The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
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Short description
Set in 1969, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning follows two brothers, Dean and Eric, and their girlfriends as they take a road trip through Texas before Dean is due to be sent to Vietnam. Eric, recently back from the war, intends to re-enlist to watch over his younger brother, while Dean has other plans. After an accident on a deserted road, the local sheriff takes the young travellers into custody, and they are brought to the Hewitt family home, where a deformed young man named Thomas is being raised amid savagery and taught the skills that will turn him into Leatherface.
The film is a prequel to the 2003 remake and explains the origins of Leatherface and his family. It was directed by Jonathan Liebesman, the second of the five features listed for him, following Darkness Falls and preceding Battle: Los Angeles and later studio projects. Sheldon Turner wrote the screenplay, and the producers include Michael Bay, Mike Fleiss and Tobe Hooper, director of the original 1974 film. Jordana Brewster plays Chrissie, Taylor Handley is Dean, Diora Baird is Bailey and Matt Bomer is Eric, with R. Lee Ermey as Uncle Charlie Hewitt and Lew Temple as Sheriff Winston Hoyt.
Made for about 16 million dollars, the film took roughly 51 million worldwide, a solid return for a horror release. On IMDb it holds a rating of 5.8 from around 82,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.2 from about 2,000 votes. A critics' score of 3.8 from 86 reviews places it below the audience ratings.
What's left behind the scenes
- The initial version of the film was more bloody and violent, resulting in an X rating. Producers demanded a re-edit, which the director strongly opposed. The most graphic scenes were cut, and the film ultimately received an R rating.
- A doll resembling actor Matt Bomer, covered in artificial silicone skin, "insides," and a moving head controlled by a cable remotely, was used in the Eric dismemberment scene.
- In one of the alternative endings, Leatherface kills Chrissy as she is just starting the car and has not yet driven onto the highway.
- Producers Andrew Form and Bradley Fuller abandoned the idea of making a sequel to the 2003 film ("The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," Marcus Nispel). However, fans of the franchise constantly bothered them with questions about how the family managed to survive and requests to answer some questions raised in the 2003 film that remained unanswered (for example, how Monty, played by Terrence Evans, lost his legs, how Sheriff Hoyt, played by R. Lee Ermey, lost his front tooth, and where Leatherface got his nickname). After meeting with Michael Bay, they (Form and Fuller) hired Sheldon Turner to write a prequel script, deciding they were ready to make the film.
- Rubber carcasses, properly moistened to appear realistic, were used in the slaughterhouse scene at the beginning of the film.
- In one of the alternative endings, Leatherface kills Chrissy not with a chainsaw, but with a knife.
- Filming took place in the state of Texas, near the towns of Martindale, Salado, Taylor, Granger, as well as on studio sets and in the city of Austin from October 10, 2005 to February 2006.
- The cow hit by the jeep was a prop. It was made of fiberglass and filled with fake blood, prop innards, and prop bones screwed together.
- In the initial version, the film contained footage showing Holden the biker being sawed in two. These scenes were later cut.
- The working title of the film was “Origins” (“The Origin”).
- A song called "Alright Now" plays in the film during the scene between Dean and his girlfriend in the hotel room. It is 1969, although the song itself was not released until 1970.
- In one scene, actor Matt Bomer actually had his face wrapped in cellophane, despite suffering from claustrophobia. Matt was to signal actor R. Lee Ermey if anything went wrong.
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