It is difficult to identify a horror franchise that is more creatively bankrupt than the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series. Friday the 13th at least ups the body count and devises interesting ways to kill people and Nightmare on Elm Street has cool effects-laded dream sequences, but what does Texas Chainsaw Massacre have: a guy with a skin face mask and a chainsaw chasing people around the woods. That's about it. For a ponderous example of why this franchise is going nowhere fast, just take a gander at the third entry in the series, Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III.<br /><br />The plot to this entry is inconsequential, but if you want the reader's digest version: Michelle (Kate Hodge) and Ryan (William Butler) are driving cross-country through Texas and make the bad mistake of stopping at a gas station run by peeping tom psycho Alfredo (Tom Everett) who gets put out with the couple and forces them to flee or meet with the business end of his shotgun. Just before leaving the gas station in a hurry, they are given a shortcut route through the back country by drifter Tex (Viggo Mortenson, yes that Viggo Mortenson). They make the unwise decision of taking the route and end up with their car broken down and a giant guy with a chainsaw and poor manners when it comes to greeting guests on their tail. They run into (literally) survivalist Benny (Ken Foree) who quickly becomes chainsaw bait also. With both vehicles out of commission, and a power tool that is just itching to be covered in the thick red stuff right behind, they quickly begin wandering the woods and find a farm house containing (imagine this) crazy people! Mayhem ensues, unhappiness abounds and lots of screaming occurs. Oh yeah, and people die.<br /><br />Leatherface is lowest common denominator horror film-making: it takes a familiar premise, changes a few of the characters, juggles the deaths a bit, and slaps a roman numeral on the end and calls it a film. It is an almost complete rehash of the first Texas Chainsaw Massacre in content, lacks any significant scares, has characters that are as thin as rice paper, and looks like it was made for about what I currently have in my wallet. Michelle and Ryan are almost non-existent characters, they are bodies for the slaughter and that is it. Benny is a little more entertaining, but not much. The villainous family are all freaks sure, but by round three, the ability for their behavior to shock is pretty much gone. I suppose it is a sad commentary on pop culture when the gruesome acts of despicable people on film has become so blasé as to be boring, but that is where it stands.<br /><br />It is also interesting that even though this film barely clocks in at an hour and twenty minutes, it feels like it goes on for an eternity. The film has no visual interest, it's just random woods photographed with competence, and that is it. No style, no flair, it's just there. For those gorehounds who view these films for its extensive bloodletting, Leatherface is sure to disappoint. Even in its unrated version, most of the grisly stuff is off-screen, so those in search of the horror film equivalent of the "money shot" will be unsatisfied.<br /><br />Yeah, Viggo Mortenson is in it, and he's okay, but nobody's winning any awards here. Kate Hodge varies between decent and terrible, and R.A. Mihailoff, who essays the role of Leatherface, doesn't have to work too hard to collect his paycheck. More or less, this is just an attempt by a film studio to cash in on the name Texas Chainsaw Massacre with no real meat on the bones of this sequel. You have been warned.