While this movie comes nowhere near being as good as the original, it’s much better than Part 2. In the end, though, it’s really just another generic slasher flick with nothing beyond the Leatherface connection to recommend it to discerning fans.
8.5/10
Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III is a big step from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (which i like) but still not as great as the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, it's almost but it still not, i still don't see any more sequel or a remake that will as good as the original but heck this one is actually almost, Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III is surprisingly a really good movie, the movie is back on a serious script after the second one kinda have more of a comedy things though mostly for me is still scary, so do this one, the movie was still scary and terrifying, the movie have some better perfomance and actually a really good performance even the supporting actor, sure there is some little nit picky thing in terms of a performances, and probably the biggest flaws in this movie is actually happen in the ending of the film, it's not that the ending was bad but it's definitely can be better because of one thing that really doesn't make any sense, but again overall Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III is surprisingly a really good third installment movie that fills with great performances, it's scary, it's terrifying, it's bloody and i like it.
Splatterpunk novelist-turned-screenwriter David Schow and director Jeff Burr take the material back to its roots, re-creating the minimal plotting and alternately muddy and washed-out look of the original. In deference to contemporary tastes, Leatherface pulls as few gory punches as prevailing standards permit (Texas Chainsaw Massacre only seemed unbearably graphic) and underscores the mayhem with an abrasive speed metal soundtrack.
This thoroughly unoriginal splatter flick is littered with references to Hooper's seminal work and lifts the plot directly from its predecessor. [15 Jan 1990, p.C6]
The Museum of Modern Art has committed Tobe Hooper's original Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) to its permanent collection. This spin-off, which has none of that film's brutal energy, won't be joining it. The state of Texas ought to sue the makers of Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III for defamation of character. [13 Jan 1990, p.C5]
For those who saw the first two Massacres, this will seem pretty much deja-boo! All too much of III is rehashed horror. The first installment was genuinely shocking, unrelenting, visceral terror. II was camp terror, a gothic detour that cast Dennis Hopper as a good guy (albeit nuts). III envisions itself as a return to I, but director Jeff Burr is no Tobe Hopper (director of the first installment), and even the special effects seem bloodless imitations.
Leatherface is as tasteless as its predecessors, but it reduces fear to a business and blood to a drip. It's a slaughterhouse without any real buzz. [15 Jan 1990, p.F2]
Can I please see some kills? Maybe just one? Just a taste please. A young Viggo with an over the top accent was fun. The plot and setup was pretty uneventful here, scenery was very dull and dark.
Leatherface is even worse on a rewatch. Boring, uneventful, cheap. And California is supposed to be Texas now? And why wasn't the magic chainsaw-throwing hand-lady from the trailer in the film?
Leatherface is barely in it, There is no real character development and some parts of the story just don't make any sense. It's daytime when they race away from the gas station and yet when night time comes, They're still in an area relatively close to the Sawyer family? It didn't make any sense.