Editorials
“This is Appalling”: ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation’ as a Commentary on the State of Horror Circa 1993
There’s a certain perception that the horror genre declined in the very late 80’s and very early 90’s. Whether you agree or not is irrelevant, the perception is there, and can arguably be attributed to the oversaturation of the genre by the endless sequelization of its highest-profile franchises. By the early 90’s Freddy had swung from the stuff of nightmares into full-blown comedy, Jason had been to Manhattan, and Michael Myers had veered into psychic chicanery. These were slashers that went from some of the most frightening material the genre had ever seen to cartoonish caricatures of themselves. And there’s no better example of this leap from profound art to laughable trash than the Texas Chainsaw series, which went from the heart-stopping original film to—well, to whatever Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation was.
Something has never quite lined up with these two movies, which were written by the same man, Kim Henkel, though to watch them you’d never guess. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a seminal classic, while The Next Generation is almost universally derived. So what happened? Let it be submitted that Henkel – a film professor – deliberately wrote and directed an inferior sequel in order to say something about the perceived state of the horror.
For starters, the film begins with what would be considered a very traditional cast of Teenager Murder Victims-to-Be, headlined by Renee Zellweger as Jenny, AKA The Final Girl. Aside from Jenny, these characters were born to be murdered in the woods, and we’re made especially aware of it by the fact that one of them never shuts up about it. From the moment they end up on the side of a Texas back road, Heather forecasts their imminent demises because she’s obviously seen one of these movies before and she knows what’s up. This is the first of Henkel’s wink-wink-nod-nods to the audience letting them know that he’s in on the joke.
But the real journey into the back-pocket of self-parody begins with the new family themselves. The original family name of ‘Sawyer’ wasn’t on-the-nose enough, so now they’re the ‘Slaughter’ family. That’s right; in this movie, the iconic chainsaw-wielding maniac is straight-up named Leatherface Slaughter. And while much ado has been made (rightfully so) about Matthew McConaughey’s over-the-top turn as Vilmer, what is less-often discussed is the desperation pervading it. Vilmer is what the kids call a ‘try-hard,’ someone so eager to please his master (who we’ll get into in due time) he gives the game away at every turn. Where Cook and Hitchhiker toyed with their prey before veering into off-putting lunacy, Vilmer has no time for such subterfuge. When he encounters Sean, he immediately kills a man in front of him and then runs him down in a truck. He gives Jenny barely a moment after picking her up before he launches into a deranged rant and shows her the grisly cargo in the back of his pickup. Gone is any nuance or the slow burn of the original, replaced with the instant escalation more-often seen in cheaper slasher fare.
Then there’s Darla, Vilmer’s girlfriend, a participant in the night’s proceedings out of sheer obligation. She’s not exactly into what’s taking place around her, at one point recreating one of Chain Saw’s most unnerving scenes in the most half-assed way imaginable, awkwardly poking at Heather with a stick once or twice with all the force of a gentle breeze. Which leads into the way the movie haphazardly recreates many of the original movie’s aspects in ways that seem intentionally inferior.
Leatherface, once efficient, methodical and near-silent, now struggles to competently capture or kill his victims, all the while screaming like a petulant child.
The family, no longer backwater cannibals, dines on pizza instead of the fresh meat of their victims.
The dinner sequence, originally one of the most effective and horrifying scenes ever committed to film, goes so far off the rails it climaxes with Jenny turning the tables on her captors and scolding Leatherface into sitting down and shutting up.
The ineffectiveness of it all of this is intentional, and we know this because a man in a limo pulls up and openly acknowledges it.
Mr. Rothman, ostensibly part of the Illuminati and the mastermind behind the massacre, is undoubtedly the most controversial and debated aspect of Next Generation, which is understandable. This new element flies in the face of everything the series has ever stood for. So why is it there?
Twenty years before The Cabin in the Woods presented us with a shadow organization that created Horror for the sake of an ever-watchful audience, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation did the same. And like in Cabin, this particular event has gone completely sideways and the big boss is forced to intervene. Mr. Rothman, the literal producer pulling the strings, shows up to scold the antagonists.
“This is appalling,” he says, echoing what we’ve all been thinking for the past hour and ten minutes. “I want these people to know the meaning of horror. Horror.” The script could have put a number of words in his mouth there. Terror. Dread. ‘Horror’ was a specific choice, a pointed observation that what we’ve witnessed so far is a subpar attempt at recreating one of the genre’s best works. And while his admonition spurs the movie into one last attempt at a go-for-broke climax that includes an homage to Chainsaw 2’s Leatherface-on-a-truck sequence and an out-of-nowhere airplane, it’s still a piss-poor attempt at creating anything worthy of Hooper’s legacy. As Leatherface swings his chainsaw around in another flimsy callback to a better movie, Rothman sighs, declares the whole thing an abomination and apologizes to the audience by way of Jenny.
It’s this final sequence that best reads as a summation of Henkel’s view of the then-current state of the horror genre, or more specifically the slasher subgenre, or more specifically still, the Chainsaw series. Mr. Rothman’s grumblings sum it up well; All this effort to recreate a spiritual experience, only for it to end in disappointment and ennui.
So if Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation let you down, it’s possible that was the entire point, and would, therefore, make it more effective – and more cynical – a work than it’s ever been given credit for.
Mr. Rothman would be proud.
Editorials
‘Bloodstone: Subspecies II’ Revisited: A Bigger, Bolder Follow-Up to Full Moon’s Vampire Cult Classic
Horror sequels are a peculiar thing. In most cases, follow-ups to scary movies tend to retread the same formula with different victims and more over-the-top scares. This is because audiences tend to be more interested in the antagonists of these pictures than anything else, with even main characters becoming disposable when the time comes to produce a sequel.
That’s why some of the most memorable horror sequels are the ones that actually manage to hold onto interesting survivors from previous films while also pushing the story forward instead of having the same thing happen again to a different group of people. From Scream 2 to Dream Warriors (and arguably even The Exorcist III: Legion), there are quite a few of these innovative sequels to go around.
However, if there’s one franchise that deserves more attention when discussing bigger and better continuations that make the most of episodic filmmaking, it has to be Ted Nicolaou’s Subspecies.
The Full Moon classic spawned an indie horror icon, but bizarre sequel Bloodstone: Subspecies II is even more beloved than its predecessor.
Building a Bigger Vampire Saga
While the film itself takes place almost immediately after the events of the first movie, Bloodstone only entered production a couple of years after the release of the original as both Charles Band and Nicolaou weighed the pros and cons of returning to Romania to continue the series. In an effort to maximize efficiency, the team decided to invest in a trilogy where parts II and III, now fully written by Nicolaou, would be filmed simultaneously over the course of a single grueling shoot.
Much like the first Subspecies, Bloodstone’s low budget meant that the filmmakers once again had to cut corners and re-use as many of their resources as possible. Thankfully, the process was much easier this time around as Nicolaou, with the help of Romanian cinematographer Vlad Paunescu and his wife Oana, became more acquainted with local customs and made new friends. Shooting abroad still came with its own unique set of challenges due to a lack of translators and the occasional safety concerns, but the crew managed to make things work by filming things guerrilla-style and setting up shop in abandoned caves and real medieval ruins.
The director’s newfound contacts, coupled with the relative success of the first movie, meant that he was basically given free rein over an assortment of shooting locations usually considered off-limits for indie horror. That’s why Bloodstone features insanely ambitious lighting and effects work even during scenes shot in the middle of a bustling Bucharest. The filmmakers went so far as to project Radu’s Nosferatu-like shadows over local monuments as if he were a Romanian boogeyman, an idea that was actually encouraged by local cinephiles.
In fact, many of the more elaborate scenes here had originally been planned for the first movie before being discarded due to the lack of available resources. It was only with the support of Romanian fans and filmmakers that Bloodstone was able to give Radu a chance to be even more menacing the second time around.
Michelle’s Transformation Takes Center Stage
However, when it came to the American part of the crew, not everyone was able or willing to return for another round of Romanian adventuring. That’s why Radu’s human-loving half-brother Stefan (Michael Watson) is unceremoniously killed off at the beginning of the film while the role of Michelle had to be recast. Denice Duff took over for Laura Mae Tate, with the character now being joined by her sister, Rebecca, played by Melanie Shatner (yes, that Shatner).
In the finished film, we follow Michelle as she awakens to her new life as a vampire and discovers that Radu has murdered her lover. Struggling with grief and her newfound bloodlust, Michelle contacts her sister overseas, with Rebecca soon travelling to Romania on an ill-advised rescue mission. Meanwhile, Radu (Anders Hove) reaches out to his undead Mummy (Pamela Gordon, underneath heavy layers of impressive makeup effects) and promises to deliver her the coveted Bloodstone artifact while also making Michelle his eternal consort.
Revisiting the movie, I was impressed with how introspective this story is when compared to the original. The sequel assumes that you’re already familiar with the previously established characters, so the story wastes no time in exploring the immediate aftermath of the previous film’s events. From Michelle’s reluctant transformation into a creature of the night to Radu’s obvious mommy issues, Nicolaou is way more interested in pushing these characters into new and uncharted territory rather than recycling existing plot points.
Practical Effects and Gothic Atmosphere Still Impress
Yet, much like the first film, it’s Romania itself that makes the movie worth watching. The ruins of Castle Vladislav are even more majestic now, and visiting the moody streets of Bucharest with its surprisingly punk-rock nightlife made for a nice change of pace when compared to the original film’s quiet village setting. Once again, the abundance of interesting locations makes the movie feel much more expensive than it really is, with the filmmakers surrounding our characters with a living, breathing environment that would be impossible to recreate in a studio.
The increased freedom also allowed Nicolaou to flex his filmmaking muscles and tackle more ambitious blocking/composition in the sequel. The low budget and tropey script mean that the visuals don’t always work, but it’s consistently clear that this neo-expressionist style could only come from a passionate team attempting to pay homage to the shadowy horror classics of yesteryear. If the retro atmosphere isn’t enough for you, there’s enough practical gore here to satisfy even the most demanding of horror hounds!
Radu himself is also far more interesting now that Hove is more comfortable working alongside an international crew, with the actor having gone on record explaining that, while he spent more time drinking vodka than working while shooting the first movie, the sequel was a much more creatively satisfying experience for everyone involved. The character’s relationship with his abusive Mummy is also a highlight of the expanded mythology, especially since the practical effects that bring her to life are just as freaky now as they were back in ’93.
My only real gripe with the horror elements of the picture comes from the glaring absence of the diminutive stop-motion minions from the first film, though I guess the surprisingly entertaining addition of Professor Popescu (Michael Denish) and his archeological antics mostly make up for that.
Bloodstone: Subspecies II is obviously the middle chapter of a trilogy, with the ending feeling a lot less definitive than its predecessor as several plot threads are left to dangle in the wind, but I appreciate how the flick explores new ground while remaining faithful to nearly all the ideas that made the original such a good time. While I don’t think it’s as big of an improvement over the first movie as some fans make it out to be, Bloodstone is definitely worth revisiting if you’re a fan of old-fashioned vampire yarns.
Tune in next time for the thrilling conclusion to this initial trilogy, Bloodlust: Subspecies III!
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