Texas Chainsaw 3D

Plot

Following the events of the original film, the people of Newt, Texas, led by Mayor Burt Hartman (Paul Rae), burn down the farmhouse of the murderous Sawyer clan in an act of vigilante justice. The arsonists are proclaimed heroes of the community, and the entire Sawyer family is killed. However, an infant, Edith Rose Sawyer, is found by one of the townsmen, Gavin Miller, who promptly murders her mother, Loretta Sawyer. Gavin and his wife Arlene take the child into their care and raise her as their own daughter.

Decades later, Heather (Alexandria Daddario) discovers that she was adopted after receiving a letter that her grandmother, Verna Carson, has passed away. Heather, her boyfriend Ryan, her best friend Nikki, and Nikki's boyfriend Kenny travel to her grandmother's home in Newt to collect her inheritance. Along the way, the group picks up a hitchhiker named Darryl. Upon arriving, Heather is given a letter that she neglects to read. As the group explores the house, they decide to stay the night. Heather and her friends leave to buy food and supplies, leaving Darryl behind to look after the house. Darryl begins stealing valuables and is killed by Leatherface (Dan Yeager) in the basement.

Later that day, Heather and her friends return to find the house ransacked. While Kenny is preparing dinner, he goes downstairs to the cellar where Leatherface impales him on a hook. Heather finds Darryl's body and is attacked by Leatherface, but she manages to escape. Nikki and Ryan draw the attention of Leatherface, while Heather gets in the van and picks up her friends. Using his chainsaw, Leatherface cuts through one of the tires, which causes the van to crash, killing Ryan on impact. He then chases Heather to a nearby carnival, where Deputy Carl Hartman (Scott Eastwood), the mayor's son, and the police are patrolling the grounds.

Heather escapes to the police. While at the police department, she begins digging through the files, learning how the Sawyer family was killed and empathizing with them. The sheriff and Hartman send an officer to investigate the Carson estate. Over the phone, the officer reports his findings. He finds Nikki hiding in the trunk and accidentally shoots her in the head before he himself is killed by Leatherface. Leatherface skins the flesh from the officer's cadaver and uses it to create a new flesh mask.

Enraged by the officer's findings, Hartman vows to end the remaining Sawyers, kidnapping Heather and taking her to a slaughterhouse to lure Leatherface. Listening over the deceased officer's police radio, Leatherface learns of Heather's location and goes to the slaughterhouse to kill her. Before he is able to do so, he sees a Sawyer birthmark on Heather's chest and releases her. Leatherface is then attacked from behind by Hartman. Hartman physically and repetitively beats Leatherface, until Heather tosses Leatherface his chainsaw. He uses it to force Hartman to his death in a meat grinder. Afterwards, Leatherface and Heather return to the Carson Estate, where Heather reads the letter she was given. It informs her that she is Edith Sawyer, that Leatherface is her cousin and that he will protect her, but it also requests that she take care of him in return.

In a post-credits scene, Heather's adopted parents show up at the Carson estate to visit Heather, intending on greedily splitting her assets. As they wait in front of the door, Leatherface comes through the door with his chainsaw in hand.

Cast

Production

In January 2007, Platinum Dunes executives Bradley Fuller and Andrew Form stated that the company would not be producing the third film in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot franchise. In October 2009, it was announced that Twisted Pictures and Lionsgate Films were attempting to purchase the rights to the franchise, with Twisted Pictures producing and Lions Gate distributing. According to Variety writer Michael Fleming, the plan was to create a contemporary film in 3-D, with Stephen Susco writing the script. The contract, with rights-holders Bob Kuhn and Kim Henkel, would be for multiple films. In May 2011, Lions Gate announced that it would be partnering with Nu Image to produce the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and that John Luessenhop would direct the film. Mazzocone will act as producer, with production having been set to begin in June 2011. Mazzocone also announced that the story would pick up where Tobe Hooper's original film ends. Adam Marcus and Debra Sullivan were brought in to write the script; Kirsten Elms and Luessenhop worked on rewrites and script polishing. Neither Twisted Pictures nor Nu Image had a credit on the finished film, which had to be re-cut before release, as it received an NC-17 rating due to excessive gore during its initial submission to the MPAA.

Critical reviews

On Rotten Tomatoes, Texas Chainsaw has an approval rating of 19% based on 76 reviews, with an average rating of 3.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "As an ugly and cynical attempt to rebrand Leatherface as horror anti-hero, Texas Chainsaw 3D is a bold move for the franchise." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 31 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". On CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale, with 63% of moviegoers being under the age of 25.

IGN editor Eric Goldman wrote, "A few fun 3D-aided jump-scares aside, Texas Chainsaw 3D is a generic and laughable attempt to follow the original."

Box office

On its opening night, Texas Chainsaw took first place, earning approximately $10,200,000 at the North American box office. The film ultimately took first place for the entire weekend, making $21,744,470. As of March 2013, the film has made $39,093,317 worldwide.

Home media

On May 14, 2013, the film was released on DVD and Blu-ray/Blu-ray 3D, which includes an UltraViolet digital copy of the film along with multiple commentaries and featurettes, an alternate opening and the trailer.

Merchandise

In March 2015 Hollywood Collectibles released a 20-inch Leatherface action figure, based on Dan Yeager portrayed figure.