Michael Bay’s involvement in this reimagining of the notorious 1970s horror movie didn't result in anything fresh. When I initially viewed the promotional clips for this version of the story, it struck me as being quite similar to a rushed follow-up to the contemporary and somewhat ridiculous “Wrong Turn.” A group of five young people heading to a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert pick up a hitchhiker who dies by suicide in their van. Seeking assistance and some levelheadedness, they encounter an odd family and their children armed with chainsaws. Considerable violence follows. While the initial TCM wasn’t flawless, I eventually grew fond of the unsteady camera work, poor sound quality, and low-budget aesthetic. Part of what made that film effective for me was how much of the horror unfolded in bright daylight, how uncomfortable the actors appeared, and how that feeling came across. In this version, even with the original’s director of photography, many of the shots feel overly deliberate. The frightening elements in the darkness aren't particularly scary. Perhaps this is simply the opinion of a horror fan who has seen too much, but I never experienced the same sense of dread as I did with the first film. A lot of the original story was altered because filmmakers attempted to keep viewers guessing by avoiding a scene-for-scene recreation, similar to what Gus Van Sant did with "Psycho." The sheer oddness of the family in the initial film was unsettling enough; here, they come across as more foolish than frightening. This diminishes the impact of Leatherface's appearances. You know he is the worst thing imaginable, and you don’t have an equally disturbing family to support that idea. One disappointing sequence involves the heroine Erin (Jessica Biel) running to a trailer and meeting two women who clearly won’t offer any help. Instead of creating a tense moment where psychological games involving drinking what appears to be harmless tea could play out, these women are simply there to provide background information, attributing Leatherface's killing spree to being teased because he suffered from a skin condition. The five victims all become indistinguishable; Nispel’s direction is adequate, but the cinematography is too polished for this kind of horror film. The grainy black and white scenes bring to mind television shows like "Millennium" or "The Blair Witch Project." If I were to compare “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” to anything, it would be the lackluster sequels that appeared after the original “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” Only one was remotely watchable, "Leatherface," but aside from Part 2, they were all just copies of the original film. Most direct-to-video sequels do that now, and while this movie tries to be something different, it’s simply a remake that can't live up to its predecessor. As Leatherface and his family entered a new era, their age was showing.

Source on TMDB