Leatherface:
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3
(Region One DVD)
(1996)
review by Don't Feed the Dead

No disrespect intended for Bill Mosely, Dennis Hopper and Gunnar Hansen, but Leatherface just blows TCM II out of the water! I vaguely remember the first time I saw this movie, so I was dying to get my grubby paws on this loaded DVD from New Line. Albeit, sequels rarely shine as well as the original, but TCM III put forth quite a movie for a franchise that was assumed dead in the mid 90’s.

Texas is still discovering body pits from the first two movies when we catch up with a couple of co-ed students driving cross country from California to Florida. On their way through the lonestar state, they happen to come across one of the pits and we get to see first hand the decomposition of last season’s victims. Kudos are in order for the SFX team on this flick, creating an abysmal vision of backwoods Texas with the littering of skulls and melted body fat in the makeshift graveyards. Once the co-eds grab a healthy dose of death, they head off into the night. The next morning, we see Viggo Mortensen dropped off at a gas station in the middle of nowhere. Shortly afterwards the co-eds pull up in their baby blue Benz, lookin to gas up and take a pee. After a short harassment episode by the attendant, the co-eds get chased off the property at gunpoint while Mortensen fends off the cooky attendant.

Riding down a shortcut road identified by Mortensen’s character, the duo have a brush with death as their ambushed by Leatherface. The two escape without any bodily harm, only to have a near miss accident with “survivalist” Ken Foree. For those of you that don’t know Foree, he gained his fame in Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, as part of the riot patrol/ surviving cast. Anyways, a great chase scene ensues between Leatherface, Foree, the co-eds and a kidnapping escapee, all leading to the family house of horrors where our main heroine gets to meet Leatherface’s kin. The amazing feature of the TCM series is that no matter how many sequels, there always seems to be a revolving door of family members introduced. I mean, how many fucking offspring can one family tree have?

A great climactic scene erupts when Foree rescues our heroine from a facelift session with Leatherface, as he literally blows apart the kitchen (and the family) with his handy automatic rifle. Showdowns with Mortensen and Leatherface provide great action sequences, and we can see that Foree’s still got it after nearly 15 years of blastin’ zombies.

Burr’s vision of a desolate Texas is simply astonishing, with the effective use of abandoned roads and thick brush as a backdrop. I won’t go as far as saying the scenery is breathtaking, but he forces a feeling of hopelessness on the viewer as the movie progresses. The house is appropriately decorated with spinal remains and the sorts, the kitchen being the main focal point of family function. Although the house isn’t as festively decorated as the tunnels in TCM II, the simplicity of the abode relays the message that the family is out for one thing: food.

Loaded from top to bottom with extras, including deleted scenes, a Making Of documentary, and alternate ending and DVD ROM content, Leatherface delivers like most horror DVDs can’t even imagine. I particularly enjoyed the whole “We know what to do with them parts” section which goes further into depth regarding the kitchen scene where Momma delivers her speech about Leatherface’s skills with carving the nether-regions.

Granted, Leatherface will never measure up to the original TCM’s fan base, but it does serve up a healthy dose of gore and solid performances by Foree, Mortensen and Hodge. In my opinion, the franchise should have ended here, but unfortunately this gem was buried in the series by the New Generation, lack of Hansen as Leatherface and of course the re-make. Pick up a copy of this baby and you have my personal guarantee that it’s a considerable “cut” above the ordinary slasher.