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Andrew Bryniarski returns as Leatherface in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning.
- Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning Poster & Pics
- Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning Clips
- Horror Guru Review: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
First of all, back in 2003, I was one of those people who was decidedly against anyone remaking a classic horror film such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I mean, it’s like remaking Psycho, Halloween, or Friday the 13th… oh wait, too late! But The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake was actually very enjoyable and nearly came close to the kind of tension the original created. But, could a prequel of a remake pull it off as well?
Um, yeah. And then some!
The film begins with the closing of a local slaughter house due to unsanitary conditions. Addicted to his work like a drug, Thomas Hewitt (Leatherface – Andrew Bryniarski), regrettably leaves his place of employment… but not before brutally bashing his boss in the head with a metal mallet. Word spreads fast to the local sheriff, and soon he arrives at the Hewitt household to take in the mentally unstable Thomas. In no time, the sheriff attempts to apprehend Thomas, but is murdered by Sheriff-by-default Hoyt.
We then follow two brothers, Eric (Matthew Bomer) and Dean (Taylor Handley), as they drive cross-state (Texas, of course) on their way to Vietnam. Accompanying them are their girlfriends Chrissie (the lovely Jordana Brewster) and Bailey (Diora Baird).
After stopping at the local gas station/mini-mart, a biker follows the foursome in an attempt to rob them. Trying to be a hero, Eric reaches into his glove compartment for his conveniently-located handgun. But before he can fire a shot off, a massive cow comes from out of nowhere and explodes as the Jeep rams right into it. The Jeep then goes into a death roll that would make even the most hardcore NASCAR fan proud!
Chrissie is ejected out of the vehicle into a bank on the side of the road, while the other three sustain various abrasions. The biker approaches and attempts to take whatever they have… but luckily, good old Sheriff Hoyt arrives on the scene to straighten things out. Before Little Miss Biker Chick can get six words out, Hoyt blows her away with his trusty shotgun. Now that, my friend, is extremely efficient law enforcement!
Still in hiding, Chrissie watches her friends thrown into the backseat of the squad car, along with the dead biker. Hoyt drives off to “Mama’s House” while Chrissie is left behind to attempt to figure what in the hell to do. She climbs into the totaled Jeep, and moments later, Uncle Marty shows up to tow the vehicle back to the house as well.
Once they arrive at The Hewitt household, this film becomes one of the most uncomfortable hours of movie-viewing I have ever seen. The action is non-stop, intense, and sometimes downright seat-squirming. One by one, these young friends are forced to face some of the most sadistic and malicious families on the face of the earth.
If I had to pick my favorite aspect of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, it would definitely be the story. The entire film manages to answer just about any meaningful question you may have walked away with after 2003’s film. We learn who the Hewitt family is and how they are all related. We see how Uncle Monty became wheelchair-ridden in an extremely graphic way. We now understand just how in the hell Sheriff Hoyt became a sheriff, and most importantly of all, how did Leatherface become the barbaric and cold-blooded murderer he is.
Jonathan Liebesman (who is slated to direct the upcoming Friday the 13th remake) did an absolutely masterful job in turning this film into perhaps one of the top ten horror films of all-time. Big words, I know… but when you sit down and compare this to some of the greats, it can definitely hold its own. Perhaps most importantly, it make me want to go back and watch the 2003 sequel again, so I can further understand the full story.
Even more amazing is the fact that I have no complaints whatsoever with any of the acting. Everyone got into their respective characters very believably and you really begin to connect with each before they die. Minor spoilers here, but perhaps the most brutal of the murders was Eric’s. While strapped down to a wooden table in Leatherface’s basement lair, his arm is completely skinned while he was still alive, he has a chainsaw viciously carve through his abdomen, and once dead, Leatherface slices away his face in full view of the camera. All this while his girl Chrissie sits below the table. As much of a gore-hound I can be, even this scene made me slightly uncomfortable.
Liebesman’s biggest work to date is the brutal film Darkness Falls. Not the best piece of work you want on your resume coming into another film. But my hat is off to Liebesman for pulling off the impossible – making a film whose ending is obvious turn into a rollercoaster ride of one horrific event after another.
Everything flowed together smoothly here. There was a reason for every single event that occurs in this film and either serves to move this story forward, explain bits of the sequel, and sometimes both. I honestly cannot think of one truly bad thing to say about this film, and that is something I usually can do. Also, try and pick out a few instances where Liebesman pays homage to the original 1974 classic! If there was ever a film that worked hard to deserve all four skulls, it is this film.
Saw III is going to have a devil of a time trying to top this fine piece of horror.
Flick Figures: 10 dead bodies; 1 obese female doorstop; copious amount of various bodily fluids; gratuitous cannibalism; throat slashed; head-bashing push-ups; legs broken; legs sawed off; arms broken; flesh peeled off; heads blown off; bovine-induced vehicular death roll; bear trap-fu; massive chainsaw-fu; teeth roll; fingers roll; legs roll; faces rolls; heads roll; everything rolls!
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