Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +3 1/2 Content: -4

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a remake of the 1970s horror film, which was based very loosely on actual events of Aug. 20, 1973, in the Texas Hill Country. The film tells the story of five college-age friends Erin (Jessica Biel), Kemper (Eric Balfour), Morgan (Jonathan Tucker), Pepper (Erica Leerhsen) and Andy (Mike Vogel) who happen upon a severely traumatized teenage girl (Lauren German) while on a road trip. When they try to give the girl a ride, she becomes agitated, mumbling, All of them are dead hes a very bad man. With a real problem on their hands, the five young people try to track down help but instead find themselves dealing with an abusive sheriff (R. Lee Ermey) and several other curious, but unhelpful locals. Everything leads the unsuspecting crew to the horrific and deadly home of Thomas Hewitt, a.k.a. Leatherface (Andrew Bryniarski), and to the heart of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

This film is, in one word, disturbing. It is graphic and frightening, accomplishing its purpose with a good mix of demented suspense and jump-in-your-seat scary moments. Horror enthusiasts will undoubtedly make it a box office success, especially with the popular and often re-made story. What is particularly disturbing about the film is the guise of reality. The movie is, in fact, a bit too realistic, with its depictions of torture and gruesome death. Hewitt is unmercifully brutal for no apparent reason and his victims are obviously terrified. That events like this may have actually taken place is no reason to expose oneself to a visually graphic retelling of them. In addition to the graphic violence, the film contains a great deal of objectionable language, some sexual content and depictions of drug use, all of which earn it a negative acceptability rating from Preview.

Preview Reviewer: Shaun Daugherty
Distributor: New Line Cinema