Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The (2003) (4K UHD Review)
- Review Date: Oct 28, 2025
- Format: 4K Ultra HD
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Director
Marcus NispelRelease Date(s)
2003 (August 26, 2025)Studio(s)
Platinum Dunes/New Line Cinema (Arrow Video)- Film/Program Grade: B+
- Video Grade: A+
- Audio Grade: A+
- Extras Grade: A+
Review
Outside of 1989’s Batman, you couldn’t get much more vitriolic fan reaction than the announcement that The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was going to be remade by Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes production company, which came to pass in October of 2003. Remakes were nothing new, of course, but this was sacred ground and horror fans didn’t take the news lightly. New Line Cinema had re-released the film in 1980 after acquiring the rights from Bryanston Pictures, which went bankrupt in 1976. It only seemed fitting that they would end up venturing forth on a remake, especially since their acquisition of the Friday the 13th franchise had yielded a “monster” hit with Freddy vs. Jason, which was released only a couple of months before The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake (now combining the “Chain” with “Saw” in its title).
Differentiating the film from the original, Chainsaw featured a new set of characters, dialed back on the cannibalism, and expanded Leatherface’s immediate family, which were now known as the Hewitts instead of the Sawyers. This was also going to be a slicker and bloodier Chainsaw, giving cinematographer Daniel Pearl, director of the original, a chance to do Chainsaw over again, but with a bigger budget and a more stylized look. It’s a very atmospheric and textured picture that often looks quite beautiful, even as gnarly as it can get at times. The desaturated approach would become somewhat of a cliché for the horror genre, especially in the 2000s era, but even if it’s a more aggressively showy Picture, it’s more ideal than a lack of style altogether.
Chainsaw also succeeds in developing a set of characters that you kind of like hanging out with, and don’t necessarily want to see get slaughtered. Jessica Biel, who was moving on from her days on the hit family television program 7th Heaven, was the arguably the biggest star attraction outside of Leatherface. Her costume consists of a cowboy hat, a tight white tank top with her belly exposed, and a pair of tight blue jeans. Needless to say, she helped put some asses in the seats on opening weekend. As for Leatherface, Andrew Bryniarski was cast after Brett Wagner shot for a single day and was hospitalized after hurting his back. The rest of the cast included Erica Leerhsen, who had appeared in Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 three years prior, Eric Balfour, Jonathan Tucker, Mike Vogel, and R. Lee Ermey, the latter as the unhinged Sheriff Hoyt. John Larroquette also returned to voice the narrator during the opening credits.
While the film is mostly successful and makes for an entertaining time at theater (I saw it three times myself), it does have some flaws. Sheriff Hoyt’s antics, for instance, tend to be a bit protracted at times, making you wonder if his character was invented simply to give the other characters something to do. The showing of Leatherface’s (Thomas Hewitt’s) cancer-ridden face complete with a missing nose using CGI feels like a misfire, slightly decloaking the character and making him seem less mysterious. Some of the references to the original film, of which there are few, also manage to take you out of the film a little if you’re readily familiar with the source material. Thankfully, these moments aren’t frequent and mostly subtle.
Headed by a successful marketing campaign, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was a box office hit upon release, despite the mixed critical reception, and proved to be the exception rather than the rule when it comes to remakes. Because of its success, more remakes came down the pike, the vast majority deemed unworthy by most of the audiences that saw them. Chainsaw 2003 also got the prequel treatment three years later with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, showing the how and why of Leatherface and the Hewitt clan. Since then, there have been a number of entries in the franchise, most of which have had a poor reception, as well. Some of them have their fans, but most reasonable people can conclude that the 2003 remake was the last time that a truly effective entry in the series was released, vitriol be damned.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was shot by cinematographer Daniel Pearl on 35 mm film (Eastman EXR 50D 5245, Kodak Vision 250D 5246, Vision 500T 5279) with Arriflex 435, Panavision Panaflex Millennium XL, and Panavision Panaflex Platinum cameras with spherical Panavision Primo and Zoom lenses. The film was finished photochemically using a bleach-bypass process at the aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Arrow Video debuts Chainsaw on Ultra HD with a 4K 16-Bit scan and restoration from the original camera negative, which has been graded for High Dynamic Range in HDR10 and Dolby Vision, QC’d by Aidan Doyle at Finlay Fox, and encoded to a triple-layered BD-100 disc. Daniel Pearl’s desaturated “puke” look, implemented at the direction of Marcus Nispel, is beautifully rendered here in UHD. It’s crisp with laser-sharp detail and only mild grain variances due to the varying film stocks used at the time. It’s very organic in appearance with a bitrate that mostly sits in the 60 to 100Mbps range, dipping during lower detail and light levels. The HDR isn’t overly aggressive, merely giving the palette some mild heft and aiding in deepening black levels. The very few CGI additions blend well with the surrounding material, though the digital pan down at the 96:16 mark stands out a little more in higher quality. Otherwise, it’s a clean, problem-free presentation that couldn’t look better in 4K.
Audio is included in English 7.1, 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. The 7.1 track is a new and exclusive experience that pretty much outperforms its counterparts. The theatrical 5.1 is no slouch and the stereo track is decent, but the 7.1 option is the most muscular, giving the film’s sound design and score the most room to move around in. It also heightens the subtle aural textures during quieter moments, while also boosting the more bombastic ones. Low end is put to very good use and dialogue exchanges are clear and precise. It really packs a wallop, and is definitely a showcase for your surround sound setup.
Arrow Video’s 4K Ultra HD release of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre sits in a black Amaray case alongside a double-sided poster featuring artwork by Aaron Lea on one side and the original theatrical poster artwork on the reverse, as well as a 24-page insert booklet containing cast and crew information, the essay How Dare They?? The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Is Remade by Michael Gingold, presentation information, production credits, and special thanks. Everything is housed in a slipcover with the same new artwork. The following extras are included on the disc:
- Commentaries:
- Steve "Uncle Creepy" Barton and Chris MacGibbon
- Marcus Nispel, Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, Andrew Form, and Robert Shaye
- Marcus Nispel, Daniel Pearl, Greg Blair, Scott Gallager, Trevor Jolly, and Steve Jablonsky
- Marcus Nispel, Michael Bay, Scott Kosar, Brad Fuller, Andrew Form, Jessica Biel, Erica Leerhsen, Eric Balfour, Jonathan Tucker, Mike Vogel, and Andrew Bryniarski
- New Interviews:
- Reimagining a Classic with Marcus Nispel (HD – 16:25)
- Shadows of Yesteryear with Daniel C. Pearl (HD – 16:54)
- The Lost Leatherface (HD – 15:17)
- Masks and Massacres (HD – 18:09)
- Chainsaw Symphony (HD – 19:01)
- Archival Extras:
- Chainsaw Redux: Making a Massacre (SD – 76:09)
- Ed Gein: The Ghoul of Plainfield (SD – 24:17)
- Severed Parts (SD – 16:42)
- Screen Tests:
- Jessica Biel (SD – 3:24)
- Eric Balfour (SD – 3:06)
- Erica Leershsen (SD – :47)
- Cast & Crew Interviews (SD – 17:50):
- Jessica Biel (SD – 3:17)
- Eric Balfour (SD – 2:02)
- Jonathan Tucker (SD – 1:45)
- Erica Leerhsen (SD – 1:28)
- Mike Vogel (SD – 2:19)
- R. Lee Ermey (SD – 2:06)
- Marcus Nispel (SD – 2:45)
- Brad Fuller & Andrew Form (SD – 2:11)
- Behind the Scenes (SD – 9:22)
- Trailers:
- Michael Bay Teaser Trailer (Upscaled SD – 1:31)
- Theatrical Trailer (Upscaled SD – 2:21)
- TV Spots (Upscaled SD – 8 in all – 4:16)
- Concept Art:
- Production Concept Art Gallery (HD – 10 in all)
- Leatherface Concept Art Gallery (HD – 13 in all)
- Deleted Scenes (UHD w/HDR – 9:33):
- Alternate Opening – Asylum (UHD w/HDR – 1:26)
- Alternate Suicide (UHD w/HDR – 1:02)
- Erin’s News (UHD w/HDR – 1:17)
- More Erin and Kemper (UHD w/HDR – 1:33)
- Jedidiah’s Drawings (UHD w/HDR – 1:25)
- Alternate Morgan Death (UHD w/HDR – :32)
- Alternate Ending – Asylum (UHD w/HDR – 2:20)
- Image Gallery (HD – 74 in all)
Arrow not only carts over all of the extras from previous releases, but bulks it up with several more. In the new audio commentary with Dread Central co-founder Steve “Uncle Creepy” Barton and co-host of The Spooky Picture Show podcast Chris MacGibbon, the two delve more into their reactions to the film when it was released and provide context for the era in which it was made. In addition, all three of the previous commentaries have carried over, as well. The first includes director Marcus Nispel, producer Michael Bay, executive producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form, and New Line Cinema founder Robert Shaye; the second features Nispel, cinematographer Daniel C. Pearl, production designer Greg Blair, art director Scott Gallager, sound supervisor Trevor Jolly, and composer Steve Jablonsky; and the third features Nispel, Bay, writer Scott Kosar, Fuller, Form, actors Jessica Biel, Erica Leerhsen, Eric Balfour, Jonathan Tucker, Mike Vogel, and Andrew Bryniarski. They’re all invaluable.
Next is a set of newly-conducted interviews. In Reimagining a Classic, director Marcus Nispel discusses his background with the original film, his approach to remaking it, his reaction to fans and other creatives, and his advice for how to execute a remake. In Shadows of Yesteryear, cinematographer Daniel C. Pearl talks about working with Marcus Nispel prior to and during the film, the trials of dealing with studio executives and producers, problem-solving on the set, and his takeaways from shooting both the original and the remake. The Lost Leatherface features actor Brett Wagner who details his single shooting day on the remake when he was injured and was fired from the production, and having become famous among fans for playing the character, albeit briefly. Masks and Massacres interviews makeup effects artist Scott Stoddard about his experiences getting the job on the film and the various make-up and effects that he participated in. Chainsaw Symphony speaks to composer Steve Jablonsky who recalls his time working with Hans Zimmer before getting his start with Platinum Dunes and working on their productions.
Next is a set of Archival Extras originally produced for the excellent New Line Platinum Series DVD release in 2004. Chainsaw Redux is a feature-length documentary about the making of the film that speaks to the cast and crew. Ed Gein: The Ghoul of Plainfield speaks to a number of authors and experts about the infamous serial killer, the culture surrounding him in that era, and how he inspired Psycho, as well as other media. Severed Parts discusses the film’s deleted scenes with Marcus Nispel. The Screen Tests briefly feature Jessica Biel, Eric Balfour, and Erica Leerhsen via videotape. The Cast and Crew Interviews are sourced from the film’s EPK material, and have mostly been available on home video releases in other territories. Last is a set of random Behind the Scenes footage; two trailers; eight TV spots; a pair of Concept Art art galleries dedicated to Production and Leatherface with a total of 23 stills; a set of seven Deleted Scenes, which have been upgraded to UHD with High Dynamic Range; and an Image Gallery containing 74 production stills. Not carried over from previous releases is Motogrator’s Suffocate music video and some DVD-ROM features.
Arrow Video’s 4K treatment of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre leaves very few stones unturned. It would have been nice to have heard from Jessica Biel reflect these many years later on her work in the film, especially now that she’s a Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actress for her more recent work. Nevertheless, Marcus Nispel’s Chainsaw holds up well, and this UHD release is packed with excellent bonus materials and a perfect picture. Highly recommended.
- Tim Salmons
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