The Texas Chainsaw Massacre/The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning 2007 Horror Movie Review

When you talk about the TV shows Desperate Housewives, 7th Heaven, CSI, The OC and even The Guiding Light wouldn’t you think it strange to mention The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in the same breath? Similarly, when you say R. Lee Ermey you’re usually not talking about 2003 and 2006’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre films, right?


The main actors in both The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beinning (2006) were plucked right out TV. And R. Lee Ermey?...He starred in both Texas 2003 and 2006, but we all know what we really associate that guy with…the colorful Full Metal Jacket (1987) boot camp sergeant, of course.


Ah, and let’s not forget the up and coming Jessica Beil (2006’s The Illusionist); while the 2003 remake of Texas Chainsaw was one of her first big screen films, I expect that we’ll see a lot more leading roles from this fine young talent in the future.


I was lucky enough to find a very inexpensive 2 pack on sale at Amazon for the price that just one of the disks is selling for today. Unfortunately, as of this writing I see that Amazon isn’t offering the same deal, but the two pack is still available.


Enough trivia. About the movies.


Might as well start at The Beginning (2006). The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning was perhaps one of the top 5 most shockingly brutal movies that I have ever seen. Torture. Brutal murder. Intense violence. All acted out superbly by a cast that mostly made you believe that this horrible stuff was happening.


The Beginning was directed by short-resumed Horror vet Jonathan Liebesman, and he mostly kept it real. He made his actors take their rolls seriously, unlike so many Horror movies that throw in teenage camp to dumb down the shock. Liebsman had only a few “oh c’mon that would never happen” scenes versus almost an “oh my God” ever 5 minutes throughout the 96 minute Horror gala (that’s like 25 ‘oh-my-Gods’).


The over the top and stretch the imagination scenes are enough to bring the film down a notch, but I was out of breath after exposure to so much shock and awe by the time the credits rolled. So The Beginning was affectively above average.


The thing about The Beginning is that you know it’s not the end. No happy ending expectations here; just a sense of dread for all who come in contact with Sheriff Hoyt’s family of degenerates. The Beginning is the prequel that plays right into The Texas Chainsaw 2003 remake of the original 1974 Tobe Hooper cult classic that shocked the nation. Hooper had oversight as a producer in both Texas 2003 and 2006.


2003’s remake was probably about 1/2 as brutal as the 2006 (unrated version) story of The Beginning, so that should speak volumes as to how to set your expectations. Texas 2003 continues the murderous story of the unfortunate that ventured to close to Sheriff Hoyt’s jurisdiction.


Shock and awe (or should I say shock and gore) should not be confused with greatness. Both Texas 2003 and 2006 were good Horror movies. They were better gross-out movies. So all in all, if you’re into Horror, these moves do indeed epitomize the genre. They are good…not great. If you are rating these on shock these two are at the top of the list. If you’re looking for other impressionable films to have crossed the screen in the past 25 years or so, click on my name above and check out my Amazon Listmania List of 15 Flicks Guaranteed to Leave A Permanent Impression.