A few days ago, I rewatched The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003). It was just as disturbing and creepy as I remember it, with a cast of characters that actually do a pretty good job. However, I have this “itch” within my chest that even Leatherface couldn’t scratch. So, to get rid of this gnawing feeling, I’m going to tell you what it is, alright? It’s the “itch” that Erin, played by the wonderful Jessica Biel, got everybody killed in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre! Don’t worry, I’ll give you a detailed analysis of how Erin is the root of everyone’s death in this film. Lean back, relax, and enjoy this bloody execution of Erin’s character. After all, Erin “killed” everybody in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre!
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Without Erin, The Group Never Meet The Hewitt Family
Let’s take it from the beginning, shall we? On their way to a Lynyrd Skynyrd concest, the gang comes across a young woman, who’s bloody, bruised… and completely out of it. Without any hesitation, Erin invites her into the van. While a nice gesture, it would have dire consequences. Unbeknownst to them, Erin had just invited a victim of the Hewitt family into their group, and thus being the reason they get involved with Leatherface in the first place.
We would all help a woman in distress, right? I know that I definitely would. However, this isn’t a case where the woman asked for help. Quite the contrary, as Erin stepped out of the vehicle and brought her inside of the van, without the woman saying a single word. In turn, you could make the case that Erin abducted her, as the woman never gave her consent. While most of us most of us would do what Erin did, I’m simply saying that there are two sides to every coin. In this situation, we see things don’t always go well, just because you mean well.
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s take a closer look at the death that Erin brought upon us. So, shall we dig elbow deep into it? I think we should! Here… we… go!
Kemper
Kemper is Erin’s boyfriend, and would-have-been fiancée, if he didn’t get hit with a hammer and dragged into the Hewitt family cellar by Leatherface. It wasn’t long before the chainsaw-wielding maniac took his face off and wore it for a special date with Erin. Well, isn’t that just lovely? Nope! Not at all! I was just being sarcastic. Although I have to admit, that scene with Leatherface wearing Kemper’s face was the best moment in the entire movie. It sent shivers down my spine… and those shivers could’ve been avoided if Erin didn’t get Kemper killed!
How many times did Kemper try to please Erin? Whether he was joking with Pepper and Andy, telling them to get naked if it gets too hot, or when it came to buying 2 pounds of weed, Erin didn’t like any of it. Given, those things are small, but what about Erin forcing him to wait for the cops? Remember when they were voting on what to do with the body? Morgan and Andy voted to ditch the body, while Pepper and Erin voted to wait for the cop. Kemper was the final vote, and he said to Erin “Baby, she’s dead. I just… I really don’t think it matter where we leave her.” Erin replied “Well it matters to me, if that means anything.” Instead of holding on to his opinion, he folded like a lawn chair, giving into Erin’s wishes.
Kemper Is Dominant With Others; Submissive With Erin.
The ironic thing about Kemper is that he’s the alpha of the group; the one who makes the final decision. Sadly, those decisions were not his own, as Erin was in his ear constantly. Thus, he was an alpha to his friends and strangers, but a submissive puppy dog to Erin. Hey, he even followed her to the Hewitt family house, when he didn’t want to. Instead of doing what his instincts were telling him to do, he listened to someone else’s inner voice who was leading him astray. With that being said, I just want to add that it’s been a long time since I saw a man this pathetic in a film.
Andy
When Erin “lost” Kemper, she got Andy to follow her to the Hewitt house to look for him. While it was a reasonable decision to look for Kemper, Erin unknowingly served up Andy on a silver platter when she brought him to the Hewitt family house. Long story short, Andy was chased, captured and hung like a piece of meat in the cellar, waiting to be slaughtered by Leatherface.
If getting Andy directly involved with Leatherface wasn’t bad enough, when Erin gets captured herself, she literally kills Andy without much hesitation. While she did it because Andy wanted her to put him out of his misery, Erin didn’t even attempt to help him. It wasn’t like there was an emotional back-and-forth about killing Andy. She did it quickly, as if she had killed people in the past? Nevertheless, we see Erin stab Andy, killing him.
Pepper
When Erin started talking to the young woman on the road, Pepper said “You’re gonna get killed doing that.” She called it, didn’t she? But that was just the beginning, as we shouldn’t forget what happened at the car graveyard after Kemper “went missing”. Instead of leaving the area and calling the cops to report a missing person, Erin argues with Pepper and Morgan about the situation. This, after finding a jar containing a picture of the young woman who had killed herself in their car, and finding human teeth. To that, Pepper said “I don’t know about you guys, but I happen to like my teeth right where they are.” She implied that she rather just leave the area, than stick around to find out how that jar and those teeth got there in the first place.
There’s much to be said about Pepper’s role in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, as she’s just a hitchhiker, who was picked up by Andy. Maybe that’s the reason she didn’t try to help her out when she was being chased and killed right in front of her? Perhaps that was just Erin paying her back for not helping her when Leatherface grabber her head inside the van? I’ll leave this one up to you, the fans.
Morgan
Let’s make this one quick, shall we? Erin brought the woman into the car, she refused to ditch the woman’s dead body, and she didn’t give the car keys to Morgan and Pepper. Now that we have covered three ways Erin is responsible for Morgan’s death, how about we discuss what happened after Erin and Morgan fled from Leatherface? While I have to give some credit to Erin for trying to save Morgan, I can’t understand why she let him die in front of her eyes? I’m talking about what transpired in the creepy abandoned building, where Morgan attacked Leatherface to save Erin. Instead of helping Morgan, who was hanging from a chandelier, she sat in a corner and watched Leatherface kill him.
Sheriff Hoyt
Last but not least, she stole Sheriff Hoyt’s cop car and drove over him multiple times. It was so good, wasn’t it? Seeing that bastard get what’s coming to him made me smile like an idiot. But aside from my personal reaction to this badass moment, I have to add him to this list because Erin literally killed Hoyt. That nasty SOB deserved what happened though!
Conclusion
First and foremost, let me just say that I’m not trying to make Erin out to be the bad guy in this story where a sick family abducts and kills people. I’m just explaining how Erin is responsible for the deaths of her friends by discussing key events in the film. Whatever way you slice it and dice it, it’s hard to dismiss the evidence. Without her, there wouldn’t have been a story to tell. In-fact, they would’ve probably made it to the Lynyrd Skynyrd concert. So if I take into consideration all events in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I can only come to one conclusion. It’s that Erin is indirectly responsible for killing her friends, and she is directly responsible for killing Andy and Hoyt. Therefore, it’s safe to say that Erin did get everybody killed in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre!
I should add that this movie was written by a first-time writer, named Scott Kosar. I guess that explains why Erin is such an “interesting” character, as she’s literally the reason everything happens. Most, if not every, event leads back to Erin, and that’s a weird way of penning your lead character, isn’t it? Erin’s the one who messes up the most and makes ALL the wrong decisions, which is odd. Maybe it’s just me, but isn’t it usually a secondary character that constantly messes things up, and not the primary? It’s just odd an odd choice, if you ask me.
Believe It Or Not, I Really Like Jessica Biel’s Erin
I’ll sign off by saying that I did like Erin, which can be surprising, right? But just because I find her to be the cause of everyone’s demise, doesn’t mean I hate her. In-fact, I think that Erin is one of the best Final Girls of all time. Jessica Biel gives a fantastic performance, that’s realistic and believable. Add to that a crazy amount of badass moments, and you got yourself a really memorable Final Girl. While that’s all true, she’s in-fact more egotistical than the writers want us to believe she is. But she saves a baby, so all is good in the end, right? Uhmmm, I was being sarcastic, alright? Erin saving the baby was great, but she got everybody killed in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Nevertheless, have a bloody good day and night!