30 years pass, but the meat stays fresh

Almost 30 years ago, the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre was unleashed upon an unsuspecting, very squeamish public. Tobe Hooper's brutal, intelligent, independent classic proudly staked its claim among the scariest films of all time. Now, a new vision of this archetypal legend emerges.\nTexas' sequels have unanimously disappointed audiences. And remaking goodies of old has proven a mistake (*ahem* Gus Van Sant's Psycho). Furthermore, the new Texas boasts damn near the best theatrical trailer of the year! So, is it worth it? I can honestly say this is the one to get excited about: It's the best horror film in recent years.\nI ask only that everyone not discard this as another "WB" movie. For those skeptics, as a scream queen Jessica Biel would make Jamie Lee Curtis proud. \nTexas is the story of five friends road trippin' through Texas in 1973. After picking up a very disturbed hitchhiker, they're pitched into the bowels of hell as they stumble upon a local slaughterhouse, subject to the path of a demented, chainsaw-wielding killer aptly called Leatherface wearing his victim's faces as masks. The film is one of three, along with Psycho and The Silence of the Lambs based on the real-life murders of Ed Gein. \nTexas exemplifies unrelenting, raw intensity that will persistently keep you on edge. Why? When Leatherface chases a victim, you don't hear footsteps -- you hear the menacing sound of a chainsaw ready and willing to dismember. \nThe cinematography is astounding, placing Texas alongside Dario Argento's (Phenomena) films as one of the most beautiful looking horror flicks ever -- yes, I mean beautiful. Daniel Pearl returns as director of photography, making cinematic history as the first to lens both an original and a remake of the same flick (the 1974 Texas launched his career). \nThe way colors reduce to sepia and how light dramatically pours through the forest canopy and cracks in the dank, rotting slaughterhouse paints an eerily breathtaking aesthetic. The film's foreboding environment evokes a myriad of emotions from beauty to fear. Marcus Nispel's feature directorial debut is a wake-up call to contemporary horror filmmakers.\nWhat places this flick above others in its genre are the characters and tone. Instead of rooting for the kids' demise, you genuinely care and long for their escape. There is none of the self-reflexive teen-comedy camp prevalent in today's "horror" films. This is balls-to-the-wall terror.