I finally see what many people believe is a horror classic and I go back to the old West.


Seth McFarlane’s comedy Western has been released to online streaming platforms and will be on DVD next month. In essence it is his effort to craft a comedy Western and comparisons to Mel Brooks’ “Blazing Saddles” will be immediate for many viewers.

McFarlane directed, co-wrote and stars in the film as Albert, a sheep farmer who is not in love with the West and notes it is a very dangerous place.

Like “Blazing Saddles,” the new film addresses conventions of the Western and is just as envelope pushing today as the previous film was when it was released. My problem with the film is McFarlane’s boundaries with his humor – he has few. Too many times, it just comes across as gross for gross sakes, rather than outrageous. I can’t reference the jokes in a family newspaper.

While that approach seemed to work better with his previous film “Ted,” this outing it comes across as unnecessary. His one reference to race relations in the West – a central point to “Blazing Saddles” – falls very flat.

McFarlane assembled a great cast for his film with Liam Neeson as the villain, Charlize Theron as the villain’s wife and Albert’s love interest. Both show their comic chops. McFarlane is acceptable in the lead role, although I’m sure he also could have found a dozen other actors who could have done just as well.

While I did laugh many times, I think that Brooks’ film still has the edge in the last word on the “old West.”

  
 I have to make a confession: even though I’ve been a horror film fan since junior high school, I never sat through the original “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” until this past weekend.

I’m sure some of my fellow horror hounds would howl in disapproval. How could I miss one of the seminal fright films of the latter 20th century? How could I avoid a film that has spawned sequel and remake and sequel and remake?

I’m not sure that I have an answer other than I’ve gravitated to different kinds of horror films.

Marking the film’s 40th anniversary Dark Sky has released a four-disc set that will undoubtedly thrill every fan of the film. There are extra upon extra as well as four commentary tracks to accompany the film.

If I had seen the film in 1974, I’m sure I would have had a different opinion of the film and there are moments which made an impact on me today, but I’m not as impressed as I thought I would be.

“Massacre” is at once a horror film with a disturbing theme and a dark comedy. In the excellent documentary about the film, director Tobe Hooper bemoans how people don’t get the humor. He also explained how he had hoped to have a rating of “PG” for the film.

The film tells the story of a group of young people traveling through Texas to view an old family property and accidentally discovers a family of redneck cannibals living next door. Our protagonists do everything they shouldn’t do in a horror movie, such as pick up a creepy hitchhiker, go inside someone’s house without permission and not go for help when they sense they are in trouble.

The script, co-written by Hooper and Kim Henkel, plays with our expectations. We know something bad is going to happen and it does. There are several scenes that have maintained their power, such as introduction to Leatherface, the butcher of the family. Other moments play as if they are part of a very black comedy, such as when the family squabbles over dinner. 

The result, for me, at least was a very uneven film. I don’t believe it maintains its tone in the same way that “Night of the Living Dead” does, which was made in in 1968. It is however almost as influential as “Night” having inspired other films as well as two generations of fans.  

The people who stand out in the film are Gunnar Hansen who does a sold job in pantomime as Leatherface and art director Robert Burns. Through his work, the cannibal’s house becomes just as creepy as any of its inhabitants.

While I’m glad to have finally seen it, I don’t need to see it again.