Neoclassical Ideals versus Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The gory remake of 1970’s camp classic, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” is almost a good example of neoclassical ideals. However, where the movie fails to meet those ideals, it fails big. The most prevalent: no violence on stage. Now you may not have seen the new or the old version, but the title sums up the story very well, except that it is not a massacre, the attractive twenty-somethings die one by one.

In the first scene, four friends have already picked up a hitch hiker and are merrily on their way to a Lynnard Skynnard concert when they see a girl walking by the side of the road mumbling to herself, unaware of the world around her. To keep the plot moving, they decide to pick her up and help her. After a few minutes in the van, the girl pulls a gun out of a feminine hiding place that I’m still not sure is possible to keep a gun, and shoots herself. The camera angle uses this tragedy every chance it gets throughout the rest of the movie. The group tries to call the sheriff to explain what happened and run into redneck after frightening redneck, until finally Leatherface claims his first victim. Wondering where her boyfriend went, one of the girls and a

The first rule of neoclassical theatre is decorum, that characters must behave based on age, rank, and the like. The young, stupid kids behave just like that. Leatherface is an odd character but given that, he behaves the way a chainsaw-toting, human flesh eating maniac should. The sheriff’s character confuses me. At first, you think he’s just a bad cop: rude, sloppy, creepy. Then you find out he’s part of the creepy redneck family toward the end, so is he acting the way he should or not? I think that complex characters are allowed in neoclassical theatre because his purpose in the plot may shift but he was always a bad guy.

The few scarce subplots that are mentioned in the beginning of the movie aren’t followed up for very long. As an audience member, you stop questioning something when a character dies. Three minutes into the movie, you can guess it’s not going to end with them at the concert. Overall, the plot is fairly thin: man kills travelers because they were rude to his family and they fit the description of kids that used to make fun of him. Originally he killed for food, but the remake left that out.

Back in the day, some may have argued that “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” was a comedy because it had a happy ending. I wanted that one girl to die so it wasn’t a happy ending for me. Plus, she stole the trucker’s 16-wh

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