of 38%, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. Manohla Dargis of the Los Angeles Times praised the polish of Pearl's cinematography (in contrast to his grittier work in the original), though noted: "The remake moves faster and sounds louder, but comes off as callous rather than creepy." Robert K. Elder of the Chicago Tribune gave it three out of four stars and called it "an effectively scary slasher film" despite its absurd premise. William Thomas of Empire rated it three stars out of five and wrote: "You'll have to overcome resentment towards this unnecessary remake before you can be properly terrorised but, on its own terms, it plays well." Roger Ebert gave the film a rare zero stars out of four, calling it "A contemptible film: Vile, ugly and brutal. There is not a shred of reason to see it. Those who defend it will have to dance through mental hoops of their own devising, defining its meanness and despair as 'style' or 'vision' or 'a commentary on our world'." Variety gave the film an unfavorable review, writing that the film was an "initially promising, but quickly disappointing retread of a hugely influential horror classic". Peter Travers of Rolling Stone awarded the film two stars out of four, writing: "Director Marcus Nispel, acclaimed for his ads and music videos, has a sharp eye and the good sense to hire Daniel Pearl, who shot the first Chainsaw. But all the bad-rehash mojo from Friday the 13th to The Blair Witch Project has infected Scott Kosar's script. Hooper went for primitive, Nispel goes for slick. Hooper went easy on the gore, Nispel pours it on" and called the film "soulless". Dave Kehr from The New York Times gave the film an unfavorable review, noting: "Rather than exhilaration, this bilious film offers only entrapment and despair," further commenting that the film was about as much fun as sitting in on an autopsy. Leonard Maltin awarded the film 1.5 stars out of four, complimenting the film's intensity but criticized the lack of likable characters and the lack of humor which was present in the original, stating, "Once it kicks into gear, it's brutally unrelenting toward its unappealing characters and the audience." On SBS' The Movie Show Australian critic Margaret Pomeranz said this was the first film she has