'OKAY, BOOMER': TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (2022) AND THE MESSY POLITICS OF INFLUENCER CULTURE

Leatherface returns 50 years later in TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (2022). Image courtesy of Netflix.

“So, are you guys a cult?,” asks the redneck-ish character of Richter (played by MOE DUNFORD) to our young group of victims- I mean protagonists - in DAVID BLUE GARCIA’s 2022 slasher sequel, TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. “We’re idealist individuals who want to build a better world,” one of them cooly responds to him. “Yeah, that’s a cult,” he deadpans. 

But instead of communes and charismatic leaders, we now have influencers and millennials, bringing the collective twaddle of “wanting to build a better world” through product promotion and mass commercialization of a small town to the heart of Texas country.  What the locals of Harlow, Texas see as a simple way of life for years and years, the young developers see as a relic of a racist and sexist culture that must be eradicated and “improved.” I mean, fair point, but definitely not by these obnoxious gabronies.

In TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (2022) a group of young entrepreneurs unwittingly come onto Leatherface’s turf. Image courtesy of Netflix.

Entrepreneurs Melody (SARAH YARKIN, or as I called her, bobo Alia Shawkat) and Dante (JACOB LATIMORE), Melody's sister Lila (ELSIE FISHER) and Dante's girlfriend Ruth (NELL HUDSON) travel to the remote Texan town of Harlow in their Tesla-like, luxury vehicle. The town has long been abandoned, and the group plans to auction off the properties to create a trendy, heavily gentrified area complete with food trucks, art galleries, and comic book stores, seeking to turn the town into another Austin, Texas (and before you come at me, my mother was from Austin, so calm the eff down).

We are a long way from the original 1974 film, which saw director Tobe Hooper using themes of cultural and political changes in the societal landscape, resulting from Watergate and the Vietnam War, as a template for his vision of raw savagery. Hooper also famously used serial killer Ed Gein and convicted serial killer Elmer Wayne Henley’s crimes as inspiration, after seeing Henley’s arrest and his shocking acts plastered over television sets in San Antonio. The “lack of sentimentality and the brutality of things” Hooper noticed while watching the graphic nature of his local news led to his belief that, “man was the real monster here, just wearing a different face, so I put a literal mask on the monster in my film.”

Leatherface puts on the mask again in TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (2022). Image courtesy of Netflix.

In this direct sequel, set 50 years after the original events of the 1974 film, there is no question as to who the monsters are, with the film being a scathing indictment of influencer, millennial, and “cancel culture.” The metaphor is so heavy-handed, I’m surprised my TV didn’t tip over while I was watching this. And yes, these millennials are the worst - entitled, whiny, insufferable brats, so watching them as one by one they get stabbed, bashed, and of course, chainsaw-ed, I was forced to wonder, who are we rooting for in this film? The obvious answer seems like it would be returning 1974 final girl Sally Hardesty (this time played by OLWEN FOUÉRÉ), but this isn’t HALLOWEEN 2018, no matter how much it attempts to rip that film off. Where HALLOWEEN 2018 delved deep into Laurie Strode’s trauma and the profound ripples it made across her family, we get only fleeting glimpses into the extent of Sally’s decades-long trauma. Her appearance in this film feels sadly wasted and shoehorned in, an opportunity for people my age to do the Leonardo DiCaprio pointing meme at their TV’s as we bask in the comfort of nostalgic recognition. 

It’s Leatherface vs. Millennials in TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (2022). Image courtesy of Netflix.

So, do we root for Leatherface instead? That’s what the film certainly wants us to do. This incarnation of the chainsaw-wielding killer is perhaps one of the most sympathetic iterations of the infamous horror villain the franchise has offered to date. In the 50 years since his infamous massacre, we are led to believe that he has led a quiet life, putting down the chainsaw in favor of a more normal life, living out his years at a now-defunct orphanage. We even see his human face for significant amounts of time, no longer the faceless, seemingly inhuman killer from the original. But when a devastating event happens, Leatherface once again dons a flesh mask, this time in the name of revenge and grief. His target? Yep, those horrible millennials who have come and disturbed his peaceful way of life. Though it’s been 50 years since he last killed - wait, how old is he supposed to be in this? - he is no less brutal, bashing in skulls, cutting off faces, and in perhaps the best scene in the film, cutting a blood-soaked path through a path of partygoers on a bus.

Original TCM survivor, Sally Hardesty (OLWEN FOUÉRÉ) returns seeking vengeance in TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (2022). Image courtesy of Netflix.

What made the original TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE film so effective was the simple, yet visceral nature of it. You could feel the heat radiating off each frame, the dust, the bones, the human skin - it is downright artistic in its textures and camera angles, the sheer terror and bruality seeming to drip from every moment, despite the lack of gore. If there is one thing this sequel does not skimp on, it's the viscera.  But even the sheer amount of blood spillage feels like it doesn’t cut as deep as the original. Some will blame CGI, and yes, though I’m definitely a practical effects girl in my heart, there is some brilliant CGI out there in horror films. For me, there is little real terror in these kills because everyone in this film (with one exception) is just the fucking worst. Don’t get me wrong, watching a bunch of petulant, entitled millennials get cut the hell up isn’t going to be my worst movie-viewing experience, but hey, I’m Gen X, so that’s par for the course. There’s a lot of kills, but there’s very little in the way of sheer terror. 

Leatherface has had enough of the youngsters in TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (2022). Image via Netflix.

The film ultimately is a caustic, yet clumsy indictment against today’s youth culture, which feels like an easy cop-out that’s about five years too late in its relevance. Just how much does this film hate millenials? At one point, one of the characters literally has feces pour out on them when Leatherface’s chainsaw breaks through a sewage line. Yeah, youngsters, the writers are literally SHITTING on your entire culture in this film. However, if you are a bitter and hardened Gen X’er like myself, you’ll be more likely to settle into the couch, grab that lava lamp-esque Orbitz drink that’s been in the back of your fridge since 1997, and mutter to yourself, “eh, it could’ve been worse” as the credits start to roll.

My Rating: 6/10

Where to Watch:

TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE is currently Available to watch on Netflix.

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