Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 (1990)

From the piss poor narration on the series staple opening crawl to the characteristically shrill William Butler performance, this movie reeks of early 90’s inconsequence. This pedestrian outing finds a young woman and her male friend driving her father’s car to Florida through the lush, green desert of Texas (California actually).
 
On the way, they run afoul of some unshaven ne’er do well’s and a horribly miscast Viggo Mortenson who has the dubious distinction of being the first (and last) Chainsaw family member ever to use hair gel and floss his teeth onscreen. Ken Foree is along for the tepid ride as well playing a survival nut who comes to the aid of our singularly unlikable heroine.
 
The film was helmed by wholly untalented “gun for hire” Jeff Burr, whose dull, workmanlike direction seems content to simply point at the action and remain in focus without offering any editorial insight or artistic point of view. It’s not really his fault though, this movie isn’t the result of a filmmaker realizing his vision so much as that of a studio hurriedly capitalizing on a recently acquired catalog title. This film is as generic and soulless as they come. Gone are the mind melting visuals and the unnerving soundtrack of previous entries, here replaced by static shots and long, uninterrupted segments of film lacking any sound design whatsoever. Instead of rising tension and psychological depravity (the hallmarks of the series) we’re treated to a series of lazily strung together action sequences that are sadly uninspired and woefully unconvincing.
 
In the first two films the Chainsaw family’s home was a cathedral to murder, madness and decay. In this one their domicile looks like a leftover homestead from the Shane shooting locations. The interior hardly looks more dilapidated than my friends homes save for one room with nondescript bones haphazardly strewn about the floor.
 
R.A. Mihailoff plays a serviceable Leatherface in a bad wig with an unfortunate novelty chainsaw. The rest of the family is ill defined and not compelling in the least. Ken Foree plays his familiar, likeable persona and provides what little charm the film has. I must, however, point out how awful the female lead is. She is incapable of generating sympathy and when she finally finds the strength to fight back at the end her dialog delivery is positively cringe worthy. It’s arch, theatrical and entirely out of place in a Chainsaw film.
 
This is a soulless entry and easily ranks as the worst of the franchise. Never once does it feel like a Chainsaw film. It’s more like a third tier horror/action hybrid with infrequent gore and laughable fight scenes. I suppose that’s what you get when you take Texas out of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
 
½ out of 4 stars

reviewed by Matt Risnes

© Copyright 2009 John Shatzer