Texas Chainsaw 3D

2.5/4

Starring: Alexandra Daddario, Tremaine 'Trey Songz' Neverson, Tania Raymonde, Keram Malicki-Sanchez, Shaun Sipos

Rated R for Strong Grisly Violence and Language Throughout

"Texas Chainsaw 3D" is hilarious.  Unless it's a "Scream" movie, that's a bad thing for a horror movie.  But the film is so openly comic and so silly that it had to be on purpose.  In fact, one could argue that this film belongs more in the "comedy" genre rather than "horror."

Heather (Daddario) is about to go on vacation to New Orleans with her boyfriend Ryan (Neverson) and friends Nikki (Raymonde) and Kenny (Malicki-Sanchez).  Shortly before their departure, Heather gets a letter saying that she inherited a house from her grandmother.  Strange, since all of her grandparents are long dead.  Still, she goes to claim her inheritance with her friends tagging along (plus a hitchhiker named Darryl (Sipos)).  What she doesn't know is that the huge mansion comes with a very unwanted occupant: a chainsaw wielding monster who uses the faces of his victims to create masks.  And Heather and her friends would make nice additions.

This film is so funny that I know that director John Lussenhop (who previously made the stylish "Takers") had to be in on it. The story is beyond ridiculous, and the script requires the characters to do some amazingly stupid things (as horror movie characters are want to do),.,  But these people are so dense that they become more like Bill & Ted rather than Sidney Prescott.

The acting isn't anything special.  Alexandrea Daddario is okay as the heroine, but doesn't have much in the way of dramatic acting.  Tremaine Neverson is okay as the token black guy.  Tania Raymonde is hot but apart from her husky voice, there's nothing to distinguish her from a random scream queen.  Keram Malicki-Sanchez is worth mentioning because kids who grew up in the 90's  will remember him as the curious alien named Zardip for those cheesy videos they showed in class.

Lussenhop finds the correct balance between horror and comedy.  It's never too fatuous nor too dark, and a lot of the funny scenes really land.  There are more one-liners than in most action movies today, and I'm pretty sure that they were intentional.

The film gets off to a rocky start, although there are a few very effective jump scenes here and there.  The film's final act rests on motivation that can only be described as "poor."  There are too many problems for me to recommend it outright, but for those who love cheese and who have a twisted sense of humor, this is kinda fun.

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