Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III
Tags: comedy, suspenseful, gothic, murder, violence, insanity, revenge, sadist

Plot synopsis:
In the beginning, we learn some more of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre's history. We learn that Sally Hardesty died of catatonia in 1977. We also learn that another family member that probably never appeared in the first one, W.E. Sawyer, of the cannibalistic clan was trialed and executed in 1981. During W.E.'s trial, the jury had came to the conclusion that since Leatherface was not taken into custody, they stated that it is unsure whether or not there is a Leatherface in reality. Now, taking place after the second movie, the year in the third installment is 1991. Chop Top didn't die at the end of Part 2 and is currently locked up in an asylum. Leatherface went off to live with some relatives along with Grandpa after the incident in 1987 as well. Leatherface continues along with his reign of terror as the killing machine he was before with the Sawyers keeping the Texas Chainsaw Massacre alive along with his relatives too.In the opening scenes, a young couple, Ryan and Michelle, are traveling from California to Florida in order to return a car they borrowed from a close relative, but "there's roadkill all over Texas". They are soon stopped near the interstate at a checkpoint due to an old cemetery desecration, which turned out to be a mass grave of 40-70 bodies just thrown into the one big hole. They are confronted by a Texas State Trooper who permits them to carry on but warns them not to stop on the road for anybody.After getting past the checkpoint, they stop at a service station owned by Alfredo Sawyer, a member of the cannibal family. After hitchhiking, Tex (a.k.a. Eddie Sawyer), stops at the service station as well, in time to give the kids some directions and to stop Alfredo from harassing Michelle who then gets in a fight with Tex saying that it's his place and he can do anything he wants to do there as he then grabs his shotgun and shoots Tex with it. As they leave the service station in a state of shock speeding away for dear life while they were shot at as well by Alfredo, Ryan tells Michelle that Tex gave him directions on where to go.Little did they know, it would lead them to Leatherface while another family member, Tinker Sawyer, tracks them down and knocks them off the road with his large 4-Wheel drive vehicle!!! Once knocked off the road by Tinker according to the family's plan, Ryan and Michelle change a tire that had popped during their get away, but run into Leatherface in the process. They manage to escape, but even more in a state of shock and panic. Due to their reactions towards the family, they end up running off the road again by Tex Sawyer who had found his way into the middle of the road they were getting onto and get hit by another car.The driver is a hunter and survialist by the name of Benny who recovers them from the scene of the crash and helps them. He tells them that his buddies were killed by the Sawyer family and he's out for revenge. After treating the couple, Benny heads on up the road back toward his truck finding Tinker who then tries to run him over. Benny jumps out of the way of Tinker's vehicle and falls down a hill nearby only to run into Leatherface. Benny fights off Leatherface and is saved by a young teenage girl who distracts Leatherface as Benny gets back on his knees. Leatherface ends up loosing the girl who goes back to be with Benny.The teen girl says that she was part of a group of people who were killed by the family as well. Benny comforts her and then goes back to where Ryan and Michelle were, since they weren't moving as much after the accident, but Ryan and Michelle had taken off from that place leaving the young girl alone and defenseless as she is killed by Leatherface due to how protected she was. Ryan is killed by Leatherface as he falls into a bear trap set up by the family telling Michelle to leave as Ryan is impaled by Leatherface's chainsaw.Michelle finds her way into a nearby house and finds a little girl who she follows to the girl's room. Once there, the girl shows Michelle her doll, Sally.... made out of the bones of a baby victim of the cannibal family!!!!! Michelle is all of a sudden grabbed by Tex who turns on the light in the girl's room revealing many human bones and remains as she is taken into the kitchen and nailed to a chair.Meanwhile, Benny, still outside in the woods, finds Alfredo who is disposing human remains in a nearby swamp and knocks him into it. Ryan's body is taken into the house and hanged on a machine built by Tinker, who is the real "brains" of the whole family when it comes to manufacturing. Mama Sawyer appears, who is a crippled old lady confided to a wheelchair and speaks through a voice box, and who cares for the deathly pale Grandpa Sawyer.(NOTICE: THIS NEXT SEQUENCE DESCRIBED IS DEPICTED IN ONLY THE UNRATED VERSION OF THE FILM! IF YOU DESIRE NOT TO READ THIS, SCROLL DOWN TO THE NEXT "NOTICE" I PLACED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE TO AVOID READING THE FOLLOWING EVENT IN THE PLOT AND TO ACKNOWLEDGE WHEN IT IS OVER DUE TO THE NEXT "NOTICE" POSTED ALERTING YOU!)Later on, the little girl (a.k.a. Leatherface's daughter), kills Ryan off after he was hanging on the newly-improved meathook machine bleeding to death as the little girl pulls a lever that releases a sledgehammer, which whacks him in the face.(NOTICE: THIS IS THE END OF THE DESCRIPTION OF THE UNRATED SEQUENCE OF THE FILM!)Now almost supper time, Leatherface (whom the family refers to as 'Junior') tries out a new chainsaw given to him by Tex with "the Saw is Family" carved on the bar of the bright golden chainsaw on Michelle. Luckily, she survives as Benny arrives outside the kitchen window firing an automatic M-16 rifle at the house, killing Mama Sawyer, Grandpa Sawyer, and eventually Tinker Sawyer all present at the table ready to eat Michelle.Michelle frees herself runs out of the house being chased by Leatherface and looses him as Tex swings an axe at Benny releasing gas from Tinker's car as Benny ignites up his lighter and throws it on the ground as it hits the gasoline killing Tex who burns to death.Michelle ends up running back into Leatherface right when Benny hits Leatherface into a swamp saving Michelle. Leatherface ends up knocking out Benny as he falls to the bottom of the swamp. Leatherface then grabs onto Michelle dragging her into the swamp with her, but she hits him over the head with a rock knocking him out as well as he then sinks to the bottom too.Michelle runs and finds a truck that belonged to Alfredo as it opens up and Benny gets out of the car and comforts her, but all of a sudden Benny is knocked over by Alfredo who is still alive due to only being thrown into a swamp. Michelle jumps into the truck, finds a shotgun, and shoots Alfredo with it killing him finally. Benny gets off his feet and gets back in the truck with Michelle as they drive off into freedom, but as this happens, Leatherface, who is still alive as well as his daughter, watches Benny and Michelle as they drive away.

Review: Narrowly escaping him, they only end up nearly in a head-on collision with a weekend warrior.The three of them eventually team up; the couple are just trying to live through the night, but the weekend warrior wants to go after our new friend with the chainsaw.This has dialogue far superior to the original, and isn't as silly and over-the-top as the underrated Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.
It's graphic, but it uses its gore and bloodshed almost as part of telling the story, as well as referencing the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre (through camera angles, props, and bits of dialogue) without going so far as to rip off that film.
The music score was surprisingly effective, and did not distract from the movie itself.David Schow did a great job with this screenplay, for the most part, but film falls into the "undying killer" mode in its repetitive final third, where seemingly every character (Tex, Alfredo, Leatherface, Benny) returns from the dead for one last encore performance.Unfortunately, the theatrical version of the movie was seemingly edited with a chainsaw, and released in a horribly truncated version, missing several minutes of footage and rendering much of the plot incoherent.
"Leatherface:Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3" is the nastiest installment of the series.There is plenty of violence,gore and ghoulish humour to satisfy many horror fans.The production design by Mick Strawn is simply striking and the acting is fairly convincing.The opening sequence,a grisly excavation of a mass grave in the woods,is unsettling enough to set a proper mood,but the ending is silly and disappointing.As for the characters Alfredo(Tom Everett)simply steals the show-in my opinion he is a variation on the first film's Hitchhiker character.And of course there is Leatherface(R.A.Mihailoff),who has a big shiny new saw.All in all if you liked the first two TCM movies give this one a look-I think that it's worth your time,just avoid "The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre"(1994)like the plague!.
I really liked this film a lot, but you have to watch it with an open mind and forget the other TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE movies that it follows.
It, in no way seems to be connected, other than the name Leatherface.As far as slasher movies go with legends like Jason Vorhees, Michael Myers, Norman Bates etc., this film fits in well.
Also this one has a great chainsaw, plenty of great character actors doing what they do best, as great characters.The film would have been better had the squeamish producers left in the X-rated violent scenes as they were originally.
I'm actually really surprised at all the positive reviews for this film here, considering its horrible reputation.Made on a shoestring budget with no-name actors (at least at the time, obviously Viggo went on to A-list-ish status) obviously there is nothing new or original here about this outing, as can be said of most sequels.
It's an underrated performance, in a film with uniformly underrated performances.The film's pacing in this first half is also impressive- from the deceptively mundane car conversation that opens the film to the bizarre "body pit" sequence which was so absurd, awkward, yet somehow plausibly creepy, indeed, it bordered on parody, (but then, this film as a whole can be seen almost as a parody), to the armadillo murder scene, then the gas station sequence: all these sequences are knowing winks to the first film, but because the film modernizes them, it benefits as it places the viewers in the "now" instead of the "then" (the original's documentary feel is one of the film's greatest strengths, but years later, it does give one the feeling of watching historical news/documentary footage of something that already occurred-again,part of the film's raw, unnerving power, to be sure).
There are HINTS of wit and social commentary (the mocking by one of the chainsaw clan of the elitist "California" couple's underwear, Ken Foree's completely out-of-place military survivalist, and Leatherface's hilarious scene with the Speak and Spell that somehow manages to evoke sympathy from viewers), but these clever bits don't really SAY anything or add insight.
But then comes the final shot, which is almost as if director Burr threw up his arms and said "alright, time for the trendy 80's slasher movie ending....this ain't no art film after all".
I liked this version a whole lot more than the Texas ChainsawMassacre II...for one it didn't give Leatherface feelings, 2 is waskinda scary at some points, and 3 it had good acting.
The mainfemale lead was gorgeous and I have a major crush on her (toobad she's not in a lot of movies) and the guy who did Leatherfacedid a decent job, (though his 'Leatherface' didn't look all too great)I'm gonna have to go with my favorite character being the deranged gas station peeping tom.....he was the next best thing to theoriginal Hitchhiker.
The film has good acting by Viggo Mortensen, Kate Hodge and Ken Foree and unlike the other films, the Sawyer family is largerThe first Texas Chainsaw Massacre was so famous because few horror films such as itself were not made in the '70s.
Leatherfaces final moment before the film ends, makes him out to be more inhuman then I once thought, then again this is the same guy who had a chainsaw rammed through him.You may ask why I gave this a 6 out of 10, well I don't think it's all that bad, it was a more enjoyable sequel than Part 2, at least from my first viewing, we'll see if that changes in time once I've viewed it a couple more times.
Leatherface:Texas Chainsaw Massacre III has to be one of the best "slasher" movies to come out of the late 80's early 90's horror slide.
It returns the setting to the isolated house in the woods, Leatherface is completely maniacal in a circus freak kind of way as in the original movie and he looks as ferocious and scary as I've ever seen him.
I'm hesitating to call LEATHERFACE TCM 3 the worst TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE movies because I watched TCM 4 after this one.
But these factors didn't stop me from mildly enjoying this torturous outing that seems to skip the events that followed on in Hooper's outrageously jokey sequel "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2".It kind of starts off like the original film by providing a voice over dude giving their own interpretation of what had happened after the first flick and there are scenarios that have that rehash feeling about them.
It's all way too familiar, and of course lacks the sheer intensity of Tobe Hooper's original classic.The film's tone is wildly uneven throughout, and even in the would-be horror scenes it's hard to take it seriously.
Still, on the plus side, it's very fast paced, and it features a great deal of crowd-pleasing horror elements that are sure to win the hearts of splatter fans, although as with the original, it's never quite as gory as you think it's going to be (and I'm talking about the uncut version).One of those crowd-pleasers is Ken Foree, Mr. DAWN OF THE DEAD himself, playing one of the film's would-be victims.
The rest of the actors are less than impressive, and in particular the guy who plays Leatherface is just a stock heavy; there's certainly none of the hulking, imposing brutality that Gunnar Hansen brought to the role.Of course, one of the draws watching this film today is seeing a pre-stardom Viggo Mortensen playing in a decidedly odd type of role, completely different from what you might expect; I enjoyed his performance, even if much of it is played for laughs.
i was impressed with this one,, yeah some parts are jumbled, and sometimes hard to relate to the other 2 original movies, i really liked Viggo Mortensen's character of "tex".
Film festival nomination powered my attention,and after I've seen this, I was happy,cause here is a black comedy,which is not try to be just a comedy at all,it has some really family friend,but strong moments.The alternate ending makes the situation better,be sure your DVD contains that.This time you have to accept this is a low budget and proud of it type of movie.In this(official,or not official-is not matter for me)3-th part,sometimes words,and family has more weight like a good kill for horror fans,but for me personally it's not a big problem,this one is just different,and fair in therms where other ones fails mostly.Few plot holes are still can not keep me back to recommend this,but this one will not satisfy everybody.7/10.
For a ponderous example of why this franchise is going nowhere fast, just take a gander at the third entry in the series, Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III.The plot to this entry is inconsequential, but if you want the reader's digest version: Michelle (Kate Hodge) and Ryan (William Butler) are driving cross-country through Texas and make the bad mistake of stopping at a gas station run by peeping tom psycho Alfredo (Tom Everett) who gets put out with the couple and forces them to flee or meet with the business end of his shotgun.
Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre IIIThis film, basically, revolves around a bunch of people who, by chance, all end up being chased through the Texas wilderness in the middle of the night by Leatherface and his lunatic family.
The movie that followed this one was just putrid.--Genuinely creepy moments--and for this franchise, rather refreshing.--Good looking blood when we have it.--Leatherface's fancy new saw.--Pretty good atmosphere.--The overt cheesiness of the second movie almost completely gone here.--Nice opening to the film.
Sounded pretty good.--Roughly the same plot as the first movie--and almost directly stolen for the fourth.--Some pretty good characters, both in the family and in the victims/survivors.--Felt more like a sequel to the first film than the second--which isn't all bad, because most of the second film was bad.The Bad:--Leatherface's fancy new saw is barely used.--Story of dug-up pit of corpses in the beginning pans out to nowhere.
At least, like the following film, we have a rising star in an early slasher film role: Viggo Mortenson.Memorable Scene:--The survivalist takes aim on the family.Fun Fact:--Stunt Coordinator: Kane "Jason Voorhees" Hodder.--Leatherface wears a leg brace, this idea was carried over to the fourth movie with Matthew McConaughey's character.--The following now-established actors have appeared in TCM films: Matthew McConaughey, Rene Zellweger, Viggo Mortenson, Dennis Hopper, Jessica Biel, and R.
Lee Ermy--God, I love that guy!Acting: 7/10 Story: 7/10 Atmosphere: 8/10 Cinematography: 7/10 Character Development: 6/10 Special Effects/Make-up: 9/10 Nudity/Sexuality: 1/10 Violence/Gore: 9/10 (quality over quantity, lots of violent weirdness) Sets/Backgrounds: 8/10 Dialogue: 7/10 Music: 7/10 Writing: 7/10 Direction: 8/10Cheesiness: 2/10 Crappiness: 0/10Overall: 7/10--My personal rating of the TCM movies in descending (best to worst) quality:1.
But the college students are being helped by a survivalist (Ken Foree) with enough firepower to blast Leatherface and his family, if they survived the night.Directed by Jeff Burr (Stepfather 2) made a entertaining, at times darkly humour sequel/remake of the original film.
Oh, well, it's just a minor flaw.I am aware fan's of the original Texas film were annoyed at how Leatherface has a whole new family in this third installment.
Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre was suppose to be a film with HIGH expectations, due to the major success of the first 2 films.The original film was one of the scariest movies EVER made.
Then in came this film.Most people thought that this movie was the worst Texas Chainsaw Massacre film, and I can see why they say that; non-Tobe-hooper, different leatherface, different family, not connected to the original films, not enough chainsaw.
Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw III is a great movie.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was one of the best horror movies ive ever seen.
Usually when they make a great film they make a sequel that is horrible and then they make another part that is even worse-- that's what happened here except the third part isn't bad, it's a lot better than the second part.
How can I call myself a horror fan (which, for the record, I don't) having seen only bits and pieces of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, one of the most demented movies of all time?
Normally, this would be a good thing, but part of what made the original TCM so freaky and gave it that unique charm is that the film was shot on grainy 16mm, with fairly bad colors, which left it looking like a first-hand "home video" account of the horror.
The story of Leatherface and his family told in the original movie was pretty horrifying but perhaps not realized to its fullest ability because of budget and technological limitations, so it would seem that remaking it with a better budget and technology would work, but, besides the factor of the film not looking "right" with a better film-stock and higher budget, the higher budget meant there was more financial influence, which more simply means it was cut to ribbons by the censors (what's the point of supposedly-brutal killing scenes if there's barely any gore in the film at all?!), and had its original ending (see "Alternate Versions") changed to the awful, unfitting "happy" ending it now has.
It has many good ideas and has good production with decent direction and cinematography to boot, but it just has way too many flaws to ignore.Gone is the low budget gritty feel of the first two entries; Leatherface is big budget, shot in Los Angeles instead of Texas, filmed on crystal clear studio cameras, and sprinkled with an undoubtedly expensive soundtrack from various high-profile rock bands of the time.
Some may find a thing or two to really enjoy, because some stuff is there, but overall, Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 is mostly just kind of boring and too polished for its own good..
I was told it was a huge step up from the campy ridiculous second film.I was lied to.TCM is tame, still quite light hearted and just downright bad.This is the first TCM movie that didn't involve Tobe Hooper and feels like a generic slasher.
Ken Foree is fantastic as always and Viggo of Carpathia as usual just doesn't set the screen alight and doesn't play the zany psychotic very well.Still waiting for a TCM movie that actually impresses me and justifies why Leatherface and the franchise is a household name.The Good: Ken Foree The Bad: Armadillo scene, really?
This really isn't even a direct sequel so to speak because there is no returning characters in the family besides Leatherface and ones that are were previously killed off in previous movies.
If the studio had let Jeff Burr have more control, it would have been a way better movie, but as is I still think it is the best sequel in the "Chainsaw" series..
A great horror flick as a stand-alone, but not enough like the other "Chainsaw" films..
Restored to it's un-cut nastieness, Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III is a fun late-night-sleep-over movie.
This movie was kind of corny I will admit but as a fan of both the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the subsequent sequel I enjoyed this.
I was really looking forward to watching a good horror movie, like the first two TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRES, but that's not what I got.
Anyway, I rate this the best Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie in the series.
the remake of the original (2003) brought the films into a more modern region of terror with some terrifying suspense moments and a more realistic storyline, the latest addition (texas chainsaw massacre-the beginning) is meant to be one of the best yet i have not seen it yet but it is one of my top priorities make sure you do, bye..
Simply The Best Texas Chainsaw Massacre Movie ,So Far. It's Alot More Scarier Than Other in it's Series, and I Really Enjoyed The Game of Cat And Mouse Played out in The Woods.
Showing once again that there can be life for some actors after horror sequels, Viggo Mortensen co-stars in a pre-stardom role as the affable Tex. Mihailoff is a good Leatherface, showing different facets to the character much like Gunnar Hansen and Bill Johnson before him, and making him more than a one-dimensional bogeyman.
A feuding couple on a road trip (the formidable and lovely Kate Hodge alongside '80s horror victim de jour William Butler) find themselves taking a detour to visit good ol' boy Leatherface (R.A. Mihailoff) and his new clan of cannibalistic weirdos (lead by Joe Unger and a fresh- faced Viggo Mortensen).
As you can imagine, the family is tight if not dysfunctional, and their diet subsists of ingredients that would likely make even Paula Deen and Guy Fieri wretch in horror (well, maybe).There's less emphasis on goof and more on gore this time around, and that's not entirely a bad thing; however, the film feels a bit hollow without the dread of the original or the absurdity of the brilliant sequel on hand.
First off there never should have been sequels to the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre I think most fans of the film will agree with me on that.
Leatherface is bad compared to the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 was a pretty good movie, that at least I enjoyed and had fun watching.
Leatherface is a big gory mess of a Texas Chainsaw horror movie, but I would still take it any day of the week over the 2003 remake.
The outrageous gore scenes mixed with Ken Foree's performances makes the film worth seeing but don't expect anything like the original..
There a reason people like to say the first movie of the The Texas chainsaw massacre is better then third one.
Anyway, it's so hard for me writing things like this for any "Texas chainsaw massacre" movie, that's why I'll be short, don't waste your time watching this one.