Kim Henkel Movies

Bear witness to the birth of the most horrifying legend in the history of cinema as director Jonathan Liebesman explores the nightmarish origins of the psychotic Hewitt family in this sequel to director Marcus Nispel's 2003 hit The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The year is 1969, and despite the fact that the Vietnam War is raging halfway across the globe, all is ominously quiet on the back roads of America. Eighteen-year-old Dean Hill (Taylor Handley) has just received his draft notice, and his older brother, Eric (Matthew Bomer), is determined to watch out for his younger sibling by ensuring that Dean enroll in the Marine Corps rather than risking his luck at the local induction center. Dean has other plans, though, and as soon as the pair and their girlfriends, Bailey (Diora Baird) and Chrissie (Jordana Brewster), return from their final fling in sunny Texas, he plans to confront his brother with the prospect of dodging the draft. When an unsettling encounter with malevolent bikers Holden (Lee Tergesen) and Alex (Cyia Batten) results in a serious car accident in which Chrissie is thrown from the vehicle, the arrival of Sheriff Hoyt (R. Lee Ermey) at first appears to be a moment of divine intervention. However, when Sheriff Hoyt murders thieving Alex in cold blood and then shepherds her friends into the back of his police cruiser as Chrissie watches from the brush, their momentary reprieve soon gives way to an unimaginable terror. As Hoyt transports her ailing friends to the Hewitt home, where a childlike man named Thomas is currently undergoing the transformation into cannibalistic madman Leatherface (Andrew Bryniarski), a desperate Chrissie attempts to enlist the aid of Holden in rescuing her friends from a fate worse than death. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In this third sequel to slasher classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, four Texas teens are abducted by a family of psychos on their way home from the senior prom. Bloodshed, torture, and intrigue ensue. Barry (Tyler Cone) and Sean (John Harrison) meet their fates quickly, but semi-bimbo Heather (Lisa Newmyer) lasts long enough to be tortured and burned before having her head cracked open like a walnut by a mechanical leg. Meanwhile, sweet, befuddled Jenny (Renee Zellweger) actively resists her captors by stealing cars, breaking through windows, and jumping off roofs. Although Leatherface (Robert Jacks), the human skin-wearing transvestite based on real-life serial killer Ed Gein, is back on board, the cannibal cast this time out also includes several new characters, from bionic villain Vilmer (Matthew McConaughey) to trashy realtor Darla (Tonie Perensky) and literature-quoting flunky W.E. (Joe Stevens). The plot also adds an X-Files-esque conspiracy to the basic Chainsaw concept in the form of deformed businessman Rothman (James Gale), who descends on the family of killers to critique their torture techniques. Written and directed by original Massacre scribe Kim Henkel, the film appeared at 1995 festivals in a 104-minute cut under the title The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre; after actors Zellweger and McConaughey became Hollywood stars, the film was re-titled, re-cut, and given a limited theatrical release in August of 1997. The nine minutes of deleted footage included scenes of Jenny's troubled home life. Both versions included brief cameos from Marilyn Burns, Paul Partain, and John Dugan -- all of whom appeared in Tobe Hooper's original film. Prodigious litigation preceded the film's re-release, although both the McConaughey and Zellweger camps denied attempting to block its release. The film's soundtrack includes a who's who of local Texas bands. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

The Alamo is a seedy Houston bar, slated for demolition. The bar's habitues gather for one last binge before the wrecker's ball descends. In the course of a long evening (boiled down to 80 minutes' worth of film), the patrons laugh, cry, ruminate over the past and pontificate on the future. One of the more ambitious barflies (Sonny Carl Davis) stages an eleventh-hour effort to save the bar by touching bases with his old college roommate, who is now an important politician. Last Night of the Alamo is charmingly effective in its own crude, slapdash manner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Tobe Hooper's follow-up to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre presents yet another Southern-fried psycho (this time in Louisiana) in the form of a scripture-mumbling, one-legged cracker named Judd (Neville Brand). The proprietor of a seedy bayou inn, Judd keeps a pet gator in the nearby swamp, to which he frequently tosses the remains of his unfortunate victims -- including anyone who offends his delicate sensibilities. One such casualty is Harvey Wood (Mel Ferrer), arriving at Judd's hotel in search of his missing daughter... who, unbeknownst to her old man, has already met her own doom courtesy of the scythe-wielding madman. Other patrons include one of the most annoying families on record -- with Chainsaw veteran Marilyn Burns as the strangely-bewigged mom, William Finley as the browbeaten husband and future Halloween tyke Kyle Richards as the endlessly-shrieking daughter (whose adorable puppy becomes a light gator-snack). Nightmare on Elm Street fans can spot a young, pre-Freddy Robert Englund in a small role as a lecherous cracker. Originally titled Death Trap and known by many aliases, including Starlight Slaughter, Horror Hotel Massacre and Legend of the Bayou. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide