Just watched FIVE EASY PIECES ... What a great film ... Karen Black's best role ... ( ok, go ahead ... insert sarcasm here )
And having seen it in the theater, I decided to take a second look at THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE remake ...
Initially, I was pleasantly surprised ... Back when it was released in the theaters, I feared the worst ..... And upon a second viewing, I was a bit less impressed, but I enjoyed it nonetheless ...
What bothered me a bit initially, but alot second time around, was Leatherface ... The fact that he was given an "out" because of a skin disease was lame ... The dialog about him being picked on as a kid and the fact that he actually had a "reason" to wear the masks spoiled much horror vibe ......
In the original, Leatherface was not overexplained and there were never any overtures to him dealing with society or other kids/girls ... In the orig, Gunner Hansen's Leatherface was genuinely creepy in part because we just didn't know what was going on ..... Most terrifying was his "female" mask, which touched on bizarre gender/role aspects .... ( although I did like the shot in the remake when Jessica Biel catches a glimpse of Kemper's mask on Leatherface ) .....
The remake also stayed away from the cannibalism theme, which I didn't like ... I never once got the feeling that the victims ( past or present ) were destined for consumption ...
Still, a pretty good film, but ehhhh ... decent