Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The: The Beginning (4K UHD Review)
- Review Date: Oct 29, 2025
- Format: 4K Ultra HD
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Director
Jonathan LiebesmanRelease Date(s)
2006 (August 26, 2025)Studio(s)
Platinum Dunes/New Line Cinema (Arrow Video)- Film/Program Grade: C-
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A+
- Extras Grade: A-
Review
The success of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in 2003 blew the doors open for more high profile horror films to be remade, especially from Platinum Dunes, which would go on to remake The Amityville Horror, The Hitcher, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street before moving on to other properties entirely. This era also birthed what became known as the “torture porn” subgenre, and many of the films receiving that moniker from critics and audiences were very successful. Since Chainsaw 2003 was the most popular and most profitable of their ventures thus far, it was decided to make another one, but since the events of the previous film didn’t leave many doors open for sequel possibilities, the decision was made instead to make a prequel. In 2006, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning was released. Though mildly profitable at the box office, it received a mixed to negative reception from critics, audiences, and fans.
In some fashion, The Beginning feels almost like a direct-to-video release than a major theatrical effort, in so much as the original director and cinematographer didn’t return to make it. Despite the efforts of director Jonathan Liebesman and cinematographer Lukas Ettlin, it doesn’t quite capture what director Marcus Nispel and cinematographer Daniel C. Pearl achieved with the original. Chainsaw 2003 has a grimier, sweatier feel to it with some impressive and artistic visual choices, none of which The Beginning seems to have. It doesn’t help that it falls into the trap of shaking the camera violently during intense moments, which grows tiresome the longer it goes on since we can’t focus on the actions of the characters. In fact, there’s much more handheld cinematography at work here than the previous film, which was much more mannered. I frankly don’t care for the look of The Beginning, but I can understand why the filmmakers would want to try and provide some kind of visual continuity while also putting their own authorial stamp on it.
The point of the film’s main narrative is to see the Hewitt family grow into the characters that we know from the first film, including Leatherface. The question though, which is an issue with most prequels, is did we need to know this at all? Is it important to learn how a character’s legs were cut off, or why another character is missing some teeth, or when and how this family became cannibals, which is not even spoken of in the first film? No, not really. Leatherface has so much less to do and is barely a presence in the film in comparison to Hoyt. Because of R. Lee Ermey’s impact on the character in the first film, he has usurped Leatherface as the antagonistic lead. We also find out how he became the town sheriff and where Leatherface (Tommy, as Hoyt refers to him) came from. In other words, this film is guilty of explaining away its villains, refuting the mystery of who these people are and where they came from, making them less interesting.
It doesn’t help that the new roster of characters to be slaughtered are less engaging copies of what we’ve seen before, right down to our female lead sporting a white shirt and low cut blue jeans, exposing as much skin as possible without actually taking any clothes off. They’re much blander characters with far less dimension, making their deaths, which many consider highlights of the Chainsaw franchise as a whole, less impactful. The kills themselves venture straight into torture porn territory, which is a subgenre of horror that I’m not particularly a fan of. Matters aren’t improved by how unsympathetically moronic these people are, especially the lead, who after surviving the car accident at the beginning of the film and hiding in the tall grass as Hoyt takes the others hostage, doesn’t immediately go to find the police. Instead, she comes across a biker and they hightail it to the Hewitt residence and she infiltrates the place with no weapons and no backup. This is only one example, and it’s clichéd to refer to characters horror films as unintelligent, but these characters definitely make some very dumb-headed decisions.
Interestingly, The Beginning also attempts to tie itself more fully to the original 1974 film by bringing cannibalism back into play, which leads to a dinner scene with a character bound to a chair by her wrists, and subsequently seeing that character escape by jumping out the window and Leatherface chasing after her with his trusty chainsaw. It’s so blatant that it’s fascinating, and I’m pretty sure that somebody owes Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel, both writers on the original film, a few extra bucks (R.I.P. Tobe Hooper, by the way). All of this leads to one of the most nonsensical kills in the history of the franchise, which if you haven’t seen the film, I won’t spoil, but let’s just say that a massive hulking maniac like Leatherface and his giant chainsaw would not go unnoticed where they end up during the finale.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning has its share of fans, but I don’t count myself as one of them. It’s a step down in quality so vast that it can’t be ignored. I would have been more open to a sequel to the first film and see how Leatherface would have dealt with losing an arm and what would have become of him, but perhaps that’s just me. The Beginning is by no means an abomination, but it’s not even close to being in the same league as the previous film.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning was shot by cinematographer Lukas Ettlin on 35mm (Kodak Vision2 500T 5218, Vision 250D 5246) film using Arriflex 435 and Panavision Panaflex Platinum cameras with Panavision Primo spherical lenses, finished as a 2K Digital Intermediate, and presented in the aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Arrow Video debuts the theatrical and uncut versions of the film on Ultra HD with a new 4K 16-Bit scan and restoration from the original camera negative, as well as sections likely taken from the DI for the uncut footage, which have 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. The unrated additions are a little obvious since they came from a different source and have more pronounced grain, but the majority of the film has a finely-tuned grain structure. The bitrate tends to sit mostly between 80 and 100Mbps, dipping slightly for less detail-oriented images and lower light levels. The HDR widens the gamut considerably, having more of an impact on color than the first film, but offering a palette that’s slightly more saturated and less sun-baked. Flesh tones are nice and contrast is perfect with deep blacks, while the overall picture is clean and stable throughout.
Audio for both versions is included in English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio, while the uncut version features an exclusive 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. Both version contain optional subtitles in English SDH. The uncut version appears to be the preferred version of the film since it’s getting the aural upgrade. Like the first film, the 7.1 track outperforms the other tracks in terms of immersion and spread across the various channels. Dialogue is rendered well and it gives Steve Jablonsky’s score some added muscle, as well as potent ambient activity and explosive moments. The 5.1 and 2.0 options are decent, but the 7.1 track is the clear winner.
Arrow Video’s 4K Ultra HD release of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning 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 “Where’s the F’in Dinner Scene?!” The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning 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 (Uncut Version)
- Jonathan Liebesman, Andrew Form, and Brad Fuller (Uncut Version)
- Hoyt, Actually (HD – 10:48)
- Original Skins: KNB FX (HD – 15:15)
- Light and Sawdust (HD – 15:18)
- Down to the Bone: Anatomy of a Prequel (SD – 45:04)
- Origin of Evil
- Invitation to a Slaughter
- Lone Star Rendezvous
- Carnage Unleashed
- The Chopping Block
- Deleted & Extended Scenes w/Optional Commentary (HD – 13:12):
- Hoyt Protects Thomas (HD – :17)
- Motel Scene – Extended (HD – 5:39)
- Luda Mae Scolds Hoyt (HD – :30)
- Chrissie Finds Dead – Extended (HD – 1:15)
- Alternate Ending #1 (HD – 2:06)
- Alternate Ending #2 (HD – 1:15)
- Alternate Ending #3 (HD – 2:12)
- Theatrical Trailer (HD – 2:29)
All of the extras from the previous releases of the film have been carried over, with a few new ones. The new audio commentary features Dread Central co-founder Steve "Uncle Creepy" Barton and co-host of The Spooky Picture Show podcast Chris MacGibbon. It’s another relaxed commentary, like the previous film, where the two discuss the release of the film and where horror was at during this era (somewhat erroneously skipping over the torture porn subgenre). The other commentary from 2006 features director Jonathan Liebesman and producers Andrew Form and Brad Fuller. Hoyt, Actually interviews actor Lew Temple, who discusses playing the sheriff in the film and the fact that R. Lee Ermey’s character takes over his identity, Winston Hoyt. Original Skins: KNB FX talks to special effects makeup artist Jake Garber and special effects makeup technician Kevin Wasner, who discuss their work in the film. Light and Sawdust speaks to director of photography Lukas Ettlin about studying the previous film’s style before developing ideas for what to do with the prequel. Down to the Bone is a five-part, DVD-era documentary about the making of the film with the cast and crew. The Deleted and Extended Scenes feature optional commentary with Liebesman, Form, and Fuller, which don’t add much to the final cut. The alternate endings also do little to improve the actual ending, but in truth, the filmmakers ended up using a combination of all three, with one major addition. Last is the theatrical trailer.
Arrow once again puts together a nice package for another entry in the Chainsaw franchise. It’s not a film I’d recommend, but for fans who’ve been waiting for it to get the 4K upgrade, you should more than happy with the results. For them, this release comes highly recommended.
- Tim Salmons
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