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Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Crowd Report)
by Lee Tistaert

Getting to the AMC Century 14 multiplex in LA at around 10:30 on opening night, I was indeed quite curious to see the crowds and whether or not this would do the business I had projected.

The film was only on one screen at this theater and by 10:30, the 10:50 show had not sold out yet. Getting into the 432 seat auditorium, the venue was roughly half filled, but a good flow of people were still outside at the ticket booth. By the time the lights dimmed, the theater was full, with the gender ratio being split right down the middle.

Most of the crowd was under 25, but there were a decent quantity of patrons over that demographic age as well. And surprisingly enough, there were even some cheers going into the air as the lights dimmed, which I have never seen happen before at this multiplex.

First trailer up was the teaser to Barbershop 2, which was getting some giggles and one moment of solid laughter, but overall nothing special in reactions.

The Matrix Revolutions followed, which had a few people clapping lightly at the load-up, but the remaining duration was left to silence.

Alien: Director's Cut came next, with some people clapping loudly at the introduction, with a lot of enthusiastic comments at the end.

The next preview made quite a stir in the room. Given its rather unusual introduction making it look like some perfume commercial, the ad was retrieving giggles and several "What the hell?" reactions. However, once the Resident Evil (Apocalypse) logo hit the screen, people got the picture, even though folks were not overly enthusiastic.

Next up was Dawn of the Dead, which received a few claps at the finale, but most of the crowd sat in silence.

Return of the King followed, which withdrew a silent reception until the title hit the screen, at which point a light and very short applause gave way.

The Butterfly Effect finished off the trailers, which didn't retrieve obvious responses, but the audience didn't seem to care too much.

As Texas Chainsaw Massacre was getting into gear and our protagonists were given screen time, the audience appeared skeptical toward whether or not they'd buy into the experience or if they were about to watch some corny little horror film. Pretty soon, however, the audience shut up, and they shut up pretty quick - the film had them (and myself included).

The tone (in the auditorium) soon turned to silence as people seemed gripped and ready for what was to come, with the unknown elements in the story acting as a killer for many moviegoers. It was also obvious to me that many of the folks in that room had not see the original, as this remake loosely reflects the pattern of events of the first, and so some of the surprises can be known for familiar fans.

There are probably up to five main jumps in this film, and three of them got me pretty good. One huge startle midway through (involving the sheriff) killed the entire theater, with more screams than I can remember in a long time (somewhat similar to the basement reaction in Signs). The jump also had many people trying to jumpstart an applause.

The film in general had the audience on the edge of their seat for most of the running time, with a lot of gasping and nervous fidgeting. One moment nearing the finale got a solid round of applause, with a light one sparking once the end credits hit the screen. But once this ended, people were quite spooked. One guy who looked to be in his early 30's came out commenting to his female companion (in a teasing manner), "Are we going to sleep tonight?"

In terms of box office comparisons, Underworld was only on one screen (when it opened) here and had filled its auditorium for the 10:00 hour on opening night (I didn't attend it, though). However, Underworld was in a slightly smaller auditorium and had a line to get in by 10:00. I don't know if there was a line for Texas Chainsaw Massacre given my later arrival, but it wouldn't surprise me if there had been one.

American Wedding offered two showtimes at this hour region on opening night, with my 9:40 show selling out in the room of which Underworld later occupied. The 9:40 of Wedding happened to have a line that snaked around the mall even though it didn't form very early, but I'm doubting that Texas Chainsaw had a big line beforehand. With that being said, a first day gross in the region of $9.5 - 12 million would not surprise me.

Having been a good fan of the original, I was quite iffy on a remake whose origin had made part of its impact due to the gritty style of its time. I walked into the remake assuming that it could either be as bad as Freddy vs Jason, or could end up being pretty good but probably not better than the original TCM.

For those that got spooked by The Ring (what a coincidence that the kid from Ring is in TCM), this Texas Chainsaw remake might perform similar treatments in its scare factor. However, Chainsaw's methods are fairly intense, and some of its factors do override the original on my scale (even if there is a conventional feel).


Texas Chainsaw... Total US Box Office: $80.148000 million

Greg's Review: I was glued to the screen, shivering in my seat, and scared out of my mind. [ A- ]
Visitor Rating Average: B (65 votes)
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