Well, five teens have wandered off there Levi's advert set and into Texas for MTV style slasher fun!

No, not the classic 1974 Tobe Hooper original but the utterly pointless and, quite frankly irritating 2003 remake. Though the basic plot follows pretty similar lines, the outcome is a far cry from the genuinely horrifying 70's version. Though the remake will, no doubt, appeal to those misguided individuals whose concept of horror consists solely of the seemingly endless stream of teen junk slasher movies churned out in the name of reinventing a sadly largely forgotten genre, those of us gifted with the ability to form our own opinions know such is not the case.

Basically the film is effective enough as a gore-fest horror in its own right, the trouble is that it isn't a film in its own right, it's a remake, and as such it stinks. It just makes you wonder how people have the audacity to take it upon themselves to produce something so obviously doomed to failure, which seems a shame considering Marcus Nispel could have made a success of something more achievable. The problem of remaking such an infamous film is that it was a product of an era, just as this one is. Hooper's film was and still is truly horrific, not because it was so gory but because of the creepiness of its low budget 16mm grainy appearance. You had that voyeuristic feeling that you were really witness to the actual events which also seemed plausible. Maybe Nispel's music video background added to this but you just know that with a glossy big budget movie you can't achieve that good old low budget creep.

Similarly, aspects of the plot badly misfire. You know what Nispel was aiming for in the classic weird town scenes but he misses the mark so badly it's embarrassing to watch. Leatherface's facial disfigurement being offered as some kind of possible motivation is neither pitiful enough nor reason enough to explain just exactly what in the hell is wrong with everyone else. As casting and performances go, I feel a good measure of shame should be portioned on those responsible, with the exception of R.Lee Ermey (Full Metal Jacket and the sadly underrated The Frighteners) who turns in a typically solid performance as the sheriff with an unusual taste in women (Protect and serve, that's what we do-hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.) As for our hapless bunch of teens, led by token eye-candy in the shape of the lovely but dull Jessica Biel of skincare advert fame, they're just so bland you find yourself willing their slaughter.

Despite its faults, and they are many, this film does offer some beautiful cinematography, including Leatherface in a feather snow which I found to be particularly touching (is that so wrong?) It just seems a shame that this film is burdened by the title of remake as it could have stood on its own two feet perfectly well without such big shoes to fill.

Overall a decent enough horror, with plenty of gore, but few genuine scares. Get the popcorn out it's a 5/10