October 20, 2015

To me, the key to a truly great “remake” of a pre-existing horror film is simple. Would the new update make a good double feature with the original movie? When it comes to programming a double feature, the goal is to find two movies with a similar theme that would complement each other. And there’s no better test to see if a remake works than by watching it back to back with its inspiration and seeing if it respects its source material and tells a similar enough story. Each week, we’re going to pair up two horror films – its original and its remake as a double feature and see if it makes for a great double bill. Welcome to Double Take!

This week, we’re going to do a double feature of Tobe Hooper’s original 1974 classic THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE and the 2003 Platinum Dunes remake THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. Having recently revisited the original classic film on the big screen as part of its 40th anniversary, I feel fairly confident in saying it’s probably the best horror movie ever made. Sure, the digital restoration from the original film elements helped it look better than ever, and the newly remixed 7.1 sound mix is ferocious, but its power truly lies in the timeless sense of dread and horror the movie evokes, and of course in its crazy cast of characters, including that fellow that happens to wear human faces as a mask.

The only thing that dates the flick is the cloths the characters wear, but otherwise, it’s a cautionary tale of what can happen when the curious drift a little too closely to the hornet’s nest. Five friends are driving across Texas to visit their grandfather’s old house out in the country. Sally and Franklin are the kids whose grandfather’s house it is, and along for the ride is Kirk, Pam and Jerry. Along the way, they pick up a strange Hitchhiker that ends up self-mutilating his hand with his own pocket knife and scaring the bejesus out of the teens. They arrive at the local gas station where the “Old Man” informs them he’s out of gas. They make it over to their grandparent’s house, but Kirk and Pam wander off to the neighboring property and run into its main occupant Leatherface, the terrifying yet frantically scared butcher of his family. One by one, they all go searching for their lost friends before Sally is the last one left and we witness her descent into madness as she’s forced to sit with the family for dinner and inevitably become their next main course.

My description can’t possibly do justice to the craft of the filmmaking on display with this feature. I recall right before the remake came out, two girlfriends of mine that had never seen it requested we watch it before seeing the new one. I brought it over and once Leatherface made his first startling appearance and dragged Kirk to his death, one of them stood up and walked out of the room, not able to take the horrors they just witnessed within the frames of the film. That truly shows the power of the movie. And because of that, there was much trepidation when it came to the mere thought of it being remade.

We had already suffered through the totally unnecessary and pointless shot-for-shot remake of PSYCHO. So why would we need a new glossy version of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE? But alas, it was coming and Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes production company were behind it. I’ll never forget seeing the teaser play to a full Fangoria Weekend Of Horrors audience and it drawing loud boo’s of disapproval from die-hard horror fans. But when the movie finally was released, everyone was pleasantly surprised to discover that it was actually… quite good?

Also set in the early 70’s, this group of friends are stuck in the town under a completely different set of circumstances. Their hitchhiker is a survivor of the Hewitt clan and she kills herself in their car! Stuck with the body of a deceased crazy girl in their car, the group have no choice but to wait for help. Unfortunately for them, help comes in the form of the incredibly sadistic Sheriff Hoyt (R. Lee Ermey). They soon slowly one by one becomes victims of his deranged family, led by the powering brute known as Leatherface. This Leatherface is drastically different from the one we met in the original. He’s far angrier and plays a more a dominant role in this family unit, which is completely new and unrecognizable compared to the Sawyer clan we met in the original. For that reason, it works as a remake by keeping the spirit of the original and yet giving us a brand new story with new characters.

Does it work as a double feature?

Yes. Absolutely.

And while I like both versions, the long lasting power of the original far surpasses its respectable remake. But it still makes for a good pairing.

What do you guys think?