A bizarre mess
There are so many flaws within this film; ranging from the acting of certain cast members, the drag queen version of Leatherface, the super odd dialogue, and downright bizarre story-line. In many ways, it felt like an entirely different story, compared to other TCM films. But with that being said, that's not to say that the film isn't intriguing. In fact, the original TCM and The Next Generation are my two favorite films of the whole franchise.
The major downside of this film was Leatherface. Making him a screaming drag queen took away all scariness of his character. The major change in his character just didn't make any sense, and certainly wasn't effective. Instead, Matthew Mcconaughey was the main focus of the film. I must say, for an actor like Mcconaughey, it's really strange seeing him in a film like this, considering how successful he's become. I guess it's one of those love it or hate it scenarios. I personally thought his character was very crazy and convincing. Even though the writing may not have been top notch, Mcconaughey definitely made it interesting. Mcconaughey's performance is basically the only reason this film is even watchable.
If you're looking for a film similar to the original TCM, I promise, you'll be highly letdown. Like I said before, it's like an entirely different film. And in all honesty, it's not really gory or disturbing. The story is just straight up crazy and all over the place. And it has it's moments of dark humor. But that's what I like about the film. It's different. It wasn't at all predictable. So if you plan on watching it for the first time, try to enter the film with an open mind, and expect the story-line to be completely different.
Like I stated before, the dialogue, the writing, and some of the cast members were just awful. Don't judge the film based on the first 20 minutes. I don't know what the director was aiming for, but all I can say is, this film is one bizarre mess. It's not terrible and it's not great. It's just flat-out weird.