You have to be logged in to comment! If you don't have an account register now for free! Your account allows you to post comments and reviews, upload videos and images, access or our forums, write personal blogs, and maintain your profile.
This film seemed to focus too heavily on the gore and not much else. It was also meant to be set in the 60's but felt all too modern. Why try and explain Leatherfaces' motives? Sometimes it's more disturbing by the less we know (ala the original 1974 movie).
I actually quite liked the remake to an extent, but this prequel didn't do it for me.
This movie is very intense. Very bloody. Very realistic. Leatherface is scary as shit. You get to see how the "Sherriff" became the Sherriff, you get to see why the old guy is in a wheelchair, you witness the birth of Letherface (Fear). I highly recommend it.
It was bloody good - LEATHERFACE SIMPLY ROCKED - Really morbid but the beginning should be exactly this way- some scenes were inspired by WOLF CREEK. Spoiler alert!!!
No frills attached go for the guts back-story for LEATHERFACE - ITS NOT A SLASHER FLICK SO DON'T VIEW IT AS ONE -Its a classic which should should be viewed as the best prequel - TCM can have.
incredibly dull boring just plain awful R.Lee Ermey simply rehases his Full Metal Jacket performance yet gain, just plain rubbish one of worst horror films ive seen in recent memory, the first one was far far better just avoid this sequel AT ALL COST...RUN FAST AND FAR AVOID !!!
This one actually improves upon the 03 version.
We get a badder meaner Texas, better deaths, better ending, better acting, no annoying characters like the douche in the wheelchair in the original or the whiner with the glasses in the remake.
Both were good this was great!!!
I didnt like as much as the 03 one but a good hooror movie none the less. Its so rare, in my opinion, we get a good horror movies theses days. Good acting too.
Loved it! Not as much as the 2003 remake but right there with it! Plus everyone was great especially R. Lee Ermey and Jordana Brewster.I always wanted her to do a movie like this.The end was also shocking with her death.Although I thought if it was a prequel then no one could survive but didn't think they would really do it.At times it does feel like the remake but the story and characters make it its own! Hate it didn't do well at the box office because platinum dunes finally got the chainsaw films back on to being what they were! AWESOME!Hope to see another!
i enjoyed beginning the backstory was entertaining, enough blood and guts, the return of hoyt. felt alot like the remake in many ways but i still realy liked it.
Bloody & disgusting!! It was a great movie, but honestly, the "Why?" to Leatherface's homicidal tendancies didn't need to be answered. That's what makes a slasher film so brilliant - the not knowing why, but watching it unfold.
This is the best Texas Chainsaw movie that they have ever made since the 1974 classic. It doen;t try to be anything else except what it is a bloody, gory, intense slasher flick. This was also, in my opinion, the best Leatherface to grace the big screen. He was vicious and didn't care about anything or anybody, he wasn't just a retard cook anymore, he was a disturbed soul that too out his frustration on unsuspecting folk that pass through his territory. R. lee ermey was gea as sheriff hoyt and unlike all the other entries in the series, this actually was a "Chainsaw Massacre" everybody in the movie got a taste of Leatherface's chainsaw. The final thing I loved was NO SURVIVORS, I was sick of movies always having the "Star" survive at the end, more horror movies should do it more often.
Amazing. Although it is a prequel, the only parts from Leathreface's childhood was the opening scene and the opening credit's which was showing him being born and then pictures. The film cut's to the chase and the gore is much more than it's 2003 remake preceeder. When watching your not really getting scared as it is somewhat predictable but is very enjoyable. I'ts one of those movies that you can watch over and over not caring you know every line and scene off by heart. The origina of the Chainsaw was really stupid, and was dissapointing, because the Chainsaw mass just sitting there when he killed the first person, and he used a knife to kill his first victim. It shows Why Uncle Monty is in a wheelchair with both legs severed, and why "Sheriff Hoyt" front two teeth are missing. In this we get to see the upstairs of the house which was also used in the 2003 remake, and there is also a dinner table seen which is the classic scene from the original. In this movie the Tea Lady who was the obese woman in the van in the remake returns for the movie for a very short 5 minutes, but man it was sweet :)
The plot at first seems pretty shit, because the tagline "Witness The Birth Of Fear" initially makes me think the movie is gonna be him growing up, but the movies plot is very good, although Leathreface's childhood could've been better presented.
The acting is key to this film because in a Texas Chainsaw movie you need to be top notch, and in my opionion not well known. "Jordana Brewster" starred as "Chrissie" who is the final girl and the final scene of the movie is one I wasn't expecting but then again, it had to happen in order for it to be a prequel. "Taylor Handley" was Dean, who was the younger brother who was great. "Doira Baird" was basically screaming the whole time after she saw leathreface, and she was very believable. Other cast included "Matt Bomer", "R. Lee Ermey", "Marietta Marich".
Overall "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Begining" is a great watchable movie, that doesn't fail to capture your attention. My rating is 4/5.
Posted By: nitewise84 at 3:42pm, February 14, 2009
I never really needed to know why the Family in TCM was the way they were. This movie was just terrible and not needed.
Posted By: TheBurning at 12:35pm, February 14, 2009
In some ways, better than the '03 remake. And the skinning of the guys face so leatherface could don it for the first time was awesome!
Posted By: MajinVorhees at 5:57am, February 8, 2009
This has got to be one of my most favorite of horror films of all time. The story was just awesome going deeper into Leatherfaces' past and what his whole family was all about. The gore was really cool it delivered some of the best death scenes ive ever seen...my favorite part is when he cuts off the mans face off and puts it on 4 the first time...the ending was also surprising, but if you think about it it was kind of dumb....come on a chainsaw, the bytch could've of heard it...still one of the best horror movies i've ever deen
Posted By: cjhorrorfan13 at 9:56pm, February 5, 2009
VERY VERY VERY ENTERTAINING!
keeps you saying OH NO! NO NO! RUN!
you'll be so far off the edge of your seat that you might just fall off!
Posted By: GRUDGE4life at 4:14pm, January 26, 2009
i think this movie was gory enough to satify my needs, but at the same time it was amazing how they built the story of leatherface and the ending was just disturbing and wrong in so many ways...
Posted By: WickedIrish at 7:36pm, January 25, 2009
Not near as good as the orginal or even the remake.
This is definitely a good follow up
to the remake. It had me scared out of my wits
and the gore made me turn away a few times.
I love the eerieness of the Hewitt Family
especially the tea lady. I hope they follow
with another one some time soon.
I think they did a really good job on this movie I have seen a lot of the chain saw massacre movies and some where how can I say pretty bad. This one really brings back the gore and a good story line It really pushed the envelope sometimes and even made me squirm which is hard to do I can watch this on over and over again. I would say buy it I did
This movie was great. Sick and twisted, just what we expect from a TCM movie. I had to pause it and get up twice and must have smoked 20 tabs in the 84 minutes this movie ran, but it was so worth it! Loved it! Would I watch it again? Not sure... even my hardened horror film mates had to look away several times...
Posted By: horrorking95 at 5:20am, January 4, 2009
This is better than the first remake, the first remake was so boring! NO CHAINSAW ACTION!! But here the saw gets used in more bloody ways because this is gory and has one of the best death scenes ive seen in ages! I also liked the way it told you how things happened. I liked the pyschotic sheriff in this as well I didnt like him in the first remake he annoyed me I was thinking c'mon bring leatherface! But here I liked him and I liked leatherface because they used him in this film!
****
Out Of
*****
Another great movie by Platinum Dunes. I liked the whole backstory of the family. I love the characters. I love the actors, all did a great job. Brilliant movie.
Posted By: AshWilliams95 at 5:05am, December 24, 2008
I thought that tcmtb was awesome just like the original and the remake.
Storyline: Group of friends are travelling down the long road when BAM! the movie gets into the action and suspense and leatherface grabs his infamous old chainsaw and begins doing what he does best.....mass murder. 10/10
Acting: B-R-I-L-L-I-A-N-T 10/10
Special Effects: WOOT! Real nice and realistic as it should be. 10/10
Best Scene: When the girl dies at the end. 10/10
Ending: AWESOME! That's right no god damn survivors, you think shes safe when all of a sudden leatherface pops out of the back of the car and drives that chainsaw through the drivers seat killing her!!!!!! Probably one of the best movie endings ever. And then he hops out of the car and walks into the darkness..........Cool! 10/10
Overall there is only one way to sum this movie up BAD ASS!
Cruel,ugly, sadistic and I cant believe the once infamous Leatherface became 'tommy' and became a killer cause he was picked on as a boy. Pffftt!!
I liked the first remake but this entry spoiled the character for me.
How can a movie this violent be so damned boring? As a huge fan of the original Tobe Hooper film, I have been quite annoyed and disappointed by the last two redos. Just because you have a few of the original characters and plotline, does not mean if you splash enough gore over things, it'll hide your lack of a story. The power of the original was the claustrophobic cinematography, the simple, but effective storytelling, and most of all the unexpected restraint and subtlety for such an over the top subject. The most frightening thing about Hooper's classic, is what is left to the imagination. The film seems so disturbingly graphic, when barely a drop of blood is shown onscreen. It's what they don't show and what is implied that always messed with my head. I'm all for gore in it's place, but what so many directors are getting wrong is that what we don't see is far scarier. I will give this film, that I actually did care for the characters and their survival, which is far more than I can say for the latest SAW.
For the last time people!
This is not a true story!
It never happend. This movie was INSPIRED by a true story, not BASED!!!
The story this was based on is the Ed Gein murders! Look that up!
Anyway this is a very good movie!
good movie but not as good as the remake.R.Lee was the main focus in the movie (not a bad thing) but it was too much the same movie as remake but great gore
Amazing... A Masterful addition to a Masterful series. R. Lee Ermey is invaluable to the franchise now. The on screen brutality is almost unmatched (INSIDE would give any movie a run for its gore money). The Beginning is a movie I will (and have) watched many times. I even wrote a University paper on it ;)
Posted By: Protecious at 2:36pm, September 30, 2008
very little difference between this one and the remake, some interesting scenes, some gory stuff, but ultimatly what made this film good is the performances by the family, most notibly r. lee ermy as sheriff hoyt once again, this film has humor and gore galore, and if your a fan of leatherface, check this one out.
Better than the remake and did the one thing that no other Texas Chainsaw Massacre (besides the original) it was a great and cool film filled with gore. People getting their faces ripped off and other great death scenes such as an awesome throat slash Chainsaw was used plenty of times the police officers death very good Texas Chainsaw Massacre film. If you're a fan if you are a fan of the original then definitely check this out.
Posted By: screamzFIRE29 at 10:34pm, August 10, 2008
The movie basically followed the same formula as the first remake but added a few shnazzy little explanations to things that are the way in the future. The weird guys legs, the "policemans" teeth. The movie was so intense in especially the last half hour that I was actually cheering for the- SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER -girl in the end to make. I thought she actually would. But then, of course he comes out of nowhere and kills her and all the witnesses because if he didn't then it wouldn't be the begining, it would be the end. But, the movie engaged me so much that I forgot about all the other movies. Of course afterwards I gave myself a bonk on the head and said, DUH.
Being a huge fan of the origional remakes and the sort can be a bitter pill to swollow but in know way can you slate the remake or this film .The stort line is superbe giveing us a look at what when where , which when you'v been a fan so long is just what you want but the cast are beyound perfect . Each and every person involved in this film made you feel that this could be a true story and that your just a fly on the wall being taken on a rollercoaster ride of terror .O.k. in the og its not horror but the terror of whats going on , whats being inflickted on the unfortunate travellers , but in this film you get a real taste of what shapped Leather face what fucked up family produces such horror , is it a social comment of the time the film is set or just a tale of not to tread on paths that you dont belong . To start you get to see the birth and desposal of Leather face , born in a meat factory an put in the bin to be picked out by a passing woman who's lookin for food in the bins .Its at this point you get to meet the sherrif , a caracter who for me makes the film as much as Leather face .So after a small montage we cut to two brothers and there girlfriends on a road trip takeing the boys off to war , they have a run in with a biker and in steps the sherrif .torture, pain , mayhem and an overall fealing of not knowing whats comeing next is all that can be said of the rst of the film .This HAS to be seen if you in any way think your a horror fan then this is a must , if you liked the OG watch this to fill those gapes in Leatherfaces life , and it will leave you wanting another film .After seeing the film a girlfriend of mine said there going to far with on-screen violence , i say how can they you get to see what as a fan you always wanted to see but this is on hell of a film that in places does make you think wow that was a bit mutch ,,, watch enjoy and want more
"There is an idiom about the way a human being feels pain—when a surge comes, it makes a brief period of time, sometimes only a matter of seconds, feel like an unbearable eternity. Sometimes situations like a pulled muscle or a banged kneecap are hard to endure without just a minor yelp of protest.
The same idiom can be applied to "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning," a film that runs 84 minutes, but is packed with so much gratuitous meat, gore, slime, urine, drool, grime, screaming, agony, sadism, misogyny, and outright misanthropy that it feels like 10 hours…10 long, extremely unpleasant hours (and that's putting it generously). This is the most uncomfortable 10 hours (I mean 84 minutes, sure...) I've ever spent in a darkened theater. "The Beginning" is not only a repulsive film within the horror genre (which has been on a rapid downhill slide some are calling a "renaissance")—it could very well be the worst film I've ever had to misfortune to waste my cash on. Period. By the time the credits roll, you'll officially know how Marsellus Wallace felt in the basement of that pawn shop.
I have seen many horror films in my quarter-century on this earth, from early black-and-white classics, '60s kitsch, gritty '70s realism (including Tobe Hooper's original "Chainsaw"), '80s slashers, '90s badness, and a healthy dose of uber-gory European selections from the likes of Fulci, Argento, Pasolini, Deodato, Buttgereit, etc. I'm far from a prude when it comes to cinematic violence, and it takes a lot to offend my otherwise salivating horror sensibility… But "The Beginning" is absolutely wretched—a rock-bottom low in horror…and film in general. If ever there was a case where I would put my stamp of approval on the protest, censorship, banning, or outright incineration of a film into the stratosphere so that it may never be viewed by human eyes–and I am usually against such things–this would be it.
This is a film that produces zero scares, but an overflow of disgusting, artless imagery wrongly assumed to BE scary. Its villains are grotesque, unfunny inbred sickos, and its 'heroes' (including 2 guys who resemble Christopher Atkins and Robby Benson, and their girlfriends, with less definition than their Gap-model looks) exist only to have all manner of beating, torture, and mutilation inflicted upon them. Chainsaws and other sharp implements are plunged into flesh in gory close-up. The Vietnam War is cynically exploited to analogize two characters "coming of age" and "becoming men" while suffering the torments of the savage Hewitt clan (also given an un-ironic layer in R. Lee Ermey's war veteranship). In a slasher film where the overriding intentions appeal only to the basest, most reprehensible urges in man, trying to infuse "commentary" into the proceedings comes off as profoundly as a monkey reaching for guano.
Like so many low-budget horrors of the 1950s-'70s, the title of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" was a misnomer. The film featured a handful of deaths, only one of which was committed with the titular weapon (and, even then, only shown a few drops of blood); the movie was an absurd comedy of sorts, shrouded in a gritty, documentary-style realism that fueled the terror brewing beneath. There's a good word: "terror." Hooper's 1974 original is, as others before me have said, brilliant for what it doesn't show; it created a terrifying atmosphere and utilized locations and techniques that made the events seem very real. By comparison, the 2003 remake was slick, overproduced, and took the carnage of the title quite literally, offering little more than a plot less torture show, and "Beginning" takes that nihilism to a whole new level.
This time around, it's the subtitle that's misleading, as any insight into Leatherface (oh, excuse me–"Thomas Hewitt")'s madness is limited to a gratuitous shock-prologue and vague flash-cuts over the opening credits. "The Beginning" then dives into a story we've all seen too many times before. To those who have seen the 2003 version: it's the same thing. And to those who haven't, it can be summed up as simply as: 2 young couples relentlessly tortured for 84 minutes by a family of cackling psychopaths.
Seriously, that's all there is. It's a nihilistic, grueling, and utterly unredeemable excuse for inflicting pain under the banner of "horror," when it is really anything but." --Jonny_Numb, imdb.com
The only reason I can’t agree with Mr. Disgusting’s review is because I had to stop and reassure myself this movie wasn’t cheesy several times. I mean, Leatherface is . . . well, too retarded and slow and moderately laughable. Have you seen the chainsaw guy in Resident Evil 4 (the game)? Now that is a scary guy with a chainsaw, because he’s not a dumb animal that looks like he’s about to have an emotional breakdown. The cannibalism and face cutting was just cheesy as well. It really shouldn’t be, but it’s used in so many cheesy movies (al a Hannibal) I really have to keep myself from smiling. I *HATE* it when people say “I don’t like gore because it makes me laugh” but when you show them Saw III they throw up. It’s a way to make themselves think they’re stronger than they really are—I’m not doing that. I honest to God just found some scenes in this movie laughable and it took away from the overall effect.
Also, unlike Mr. Disgusting, I didn’t care about the characters. They’re not as flat and cliché as most movies, but they certainly were nothing to brag about the characterization about. Unlike the Saw movies, when they died I really didn’t care a whole lot. That said, this movie had some of the most intense death sequences in American cinema.
That brings me to the gore. (I was watching the unrated cut.) It was quite a nifty little bloodbath but it was certainly nothing to phone home about. Compared to video games like No More Heroes, the amount of brutal bloodshed was rather low. They easily could have been more Saw-like graphic, but they stuck to the minimum. But don’t get me wrong—the minimum for this movie is pretty violent. It’s more than you’ll see in almost any R-rated movie out there, but in the unrated/NC-17/X realm, it really doesn’t hold any water.
The main thing horror movies lack is ORGINAL gore. Films like this think because they saw off a dude’s legs we’re going to be shocked, but they fail to realize we’ve seen that a hundred times in other movies. *Spoilers* In one scene Leatherface stabs a guy through the chest with the chainsaw and picks him up with it, but it stops there. They could have easily shown him cut in half vertically No More Heroes style, but they went for the minimum. In another scene a girl is stabbed through the heart with a chainsaw, but it stops there. It could have gone into much more disturbing territory if they showed her boobs fall off, but once again, they went for the minimum. *End spoilers* If you’re interested in gory filmmaking, please read: do not go for the minimum—the audience can handle it.
Those are the negatives. Still, my overall reaction is positive. It was well-made and the story tried hard to avoid clichés, though that was pretty much inevitable since the original TCM made those clichés for the first time. If you’re looking for a gritty (but not very gory) movie with some artistic (but cheesy) merit, this will be a fun thing for you to watch. True terror? Hardly. But, it’s a whole lot of fun.
Leatherface looks stupid in this movie,I'm a big texas chainsaw massacre fan but i don't like this movie because it's stupid, the story sucks. this is not the beginning I hoped for.
my rating:1 because I feel sorry for leatherface.
Not very original, its kind of the same as all the previous movies, but I guess you don't have to fix something that isn't broken. Good plot, good acting, good suspense ... It did have a little too much of those "someone jumped in front of the window" scare moments, but to my opinion that only added to the charm of the movie. I recommend it as an entertaining movie!
I was actually suprised that this movie wasnt absolutely horrible. I found it very fun and better than the remake. Sure, the acting was bad and it was over-the-top, but you kinda want to see what happens next. I would have liked to see more of Leatherface's childhood (which I was expecting a lot of).
this movie was AMAZING!!!!!! Abso;utely a MASTERPIECE!!! The Story was brilliant, had real emotion and, power and was terrifying!!!!! the best Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie ever!!!
Generally an ok film but didn't leave a big impact on me-Only R L Ermey had the real power here-fantastic portrayal of the seedy evil 'hoyt' Leatherface is cold &emotionless.
When I went to see this movie I thought, well another TCM flick with the same old same old. This one was pleasantly a bit more creative and not so stale as plot is concerned. ( nobody loves a child being born on a slaughterhouse floor.)They tried to keep the gore fresh and it did for a while and that was it. It really had nothing more to offer other than that it it's just another prequal.
i was actually impressed by this movie. i was expecting your usual "prequil" movie..cheezy. but it was actually pretty good. i didnt go buy it but i did see it a few times and could watch it again.
