The Film (3/5)

    Michelle (Kate Hodge) and Ryan (William Butler) are a couple on the verge of ending their relationship.   However, in an effort to drag things out, and make each other more miserable they decide to take a cross country road trip together from L.A. to Florida where Ryan will stay, and Michelle will depart to New York, and then London.   While the pair drives through Texas they find themselves stopped at a police barricade while the police investigate a recently discovered body pit filled with the decaying remains of murdered corpses.   Soon after their car hits an armadillo, and they stop at a gas station where they are harassed by the creepy Alfredo (Tom Everett), until Tex (Viggo Mortensen) shows up, and helps them to get away before Tex appears to get shot by Alfredo himself.   However, it appears the directions that Tex gave them before he was "dispatched" lead Michelle and Ryan into the hands of Leatherface and the Sawyer clan including the still living Tex. Along the way they meet up with survivalist Benny (Ken Foree), and together they must work together to survive against the cannibalistic clan.

    Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III was oddly, the first Texas Chainsaw Massacre film I ever saw. For a while it was the only one my favored video store carried (they would eventually get 1, 2, and later in the decade The Next Generation).   I was extremely young when I saw this (maybe 11-12), and at the time I remember enjoying it, but not having the urge to go back. I did, of course, have the desire to see the other films after it though, so I assume my initial reaction was positive. I do recall my friends who I watched it with, reacting positively to some of the more humorous moments, like Leatherface playing with the educational toy, and identifying the human as food.

    Watching it now, I certainly got more enjoyment out of the film then I expected out of a Post-Tobe Hooper Chainsaw sequel than I ever expected. However,  from the voiceover on, I felt a little bothered. The story of this one feels like a bit of a reboot of the series than a sequel. The voiceover at the beginning overwrites Hooper's sequel.  The early parts of the story with the gas station and the body pits, and even Alfredo with his Polaroid camera feel like they are rehashing story beats from the first film.   However, this film does have a dark and grim tone that I did end up taking too (not that the others did not).

    The Leatherface of III played wonderfully by R.A. Mihailoff feels like a more matured version of the one from the 2 prior films. This one feels less like the play toy of his siblings, and more like one who is competent to stand on his own, and commit his own actions, which makes him more terrifying.   The sexual subtexts from II are given more of a realized implication with a little girl who is implied to a be a daughter of a victim of the Sawyer clan.

   Speaking of, this is not the same family from the prior films. This is a totally different one with the only returning members being Grandpa and Leatherface. It's as if with everyone else dead, Leatherface and Grandpa were sent off to live with some other gas station owning cannibalistic cousins who could watch over him, or something.

   The performances across the board are solid, but the material doesn't really give the main players much to work with. Ken Foree does decent work with his survivalist character, and Kate Hodge starts out as a dull slasher character, but really amps it up in the 3rd act. The version on the Warner Archive Blu-ray is the unrated cut, but anyone expecting the huge MPAA cuts will probably be disappointed. All this amounts to is a few seconds of trims throughout the film. I don't think Warner has all the splattery footage that was allegedly shot for the film.

Audio/Video (4/5)

    Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III comes to Blu-ray in a very decent 1:78:1 1080p AVC encoded transfer. Everything here looks quite nice, with solid filmlike textures and detail throughout the presentation.  There is a nice organic grain structure that never overwhelms, blacks are nice and deep, and colors are nicely reproduced.

    Audio is handled by a DTS-HD 5.1 track in English. Everything sounds quite solid, and I found no issues with the track.

Extras (3.5/5)

   Extras include a commentary with the makers, a making of documentary, deleted scenes, an alternate ending, and a theatrical trailer.

Overall

     Leatherface Texas Chainsaw Massacre III is probably the last decent  Chainsaw film. It's a bit repetitive borrowing ideas from the original early on, but it has a great Leatherface, and yet some interesting ideas of its own. The Blu-ray from Warner Archives looks and sounds quite solid. RECOMMENDED.