Again?!

 

 (wikipedia)

TEXAS CHAINSAW-(3D)-2013-A young woman named Heather (Alexandria Daddario) finds out she's related to the infamous bloodthirsty "family" from the original 1972 movie after her grandmother dies and leaves her a mansion in Newt, Texas. She drives there with her boyfriend (Trey Songz) and another couple. Along the way, they pick up a hitchhiker (who turns out to be the first victim). Yes, bad old Leatherface (her cousin Jed Sawyer) is still alive and seeking revenge on the mayor and the other inbred hicks who killed "their family". A deputy Carl (Scott Eastman) seems helpful but turns out to be redneck scum too. Sadistic, graphic, idiotic excuse to turn Leatherface (Dan Yeager) into a hero but since he's a work of fiction and the white cracker hillbillies really exist well who am I to criticize? Thank God for African American sheriffs! And they all lived happily ever after. 

What's wrong with filmmakers today? 

Bill Moseley, Gunnar Hansen and Marilyn Burns have small roles (the last for Hansen and Burns).

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Pierce

THE WINDS OF AUTUMN-1976-In 1844 Montana, a deranged hillbilly woman (Jeanette Nolan) helps her equally deranged son escape from a chain gang with the help of her brother (Jack Elam) and some other sons (including Andrew Prine). After the break out, they hold up at the home of a Quaker family where sonny boy shows why he should have remained in jail as he kills the couple's  young daughter. Then mom and dad are killed. Only the young son Joel (Chuck Pierce Jr.; son of the director) survives. He gets a mule and a shotgun and follows the demented family. Along the way he meets Rattler (Dub Taylor) who dispenses some advice. Later the brothers rob a whorehouse (a long and useless sub-plot). Although blood thirsty the family is kind of dumb. After nearly freezing to death and being captured by what remains of the family, Joel sort of gets revenge with the help of a family friend. According to the credits the whores were supplied by Playboy Inc. (although one of them is played by TTCSM's Marilyn Burns).

This strange violent western with a kid hero was directed by Charles B. Pierce (he has a small role) who made THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK just a few years before. He directed THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN in 1976 also.

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Eaten Alive!

EATEN ALIVE-1977-This was director Tobe Hooper’s follow up movie after THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. It was written by the same screenwriter, Kim Henkel and features one of it‘s stars. It didn’t get too wide of a release and was not nearly as well known as it’s predecessor. The first scene features Robert Englund as a john wanting anal sex. Not the best way to start off a movie…

Neville Brand stars a Jed, a mumbling drug addict with a fake leg who owns a motel/crocodile farm. After his attempted rape of a runaway whore (Crystin Sinclair) fails, he stabs her with a rake and feeds her to his “crocs”. A weird couple (William Finley and Marilyn Burns) and their daughter stay in a room after their dog is eaten. They argue a lot and act strange. After Jed kills the father and ties the mother to a bed he terrorizes the daughter with a scythe (she hides under the house to escape him). Meanwhile Mel Ferrer searches for his missing daughter (the first victim) and a hick sheriff (Stuart Whitman) investigates. Carolyn Jones is almost unrecognizable as Miss Matty, the owner of the local whorehouse. Jed feels nearly everyone to his crocs.

Despite Brand’s manic performance and a pretty whacked out climax EATEN ALIVE it isn’t that good! It’s drawn out and cheap looking but the excellent lighting and music help.

After this Hooper’s career kind of took an unfortunate nosedive, as he was replaced on two movies (THE DARK and VENOM) and although he has the director’s credit on POLTERGEIST it’s considered that Steven Spielberg directed most of it. He did manage to make a decent TV adaptation of Stephen King’s ’SALEM’S LOT but this was followed by disappointing features like THE FUNHOUSE, LIFEFORCE, a remake of INVADERS FROM MARS and finally TCSM-2. Lately he’s done TV episodes and another remake, THE TOOLBOX MURDERS. As for this writing he’s suppose direct a version of another King novel, FROM A BUICK 8.

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