The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) + The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning 4K Ultra HD

What exactly is the purpose of a horror film?  To scare…to disturb…to disgust?  Whatever your poison, Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) probably scratched that itch.  And despite birthing a franchise cluttered with sequels, satires and cash-grabs, there’s still no touching the original.  So it’s surprising to admit that 2003’s remake – simply retitled The Texas Chainsaw Massacre – has moments that achieve that same sense of soul-curdling dread despite being shot by a music video veteran and stealing its cast from the CW.

On their way back from a weed shopping spree in Mexico, Erin (Jessica Biel) and her friends stop to help a woman on the side of the road. The detour leads them to a ramshackle farm where they wait for Sheriff Hoyt (R. Lee Ermey) to arrive.  But Hoyt and his extended family have a way of dealing with strangers who sniff around their property.  

Part of the appeal of Marcus Nispel’s film (the first produced under Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes banner) is its departures from the original plot. And adding R. Lee Ermey, who played the iconic drill instructor in Full Metal Jacket, is an inspired bit of casting.  His creepy and corrupt Sheriff Hoyt one-ups Leatherface, who is relegated to the status of a noisy wind-up toy.  What this 2003 version gets right is the descent into madness, the unrelenting insanity of the situation.  And despite a cast that’s far too good-looking to pass for authentic ‘70s hippies, their acting chops are a definite upgrade.

The reboot did well enough to earn its own sequel – or prequel, as the case may be.  2006’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning starts off as one of those misguided attempts to “explain” the history of a horror icon.  But after introducing Leatherface as a dumpster baby, the film proceeds to be just a misguided retread of what came before: new victims with different faces suffering the same fate.

Director Jonathan Liebesman has some fun inventing a history for the Hewitt family (turns out Sheriff Hoyt isn’t a real Sheriff after all) but relies too much on a body-count approach with Leatherface turned into a brutish supervillain rather than a tortured man-child. There’s no humanity here on either side of the fence.  But there isa nice sense of visual continuity.  Liebesman captures that same desolate beauty of the Texas landscape (the production design on both films is superb) but amps things up with lots of handheld camerawork for the finale. 

With the gritty film aesthetic, one might assume a 4K edition wouldn’t matter much.  Well, one would be wrong.  Arrow Video’s new 4K Ultra HD editions (available separately) are real lookers from start to finish, with deep blacks and wonderful colors that make the experience (particularly on Nispel’s film) like a first-time viewing.  New extras on the 2003 film include a commentary, interviews with Nispel and DP Daniel Pearl (who shot the original as well), fold-out poster and collector’s booklet.  The 2006 set gets a theatrical and uncut version of the film along with a new commentary, interviews and all the archival bits and pieces as well.  This is a good investment for everyone’s horror collection.