The seismic impact that Tobe Hooper‘s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre had on horror cinema in 1974 is immeasurable, but the film’s 2003 remake also left an indelible mark on the genre.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre kicked off the remake trend that dominated 2000s horror, the repercussions of which can still be felt to this day. It also marked a turning point from the glossy, self-aware horror movement ushered in by Scream in favor of more gritty violence and torture, paving the way for the likes of Saw and Hostel.
The inaugural production from Michael Bay‘s Platinum Dunes, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre marked the feature directorial debut of music video and commercial veteran Marcus Nispel (Friday the 13th 2009) from a script by Scott Kosar (The Machinist).
The film strikes a delicate balance between paying homage to the original and forging its own path, which is one of the reasons it’s widely considered one of the era’s best remakes. It reverts back to the 1973 setting — a curious choice, evidently in an effort to perpetuate the “true story” feeling — and the skeleton of the story is the same, but the remake offers ample surprises to justify its existence.
Five friends — Erin (Jessica Biel, The Illusionist), Kemper (Eric Balfour, “24”), Morgan (Jonathan Tucker, “Westworld”), Andy (Mike Vogel, Cloverfield), and Pepper (Erica Leerhsen, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2) — on a road trip to a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert pick up a female hitchhiker (Lauren German, “Lucifer”), instantly changing the course of their lives.
The hitchhiker’s shocking suicide — an unforgettable sequence in which the camera travels through her mouth and out the fresh wound in the back of her head — immediately establishes a nihilistic tone which persists throughout the remainder of the film. It’s fairly intense, if formulaic – though, to be fair, much of that formula was instituted by the original Texas Chain Saw.
Biel’s Erin is given more agency than the original film’s de facto final girl, Sally. Leatherface, played by Andrew Bryniarski, is portrayed as a hulking brute. Like the film itself, this presentation lacks the nuance of Gunnar Hansen‘s original performance, but it effectively affirms the horror icon as a force to be reckoned with. R. Lee Ermey (Full Metal Jacket) is perfectly cast as Sheriff Hoyt — the remake’s answer to The Cook from the original film — often threatening to out-menace Leatherface.
One of my favorite horror fun facts is that original Texas Chain Saw director of photography Daniel Pearl returned to shoot the remake. He pays tribute to his earlier work but through an entirely different lens. While the 1974 film adopted a grainy, documentary-esque realism, the remake embraces a more stylized aesthetic, complete with unnatural but striking lighting and a sickly yellow color palette.
The remake was a smashing success, grossing over $107 million worldwide on a $9.5 million budget, but Leatherface was left without an arm when the credits rolled. Rather than going the Evil Dead 2 route with a chainsaw-arm in a sequel, Platinum Dunes opted to make a prequel exploring the origin of Leatherface and his family.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning arrived three years after its predecessor in 2006. Jonathan Liebesman (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), who was a top candidate to helm the remake but was already committed to Darkness Falls, directs from a script by Sheldon Turner (Up in the Air). David J. Schow, who’s best known for co-writing The Crow but previously penned Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, also worked on the screenplay.
Following the gory birth of Leatherface in 1939, the story picks up in 1969, introducing brothers Eric (Matt Bomer, “White Collar”) and Dean (Taylor Handley, Bird Box) as they drive across the country with their girlfriends, Chrissie (Jordana Brewster, The Faculty) and Bailey (Diora Baird, “Cobra Kai”), before enlisting in — or, perhaps, dodging — the Vietnam War. It’s not long before they become entangled in Leatherface and his clan.
Being a prequel, the film goes out of its way to explain every interesting detail about the remake, most of which stems from a single 24-hour period: Hoyt becoming the sheriff, Monty losing his legs, Leatherface making his first skin mask, et al. Some answers are more satisfying than others, but there’s something to be said about taking away a villain’s mystique.
Bryniarski returns as Leatherface, but Ermey’s Hoyt is the Emperor Palpatine to his Darth Vader. The Beginning firmly establishes Hoyt not only as the patriarch of the family but also the reason they turned to murder and cannibalism. Unfortunately, the film also leans into the unpleasant “torture porn” trend, which has not aged well.
The remake and its prequel have each been restored in 4K with Dolby Vision, looking more vibrant than the Texas sun, for Arrow Video’s new 4K Ultra HD editions. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is equipped with DTS-HD MA 7.1 and 5.1 surround and lossless stereo audio, while The Beginning has DTS-HD MA 7.1, 5.1 and 2.0 audio options.
Produced at a time when studios still invested in DVDs, TCM is accompanied by three archival audio commentaries: one with Nispel, executive producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form and New Line Cinema founder Robert Shaye; one with Nispel, Pearl, production designer Greg Blair, art director Scott Gallager, sound supervisor Trevor Jolly, and composer Steve Jablonsky; and one with Nispel, Kosar, Bay, Fuller, Form, Biel, Leerhsen, Balfour, Tucker, Vogel, and Bryniarski.
The participants were recorded separately but edited together fairly cohesively. Between the three, they paint a comprehensive picture of the film from its origins through post-production. A new commentary is also included from Dread Central co-founder “Uncle Creepy” Steve Barton and The Spooky Picture Show podcast co-host Chris MacGibbon, who offer fun, if scattershot, musings from a fan perspective.
Five new interviews are featured: Nispel, with the benefit of hindsight, reflects on the fan response to the film; Pearl delves into how his approach changed from the original to the remake; Brett Wagner shares his heartbreaking story about being replaced as Leatherface after an injury on his first day; makeup effects artist Scott Stoddard details his first solo job after years of working under the great Stan Winston; and Jablonsky breaks down several of his cues from both Chainsaw films.
Archival extras include: “Chainsaw Redux: Making a Massacre,” a 76-minute making-of with cast and crew interviews; “Ed Gein: The Ghoul of Plainfield,” focusing on the serial killer who inspired Leatherface; “Severed Parts,” about the deleted scenes; original screen tests for Biel, Balfour, and Leerhsen; interviews with Biel, Balfour, Tucker, Leerhsen, Vogel, Ermey, Nispel, Fuller, and Form; a behind-the-scenes featurette; Bay’s innovative teaser trailer; the theatrical trailer; eight TV spots; and production and Leatherface concept art galleries.
The Beginning includes both the theatrical and unrated cuts, the latter running five minutes longer with additional gore and character beats. The unrated version has another spirited commentary by Barton and MacGibbon along with an archival track from Liebesman, Form, and Fuller, which delves into the reshoots and cuts made to the film, among other production aspects.
Three new interviews are included: actor Lew Temple (The Devil’s Rejects) discusses reuniting with Ermey after working together five years prior on On the Borderline; special effects makeup artists Jake Garber and Kevin Wasner break down some of their tricks, including Leatherface’s mask, the birthing scene, and chainsaw carnage; and director of photography Lukas Ettlin (Battle Los Angeles, The Lincoln Lawyer) details his first studio cinematography gig.
Archival special features include: “Down to the Bone: Anatomy of a Prequel,” a 45-min making-of documentary; deleted and extended scenes (including three alternate endings) with optional commentary from Liebesman, Form, and Fuller; and the theatrical trailer.
Both releases are rounded out by a reversible sleeve and double-sided poster featuring original and new artwork by Aaron Lea along with a collector’s booklet with new writing on the film by former Fangoria editor-in-chief Michael Gingold.
An attempt to remake one of the most influential horror films of all time seemed like a fool’s errand in 2003, yet Platinum Dunes and company proved naysayers wrong twice over. With the Texas Chainsaw franchise growing increasingly convoluted and divisive in the years since, the remake era has only grown in esteem.
