Leatherface - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III

Rating:
Summary: Finally, what the fans REALLY want
Review: "Leatherface-The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III" is the highly under rated sequel to the original 1973 classic. I am giving it the highest stars possible because it has been unfairly raked over the coals by everyone from the MPAA, critics, bored housewives and even New Line producers themselves. The story (I admit isn't to original) is that acouple of kids are dtetoured off the main road in Texas and end up as supper for Leatherface and his demented new family (which includes future star Viggo Mortensen). This movie almost ignores all the movies that have come before it and trys to imagin a new myth for Leatherface, but it dosn't quiet work. Now, in the new DVD version of this movie has a thirty minute making of documentery, in which the director (Jeff Burr) and the line producers talk about what the experience was like, their fights with the producers about the level of gore and tone of the violence, which was pretty mean spirited, especially the cute little nine year old girl having so much fun dropping a sledgehammer on a young man's head. The script was written by noted splatter punk novelist David J. Schow, and apperaently only about half of the violence he wrote made it into the film. Ladies and gentlemen, this is "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" we're talking about here, ok. It was never supposed to be high art. People who go to watch these movies are expecting to be grossed out and a little sick. So why was "Leatherface" butchered so bad? Yes, I understand it had to have an 'R' rating. And so I am glad that this DVD was relesed, with an unrated version of the movie, so now the ghouls can have their movie at last.

Rating:
Summary: Bad movie.....
Review: I don't get what people saw in this movie. The plot moved too slowly, there was zero suspence, and low gore factor. This was a total disappointment because my expectations were raised due to this being an "unrated edition", and it failed to deliver across the board. Save your money, not even rental worthy.

Rating:
Summary: #3 in series and 3rd best of series too
Review: The TCM series goes from the best - the original 1974 classic, to the second best - TCM 2, to the third best - TCM 3, and so on. Still, TCM 3 has its moments.

The most disturbing scene in the film is the "chainsaw rape" of Kate Hodge, which has to be seen to be believed. The electric taping of her mouth before the aforementioned assault is done by a blonde haired little girl, who is about 6 or 7 years old. Also, Hodge's hands are nailed to a wooden chair. Sick stuff.

The survivalist, an African American, in the film is decent against the horrendous rednecks, who also have a taste for "dark meat." This film is not politically correct.

The "family" is all different from the first two movies, which makes the quality of the film go down. However they are still pretty messed up.

Keep an eye out for the actor, who played "Maynard" in Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction." He's one of the cannibals, although he's not gay this time.

Pretty OK. 4/5 stars

Rating:
Summary: 3rd time has it's charms
Review: By the time part three rolled around the formula was set in stone and it couldn't have been easy coming up with some entertaining angles that worked within the form - but work they do and Jeff Burr deserves credit. He "works within the form" and does it well. I enjoyed this from start to finish. Just make sure you watch the unrated cut.

Rating:
Summary: Do You Want Fries With That?
Review: Ok, there are only two amusing things about this film. One: Viggo Mortenson (of 'Lord of the Rings' and 'A Perfect Murder') is in the film as one of the cannibals. It was just interesting to see him start off in such a crappy movie. Two: The movie trailer is funny. It plays out like a trailer for a King Arthur movie, with the "Lady of the Lake" sticking her arm out of the water to throw our hero...a chainsaw. That's it.

The movie itself is terrible, even worse and less watchable than the second, which was pretty bad itself. By now you should know what's going to happen in the plot. Some people get lost out in the middle of nowhere. They get help from the locals, who seem really nice at frist, but then take them back to their house for dinner, and they are the main course. A waste of your time.

Rating:
Summary: 3rd Saw Still Has Teeth...
Review: After years of silence, the buzz came back and louder than ever. After the disappointing over-violent Texas Chainsaw 2, it was a relief to see that this film went back to the roots of the evil. Full of dark humor, but plenty of gore and horror to sustain true horror fanatics. One of my favorite horror sequels ever, this film features great fast paced direction from Jeff Burr.
Great chases, stylish camera work, and an almost believable story. I took one star off because I have never known a chainsaw work under water before. But hey, the saw IS family!

Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT UNCUT VERSION!
Review: Check out the uncut version included here instead of complaining about how it was hacked up years ago. Watch THIS version. It's bloody good!!

Rating:
Summary: Well Done New Line Cinema, another one for the 'oops' Files
Review: Well, Where to start.

After many legal battles over the rights to the 'Texas Chainsaw' franchise, New Line cinema gained the rights to the sequels (after Cannon had done Chainsaw 2) and there pilot sequel would be 'Leatherface : Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3', and this would be the start of a sequel of blunders.
From the opening scene, TCM 3 lacks style, horror, and generally a narative, and this continues throughout the entire film. Unfortunatly, this could have been quite a good sequel if it wasn't for New Line getting clever and editing the picture themselves, and in a nutshell, ruining the film.
The final New Line cut (Which you will be watching)was so bad that the director wanted his name taken off the credits due to embarrasment, THAT IS NOT A GOOD SIGN.
In my view, this was New Lines biggest blunder, which then carried on to 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre : The Next Generation' which got just as equallly bad reviews.

If you are a fan of the original Texas Chainsaw then stay away, or at least watch the sequel (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2) because that at least carries SOME of Tobe Hooper's Magic (NO THANKS TO CANNON FILMS!)
'LEATHERFACE : TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE' 3 is a serious No-No for fans of the original.

Rating:
Summary: A Bit Of A Guilty Pleasure
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: uncut and more entertaining
Review: When this film was first released it was badly censored. You could tell it was a good film that got mangled. The uncut version of this film is now on this DVD and it's quite good! I agree that this is one of the better Chainsaws (but I love them all).