Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022) is a vicious re-enactment of the classic horror icon, combining the contemporary horror tropes with the eerie history of the Leatherface. The movie stars a squad of influencer-like people who aim at turning around a yen town in Texas, but get caught up in the hideout of Leatherface, where he goes on a killing rampage. The storyline is a dark reminder of how greed and ignorance of the past may give rise to unrest slumbering horrors. The tone of the movie is somber, visceral, unblushing and highlights the brutality of the Leatherface personality without losing a touch of dread that shivers long after the screen falls dark.
Performances are rough, particularly the one of Sally Hardesty, the sole survivor of the first Leatherface rampage, who returns as a Texas Ranger with battle experience. The fact that she is there gives the story a continuity and flavor of history in the field of horror. The direction is used with the help of the dark images, thunderstorms, and brutal, bloody scenes which give rise to a wild fear. Cinematography is the perfect depiction of the desolate and run-down town and sound design enhances violence and horrors of Leatherface attacks. The aspect that appealed to me was the commentary of the film on contemporary exploitation, and neglect of the past that tends to be reprimanded through the rampage of Leatherface, as it seems like a punishment of the modern day hubris.
Although it works well as an effective visceral horror, there are times when the movie draws on cliched slasher elements and hyper violence which may seem gratuitous. It, however, manages to produce an unrelenting, chilling effect that makes one feel fear and tension. The heart of the soul- the survival, revenge, and the wounds of trauma make it more three-dimensional in the background of the carnage. It has made me have an upsetting thought about the uncontrollable violence and disbelief to the past breeding new nightmares, and the appearance of Leatherface means that this nightmare is not going away.
