Despite the fact that the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface has been featured in six separate films about massacring since Tobe Hooper’s 1974 classic horror flick, Texas Chainsaw 3D topped the box office this last weekend with a $23million draw, which falls a bit short of the 2003 remake starring Jessica Biel and above the 2006 prequel starring no-one-in-particular. As January is a breeding ground for horror films, and this installment was the only new widely released film of the year, it is no surprise that it edged out Django Unchained and The Hobbit.
What is a touch surprising is the epidemic amnesia from which young adults and older teens seem to be suffering. While this film is an extension of the 1974 film, it still follows – much like the previous five films – a similar arc: precociously curious teens encounter man who skins victims while disposing of them one-by-one with a chainsaw. There is nothing unusual or novel here – unless you consider the use of 3D, but this gimmick is also far from novel and hardly transcendent.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, “63 percent of the audience under the age of 25,” [source] which means that Texas Chainsaw 3D certainly appealed more to the younger side of those who saw the 1974 original. The 37 percent on the older side might have been drawn in by the memory of the original and the inevitable comparisons – positive and negative – that could be limned. However, these numbers only doubly confirm the rash of short-term memory. The most recent film was released in 2006, a mere seven years ago – enough of a window for these viewers to have seen it.
Granted, some of the viewers at the 25-year-old mark would have just been eighteen, and those under 23 would have been technically “restricted” from seeing the film, but this, first, assumes that the strictness of the “R” rating is upheld and that those under-17 could not have located a single “guardian” to accompany them. This metric also elides the ubiquity of Netflix, Video on Demand, Amazon.com streaming, and cable, all four of which don’t require identification checks.
What’s even doubly surprising is the apparent allure of Trey Songz, the male lead in Texas Chainsaw 3D. According to the LA Times, of those in the under-25 age group, “1 out of 3 said the main reason they showed up to see the film was because the musical artist Trey Songz had a role in it” [source]. This is all speculation because I haven’t seen the movie, but this is either a sign that horror movies will begin including more and more musical artists willing to promote their films on Twitter so that people come in droves to see it, or Trey Songz has a bunch of sadistic fans who just want to see him die at the end of a chainsaw. Again, I haven’t seen the film, but he’s the black guy. And, in horror films, if you’re an African American or someone who has sex, you die. (Judging by the above image, he falls into both categories.)
Regardless, a film that has hovered steady at 23% on Rotten Tomatoes has elicited $23million dollars over the weekend, and I continue to lament many decisions I’ve made thus far.
