Some may disagree with this review, but I really enjoyed this movie. I remember seeing it when I was a kid and thinking it was badass, especially with the new large gold saw Leatherface gets later in the film. I still enjoy the movie after seeing it many years later. Although the movie uses the same formula, it still managed to surprise and entertain the audience. Genre director Jeff Burr brings us this film, this time being put out by New Line, who originally frowned to another sequel to the horror franchise. Eventually it was put out, but with a lot of cuts. Many of those cuts can now be seen in the Unrated version which was released recently on DVD, but there's still a lot of gore that was never in the film to begin with, but was in the script. This film was made by fans of the original film, with a nice cast of young and familiar faces like Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead '78) and Viggo Mortensen of Lord of the Rings fame.

This time 'round the story focuses on a couple friends on their way to deliver a car, but get into some trouble when they encounter a crazy gas attendant at the local station, who shots out their back window. There's a little chase sequence with them and a large truck that leads the two to go off road, and they eventually encounter another victim of the truck (played by Ken Foree) and go face-to-face with Leatherface himself. There's also a small sub-plot in the film to help keep things going at a fast pace.

The TCM family must be huge and really spread out, because there's always a new group each movie, with only Leatherface remaining, and a nod to "grandpa" of course. At least in this sequel they decided to spruce up the Leatheface character and give him a new saw and more sinister look. It was also interesting to see a young girl in the mix, to show how the family traditions warp the young minds at a young age. Also it was reported that New Line originally wanted an "unmasking scene" which was supposed to show how horribly disfigured Leatherface was, but that was scrapped and with plans for it in the sequel. We eventually got to see such a scene in the remake.

What I liked most about this movie was the fact it never got boring. It was pretty intense from the start and never let up. Although it's obviously not as powerful as the first, or as creative as the second, it still managed to have its fair share of good moments. Also the scene towards the end with Ken and his machine gun was pretty sweet. Although there may be a few plot-holes here and there, I really like the movie and decided to give it a solid 8-rating. If you get this, be sure to check the excellent documentary that tells some back story on Ed Gein, whom we all know is the basis of the original story. A couple interesting facts: The only TCM movie that wasn't filmed in Texas; Peter Jackson was one of the choices to take the director's seat.

A very entertaining sequel to a classic series. Definitely worth a check.