)