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25The most frightening thing about the franchise at this point is that it just keeps on going, undaunted by the characteristics by which the first film made its name. Family is still family and a brand is still a brand, but the blade… well, it’s only grown dull.
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25There's nothing thrilling about summarily dispatching everybody who isn't meant to survive to the credits, nothing entertaining about meathook, hatchet and chainsaw murdering that we've seen scores of times.
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40Stick around through the credits for an extra closing scene that leaves the door of Heather's new home wide open for a sequel.
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Jan 7, 201320Sadly, this leap onto the stereoscopic bandwagon marks a new low for the franchise, as far away in quality from the '74 original as it is in years.
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Jan 5, 201340The original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" leaves audiences feeling hollowed out, dispirited and dissolute. Texas Chainsaw 3D is simply a bummer for being a big nothing.
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12All the makers of Texas Chainsaw 3D cared about was getting your $16.
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Jan 5, 201340Discredit director John Luessenhop for giving us 3-D visuals reminiscent of "Jaws 3-D": That slab of meat's coming right for us! Try as he might to honor the original - flashbulb transitions, a skeevy (yet buff) hitchhiker, metal doors, and meat hooks - there's little of its mounting dread.
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Jan 4, 201350Ms. Daddario is adequate, while Mr. Eastwood, as a lawman, strikes sinister notes. It's nice to see briefly Marilyn Burns, the record-holder in long-distance screaming in Tobe Hooper's original 1974 "Texas Chain Saw Massacre," and Gunnar Hansen, who played Leatherface in the same.
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50A sign of how desperate the series' producers have become is that the big twist here is that Leatherface, the slobby butcher-boy demon in his mask of human skin, is now...the good guy. (That's a ''jump the chainsaw'' concept if ever there was one.)
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58The mere presence of a second layer to the story gives Texas Chainsaw 3D an intriguing kick, and it adds a couple moments of visual wit that show a willingness to fiddle around with the genre. Not being irredeemable garbage counts as a modest achievement, but it's a small step in the right direction.
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20Time to fire up the critical Black & Decker: Somebody-there are six credited screenwriters-really wasn't clear on the concept.
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Jan 4, 201340The climax of Texas Chainsaw 3D is a bit more interesting and unpredictable than the usual horror-movie third act. But it feels like it's bred more out of desperation than anything organic; you can sense the gears turning in the screenwriters' heads as they try to figure out a way to breathe some fresh life into this franchise.
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12There's no deliberate Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2-style comedy to the film, just dim-witted gruesomeness retrofitted with gimmicky contemporary trappings.
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20A clunky, lumbering sequel that, like its masked protagonist, has no redeeming features.
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40Unlike the restrained 1974 film which cleverly relied mainly on suggestion, this version piles on the graphic, often CGI-enhanced gore.
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60Helmer John Luessenhop ("Takers") and a small army of scripters go back to the bloody roots of the long-running franchise to concoct a better-than-average horror-thriller that relies more on potent suspense than graphic savagery or stereoscopic tricks.
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20Texas Chainsaw 3D sees itself as over-the-top and knowing, but what we ultimately get is simply eyes without a face.