Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Bit Of A Guilty Pleasure, October 28, 2004
As a lifelong horror fan, and more importantly "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" fan, it's hard for me to like a movie that doesn't respect the mythology of Leatherface, or keep with the continuity of the movies that came before it. And unfortunately, as time went on, and with each sequel (up until the deadpan 2003 remake), the series just got goofier and made less sense. However, there are still many thrills to be had with "Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III," and thanks to the DVD that sports both the rated and un-rated cuts, we can have our cake and eat it too. Obviously the unrated cut delivers the goods and makes the movie that much better than my intitial viewing, but the supplemental material actually helps us to understand why this movie is the way it is, and offers some insight as to the good natured intentions behind it (ala director Jeff Burr). But, more on that later. This installment in the series pretty much ignores Leatherface's unfortunate demise in part 2, and has him shacking up with a new family full of people just as deranged and far removed from the real world as the ones found in the original. When a couple on the rocks (William Butler and Kate Hodge) driving through Texas are directed down a wrong road, they collide with a camper/hunter by the name of Benny (played by genre favorite and "Dawn Of The Dead" star, Ken Foree) and through a turn of events, end up in Leatherface's home, being tortured and torn apart. However, Benny gives the family more than they bargained for, and fights chainsaw with firepower. The movie does reach into levels of cheese at points, but it's still loads of fun, thanks to Ken Foree, who could steal any movie he's in. Leatherface is also a bit tougher in this movie (notice him sticking up for himself when his walkman is thrown into a fire), and, as mentioned before, the carnage is brought up to a new level with the unrated cut. Aside from the noticable differences in the two cuts, the DVD also benefits from a documentary, "The Saw Is Family" which explains pretty much everything you need to know about the movie. Basically, when New Line got the rights to Leatherface, they wanted to turn the movies into a franchise, ala "Nightmare On Elm Street," which explains why this movie reaches a little further than the others in the series and why it has more of a slick feeling to it, as opposed to Tobe Hooper's original gritty vision. The movie is pretty much a victim of too many cooks in the kitchen, as director Jeff Burr was battled constantly by New Line execs to change this, change that, and when the MPAA got involved, this movie was dead meat. Obviously it never made the commercial splash intended, and spawned one more, half of a breath of a sequel, before dreams of a franchise were squashed. However, this is still a good movie, worthy for fans of the genre, and the DVD helps push the movie a bit further. Aside from the previously mentioned documentary, we are treated to a wealth of deleted scenes (with an alternate ending), and a jam-packed commentary (which suffers from the fact that everyone recorded seperately). The DVD was released last year in timing with the theatrical release of the remake, and if that movie sparked your interest into Leatherface's back-catalog, this is one you shouldn't pass up.
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20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The saw is family, January 5, 2004
Since New Line released their recent re-make of the The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, they finally had the good sense to release Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 on an extra laden DVD. Undoubtadly the best, and sadly the monst infamous, sequel in the series, this installment finds two college students (Kate Hodge and William Butler) stranded on a Texas backroad being stalked and hacked up by Leatherface and his larger cannibalistic family. Ever since this film was released, it garnered a lot of criticism and bad press because of it's many attempts just to get an R rating. Well, here it is in all it's unrated gory glory, but for the life of me I cannot understand how the unrated version never got an R rating; I mean House of 1000 Corpses was gorier than that. The film also stars a pre-Lord of the Rings Viggo Mortensen as a member of Leatherface's family, and Dawn of the Dead's Ken Foree as a survivalist who is all that stands between the kids and the family. The DVD includes a documentary on the film, deleted scenes, and a commentary by director Jeff Burr and crew.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Best sequel and best Leatherface performance since original., August 7, 2003
I am a big fan of the original Chainsaw Massacre. It was a very well made and effective movie for its time. I only wish I could say the same for all of its sequels. Personally, I found part 2 to be a huge letdown, despite Tobe Hooper directing it. It turned terror into cheesiness, kind of like Evil Dead 2 except not nearly as cool. The cheese factor is just too high for me to own it. Part 4, The Next Generation, was one of the worst horror sequels I have ever seen. It was trash. If it weren't for the fact that Mathew McConaughey and Renee Zellweger both got famous 5 years after this movie's filming, I wager it would never have hit shelves. However, Leatherface, Chainsaw Massacre part 3 is the one redeemable sequel of the series. Though it features a basically different family from that of the first two movies, it is effective as an early 90s horror film, and manages to keep your attention for most of the film. Leatherface is truly brutal in this film and you won't find him whining like a little girl while putting on hose & garters and applying lipstick as he so unfortunately does in part 4. If you are a fan of the original and haven't seen this, I would encourage you to give it a try, even if you have been disappointed with parts 2 and 4 as I have. Not the best horror movie ever and not for everyone, but nonetheless a fun romp through the backwoods of Texas with your favorite chainsaw-wielding freak.
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