4) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
Those who aren’t horror aficionados often refuse to watch Tobe Hooper’s original Texas Chainsaw Massacre on the grounds that it’s too gory for their tastes. Of course, anyone who has seen the 1974 original will know that there is little more than pinprick of blood within its time-frame (certainly in comparison to today’s movies). But given the portentous title and the many chainsaw-wielding, blood-splattering creeps that the film has inspired, certain audiences have conjured up a false assumption that Hooper’s original TCM is soaked in blood and guts from start to finish. Another reason this myth remains afloat is also thanks to the movie’s modern remake from 2003. This rehash does have a gory side to it, and by doing so kind of proves its own inferiority when placed against the original that was made with a shrewd intelligence.
Tobe Hooper’s unrelenting nightmare of terror influenced a generation of horror filmmakers who would go on to replicate TCM‘s techniques, style and themes. In a way, many contemporary horror films are remakes of 1974’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre. But after a couple of shoddy sequels, the movie was officially remade in 2003 under the guidance of Marcus “king of the remakes” Nispel, and consistently incoherent producer Michael Bay. A recipe for disaster if you ever saw one.
What made TCM 1974 so terrifying was the power of suggestion, the fear of the unseen, and the unsettling aspect of the unexplained. All these characteristics are lost in the remake, which emerges as the insignificant, nasty rehash that a lot of critics feared it would be, despite Hooper and original writer Kim Henkel lending a hand.