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Say what you will about Freddy's deadly digits or Jason's ghastly goalie mask, no object in horror-movie history has instilled as much fear as the screaming, smoking, slicing chainsaw that cost several unfortunate people an arm and a leg and more 29 years ago. But since there's more than one way to skin a cat — or a human — producer Michael Bay ("Pearl Harbor"), director Marcus Nispel (No Doubt's "Spiderwebs") and actress Jessica Biel ("7th Heaven") have joined forces for a new telling of the Leatherface legacy. MTV News' Ryan Downey sat down with Biel to get the scoop on the slaughter.
MTV: Something that's sure to please the die-hard horror fans who consider "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" sacred ground is that this new version is really a re-imagining — it's not a remake.
Jessica Biel: You're right about that. It definitely stands on its own — very different from the original. It's modernized, it's stylized, it's unique, it's like a ... I kind of look at it as a psychological, emotional thriller. It's definitely a re-imagining. It's a beautiful twist to a really horrific tale, and thanks to Marcus for that.
MTV: In this version, the viewer has the chance to get invested in the characters a little more.
Biel: Yes! That's what I've been saying, because that was my problem with the original. In the original, you don't care [about the victims]. They don't even like each other. And so you're watching it and you're like, "Well, just die then!" because the only person that I was remotely interested in was the main girl. ... She's awesome. And you really care about her. But everyone else was like, whatever. That's why we worked so hard. I'm telling you, we rewrote so much stuff. The original script, we just added things and took out things and made these characters likeable people that you cared about, 'cause you have to care that they're gonna make it through.
MTV: "Scream," the movie that sort of revived horror movies, used a self-referential, let's make jokes, let's wink at the audience thing to appeal to moviegoers. You guys don't ever go there.
Biel: Yeah, we don't do it at all. I mean, we have some fun moments where as characters we laugh. You know, there's something that happens and it's a joke, it's funny, but it's not at all campy. ... We really worked hard to just make it realistic so you're riveted to the screen. Even when it gets really terrifying and you wanna leave the theater, you're just drawn in because the characters are so strong.
MTV: There was a chance for your character to either sink or swim in this movie, but she takes the reins. And she's really strong.
Biel: Yeah. It was really important for me to make this character not a victim. Even though she is, she is a victim of circumstance and of this crazy person who's after her and her friends. But she's a survivor, and she's a strong, smart woman. She's smart, and that's the one thing about her. She makes moves that save her life, and people do die, but she gets out of there because she uses her brain, she uses her brawn, she works it, and she moves it. She doesn't give up and doesn't do something stupid like run upstairs and trip. And that was really important to me too. If there was a trip, I said, "You know, no tripping." And if we trip, then we trip and we get back up and we keep moving. And that's what it's gonna be, because that wouldn't happen in real life.
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Photo: Van Redin
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