"Just in time for Halloween, this film is frighteningly fun and will surely give you your money's worth. Within the first 5 minutes of the film a couple got up and exited the theater out of digust, which made me enjoy it even more."
Tobe Hooper's original 1974 cult slasher, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, has spawned three sequels, a 2003 remake and now a prequel. You would think that after that many incarnations of the same basic plot structure that a demented man in a mask made of human flesh chasing horny teens would get old, but you're wrong. It's been the true essence of every slasher film, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning takes place in two time periods, the first being 1939 where we find a large pregnant woman sweating away in the town's meat factory. As she chops various cuts of meat, she clutches her stomach and falls to the ground. A disgusting mix of urine and blood and other bodily fluids runs out from between her legs and suddenly the baby slides out on its own - how appropriate. The infant that would become the man known as Thomas Hewitt is thrown into a dumpster where he is discovered by a woman searching for food behind the factory.
Now we fast forward to 1969, Hewitt has been working at the meat factory for quite some time, and has become quite good at it. It seems cutting meat and bone is "his thing." Anyway, the whole town is practically deserted - several of its business are shutting down (the meat factory is next to go) and people are moving away.
On the other side of the coin, 4 sexy young stars are driving through Texas on the way to California. Chrissie (Jordana Brewster, The Fast and The Furious), her boyfriend Eric (Matthew Bomer), his brother Dean (Taylor Handley) and his voluptious girlfriend Bailey (Diora Baird, The Wedding Crashers). Eric is going back to Vietnam and this time he's taking his brother with him. Their girlfriends are accompanying them on the journey, to see them off before they're gone on tour for who knows how long.
After an altercation with some bikers at the one and only general store in the town, the group moves on - only to be trailed later by a biker that persues them with a shotgun in hand. While the group is worried about the biker, panic seizing the vehicle completely, Eric drives the jeep straight into a stray cow that has broke free of its fenced-in confines. What results is a gush of blood and a nice bouqet of cow parts everywhere as the jeep flips over and into the ditch.
This is where good 'ol Sheriff Hoyt shows up, played to a disturbing tee by R. Lee Ermey. As you can imagine, the whole crew is taken back to the Hewitt home, where Leatherface will begin cutting his teeth on his first batch of victims.
If you enjoyed the 2003 remake, then this prequel is suited for you. Though it follows some of the same plot structures and devices (I dare you to find a series of horror films that doesn't replicate itself) it's a fresh, new look at the demented, sick universe Hooper and Henkel have created.
The characters aren't annoying and they're quite fleshed-out, the story of how their fates intertwine with Leatherface is just better and there's no clear "hero" character. On that note the acting and portrayals of characters are right on par and never is there a moment where the fear or pain doesn't seem believable.
Overall, I rank this film as slightly better than the 2003 remake. While it wasn't as disturbing (substituting creepiness for gore) we get to see some great-looking horror effects and classic use of the chainsaw. You literally get to see the beginning of what would be "one of the most bizarre crimes in the annals of American history" - the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Just in time for Halloween, this film is frighteningly fun and will surely give you your money's worth. Within the first 5 minutes of the film a couple got up and exited the theater out of digust, which made me enjoy it even more.
As for as Horror pictures go, I give it 3.5 stars. If you want to introduce someone the proper way to a blood-curdling chainsaw epic, start here.
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