I'm sure you've all read how bad this "sequel" is.  You've also probably read how it came in at #1 at the NABO last weekend and already made up its budget plus some change.

I just saw it in regular 2D, as I heard the 3D wasn't all that special.

I wasn't expecting much, but hey, I love horror films and we don't get too many R rated theatrical releases in the horror genre these days.

First of all, it's definitely not nearly as bad as critics are making it out to be.  In fact, it's quite ballsy in being a rather unique take on the franchise, as well as horror slasher-type films in general.  The structure is nothing like you'd expect, and I for one was very pleased about that.

The downside is that there are so many just ridiculous choices that the writers/film makers made.  You've probably read about the main "problem" already.  This is supposed to be a direct sequel to the original 1974 Tobe Hooper film.  There is a scene in which we see that this supposedly takes place in 2012, meaning close to 40 years have passed, but that timeline is completely thrown out the window, and somehow between 10-20 years just disappear.  No clue why anyone would do this, but they did.

The last act of the film is also a misfire, as far as I'm concerned, but again, it is a gutsy, aggressive take and something I sure didn't see coming.  It just doesn't make too much sense and the end result is kind of a WTF moment that is hard to stomach.

Gore-wise it's decent, but a number of poor decisions were made with the kills, IMO.  There's an OS kill that is a complete waste of a main character and some much needed horror and gore.  Another main character gets offed in a surprising way, but it's not a way that is needed here.

There are a number of what I'll call twists that just aren't handled as well as they could have been, including a scene that moves to a carnival and offers all sorts of potential, but quickly dissolves into nothing.  Total missed opportunity.

The main star here, Alexandra Daddario is one super hot babe.  I mean, everything about this chick is just insanely smoking hot.  I actually thought she did a decent job with what she was given as well.

Old Leatherface looks badass.  He's a hulking brute and his face makeup looks better than it has in most of the TCM flicks.  Not to spoil anything, but I'll just say that this Leatherface is a completely different breed of killer, and that's pretty much what either makes this work or makes it fail miserably.

Definitely not a great movie, by any means, but much better than I expected.  The makers just really dropped the ball in several areas and the end isn't going to sit well with too many TCM fans, but I'll give it props for attempting something completely different in structure and feel.

I too enjoyed it. I'd actually go as far as saying it's the best chainsaw flick since the original. The only real flaw, besides some bad acting by the girl who played Nikki, is the time continuity mistake. it's a pretty big mistake and I think they could have easily fixed it. But I accepted the film anyways and will be getting it on dvd when it comes out. Welcome back Leatherface.

~Zack~

Didn't enjoy it as much as the last reboot, but agree with Jeff that this was a ballsy approach to take - just a shame it didn't materialise in to something a bit better. The clunky handling of the third part in addition to the awful transition in to act 3 is what killed it.

SPOILERS!

Awful, horrendous and slightly disturbing message problem, too. You should never look too deep in to something like Texas Chainsaw for its 'message' but there was a slightly disturbing undertone. Just trying to work out if it was an ironic stab or a bleeding heart writing done badly.

Andrew, it's kind of funny actually, because the original idea that was tossed around called for a trilogy that was going to be released out of order, starting with #2, which was going to take place in a hospital, kind of like the original Halloween II.

They thought that was too ballsy and risky and opted for a more "standard" TCM storyline.

How they thought this was more standard is beyond me.

You're definitely right in what you said.  Act 3 is a mess, but then again, in a very strange way, it makes this what it is, and if nothing else, it is different and anyone who says this is merely a cash grab is incorrect.

The sequel to this will be interesting, as there are some obvious ways to go that will not follow along TCM's historical path.

Yeah, I heard about that. Sounded a bit out there for sure! My view is that if it skirts too far from the source, it ceases to be an interpretation and ends up being an opportunity to use the brand an unrelated story for the box office.

This one stayed true to the source whilst offering a new direction. That I respect. Just need a steadier hand at the tiller I reckon.

Still, it's not an entirely awful way for Hollywood to kick off its 2013 horror output.

I was going to see this but my theater was only playing 3D showings and I didn't want to spend $12 to chance a modern TCM. Good to see some (quasi) positive sentiments tho... since it seemed to get pretty slammed on RT. I sort of feel obligated to see it since I've watched all the others so I'll probably check it out on DVD now. Has to be better than Next Gen anyway.  

Hey Jeff.  Just got done watching this.  I picked it up mainly because our discussion in Fade to White reminded me that Adam Marcus was a co-writer for this.  About 20 minutes into the film, I was thinking to myself, well, there are two other writers besides Marcus so maybe it's not all his fault....but the film really starts to pick up after that... quicker than expected, too.  I'll have to say I really enjoyed it and thought it was a helluva ride.  Different too and way better than those shit remakes they kicked out a few years ago.  I'm interested in a sequel for Texas Chainsaw.  Can't wait.

I liked the script better. The film rushed through the first act, as if they wanted to get to the good stuff right away. Which seems like a trend in horror films these days. Thing is, if you cut your intro down to an MTV-paced eight minutes, we don't care enough about the characters when the slashing goes down.

Didn't care for the ending, either, for the same reasons stated previously. Not at all realistic. It is kinda cool, though, how it almost turned into a revenge film by the end. I'm curious about the sequel -- is Leatherface still gonna be a bad guy or will he turn into some sort of anti-hero?

IMO, it's definitely not as bad as everyone made it out to be, but not too great, either.