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Perfect horror, with jump scares, characters you love to hate. Inapproproate laughs and plenty of "don't go in there!" moments. Gory but not grossly outrageous. 7/10
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I'm happy with this dvd
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was first released in 1974 to horrified audiences across the world. This was a fresh approach for the genre; a gritty and gruelling tale with plenty of scares and thrills which was based, however loosely, in reality. Tobe Hooper made a much admired and criticised movie which rightfully claims a place amongst the most infamous horror films of all time. The movie opens with five teenagers on a road trip. Background radio reports tell of a macabre find at the local cemetery but they pay no attention. It is hot, they don´t know the area and they make the mistake of picking up a hitchhiker while passing a slaughterhouse in an isolated part of Texas. Unfortunately for them the hitcher is decidedly inbred and violent and after a frightening exchange they kick him out of the van and push on up the highway. This opening is very nicely shot and acted. It creates a serious undertone of threat right from the start of the film, an undertone which doesn´t let up until the credits roll. The kids soon run out of gas and the only station around is waiting for a delivery. They make the mistake of going off the main road in an effort to find an old abandoned house. Upon arrival they split up and things begin to go badly wrong in a very gory way. Two of them set off to find a creek to swim in but instead they spot a house and decide to ask for some gas. Mental note - never approach creepy looking houses in backwoods Texas. The movie creates a huge amount of tension, the intense heat of Texas can be felt through the screen and as the mishaps and attacks are ladled on it becomes almost unbearable. The direction is excellent, there are some fantastically creepy shots and scares that make you jump out of your seat and the overall effect is really unsettling. The music and sound effects are also very good. The screeching fiddle noise was so good that the remake used it over and over again but here it is just right. The sound effects are frighteningly real sounding, especially the dull thump of the sledgehammer as it collides with an unfortunate teenager. The story is pretty ridiculous but it works and however bizarre it may seem this film drew heavily from the real life case of Ed Gein - a serial killer who made lampshades from human skin. Hooper takes it one step further with Leatherface, a chainsaw wielding madman with a grotesque mask sewn together from the faces of past victims. He places this freak in the loving arms of an entire family of cannibalistic killers, a male household dominated by the now near dead Grandfather who used to be the best killer at the slaughterhouse. The five teenagers are just your usual maniac fodder, although one of them is wheelchair bound and wimpy and the fact he is the most vulnerable victim imaginable increases the tension even further. The acting is decent but not great, some of the mad family play their parts well but they struggle to keep them believable for the duration. Indeed the entire premise descends into something of a farce towards the end as the tension which has been building and building finally cracks with a crescendo of violence.Read full review
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning Directed by: Jonathan Liebesman Starring: Jordana Brewster, Andrew Bryniarski, R. Lee Ermey, Taylor Handley, Matthew Bomer, Diora Baird, Heather Kafka, Marietta Marich, Terrence Evans Certificate: 18 Running time: 90mins The 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre got some very mixed opinions, some saw it as a film that should never have been done as the original was just too damn perfect, whilst others saw this as just as good if not better then 70's version. So with whatever mixed reviews the film may have been given I'm certain many people may have joint thoughts in the idea of a prequel of the remake of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. The film takes a glimpse at the birth of the monster that was known as Leatherface, the psycho chainsaw wielding cannibal who sliced and diced numerous amounts of people within Texas-apparently. The year is 1969, and two young brothers are off to enrol in Vietnam, although youngest brother, Dean is still unsure about strapping on his army boots he tags along reluctantly hoping to find the right time to give his big bruv, Eric the bad news. Turns out, he'll never have to go anyway, as the two brothers and their lady friends are first in the queue to become victim to the lovely fella, Leatherface-Unlucky. Driven back to the infamous Hewitt house by the sneaky Sheriff Hoyt (loud mouthed legend, R.Lee Ermey) after a near fatal car crash, three of the teenagers are imprisoned whilst brave lass Chrissy (Jordana Brewster-the hotty from Fast and the Furious) sets out on a one woman mission to save her buds-which we know will end in failure-as does the film. This horror prequel is another stain that appears on a descent classic's name-irritable and unremoveable. The attempt to unravel the origin of our cow faced villain is a quick and thoughtless explanation as to why he turns psycho, as they can't get the good looking, dopey teenagers in quick enough after it. Ironically the rest of the film is so damn slow and filled with completely unnecessary amounts of gore, with no moments of fear or build up-slice dice and decapitate has never felt so long. The only sharp blade in the film is Ermey who plays Leatherface's brother and equally as mad Sheriff Hoyt., his sick and darkly funny moments are the only thing that keeps the film going and in doing so, becomes more terrifying that the chainsaw wielder the film is supposed to be focusing upon. What was a bad idea to begin with Texas Chainsaw: The Beginning is another dark secret of the horror genre you really should try and forget-quickly...Read full review
On August 20th, 1973, police were dispatched to the remote farmhouse of Thomas Hewitt, the former head-skinner at a local slaughterhouse in Travis County, Texas. What they found within the confines of the cryptic residence was the butchered remains of 33 human victims, a chilling discovery that shocked and horrified a nation in what many still refer to as the most notorious mass murder case of all time. Wearing the grotesque flesh masks of his victims and brandishing a chainsaw, the killer, known as “Leatherface,” would gain infamy when sensational headlines were splashed across newspapers throughout the state of Texas: “House of Terror Stuns Nation – Massacre in Texas.” Local authorities would eventually gun down a man wearing a leathery mask and declare they had their killer, which abruptly closed the case; however, in the years that followed, many close to the grisly murder case would come forward to level accusations that police had botched the investigation and knowingly killed the wrong man. Now, for the first time, the only known survivor of the killing spree has broken the silence and come forward to tell the real story of what happened on a deserted rural Texas highway when a group of five young kids inadvertently found themselves besieged by a chainsaw-wielding madman, one who would leave a trail of blood and terror that would forever become known as “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”Read full review
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