Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III

A direct sequel to its two predecessors, Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III details the chaos that ensues after a bickering couple (Kate Hodge’s Michelle and William Butler’s Ryan) are captured by the series’ cannibalistic clan – which includes Leatherface (R.A. Mihailoff), Mama (Miriam Byrd-Nethery), and Tex (Viggo Mortensen). There’s little doubt that Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III gets off to a rather disastrous start, as the movie’s opening half hour is devoted almost entirely to the exploits of the aforementioned couple – with the hopelessly bland nature of these two characters, combined with underwhelming work from both Hodge and Butler, holding the viewer at arm’s length right from the get-go. It doesn’t help, either, that scripter David J. Schow has infused the thin narrative with a distressingly uneventful feel, with much of the film’s midsection devoted to long stretches in which characters, including Ken Foree’s Benny, attempt to avoid the murderous advances of Leatherface and company (which is, for the most part, accomplished by far too much stumbling around in the dark). Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III improves slightly as the action moves into the cannibals’ oddly well-kept home, as the film is temporarily lifted out of its doldrums with an emphasis on the family’s bickering and their mean-spirited mistreatment of their two captives. The entertaining atmosphere proves to be awfully short-lived, however, and the movie closes with more incoherent running and hiding – which ultimately does cement the film’s place as a typically underwhelming horror sequel (and let’s not even get started on the distressing lack of gore here).

** out of ****