The Real Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a 2006 documentary that describes the life of convicted murderer Robert Elmer Kleason. It is directed by Paul Douglas and Andrew Mackenzie for Zig Zag Productions.

Kleason lived near Austin, Texas where he ran a taxidermist business and attended a Mormon church. The members begin to get suspicious of him due to his unusual behavior and his braggadocious claims of being a military veteran who worked for the CIA. Two Mormon missionaries came to his residence and he murdered them with a bandsaw. He would be tried, convicted, and sentenced, though his sentence would be overturned on a technicality. He would later be arrested in New York City and would move to the UK where he would be arrested on gun charges. The US asked for extradition, but he would die before the UK could decide.

It is decent, though I think it could have been better. The narrator Sean Barrett does a decent job of telling Kleason’s story and while it was never boring, it was also kind of bland. The documentary provides an in-depth analysis of Kleason’s early life as a New Yorker, then a Texan, and finally an Englishman. It is an interesting tale that follows a disturbed man and his ultimate downfall.

The documentary also tries to erroneously tie the crimes to the horror film franchise The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Kleason is no Leatherface as he did not mask himself nor use a chainsaw. Leatherface was actually somewhat inspired by serial killer Ed Gein, who also did not use a chainsaw, though his crimes somewhat have some similarities.

While I cannot say that the documentary is brilliant, it is an interesting story though it tells a fictional tale of a Hollywood connection.

Unfortunately, I could not locate a trailer but you can see the movie poster at the top of the review.

PARENTAL CONCERNS: Discussion of violence,Gruesome images, Disturbing topics

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