The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
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| The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning | |
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| Directed by | Jonathan Liebesman |
| Produced by | Michael Bay Mike Fleiss |
| Written by | Screenplay: Sheldon Turner Story: David J. Schow |
| Starring | Jordana Brewster Taylor Handley Diora Baird Matthew Bomer R. Lee Ermey Andrew Bryniarski |
| Music by | Steve Jablonsky |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
| Release date(s) | October 6, 2006 |
| Running time | 91 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $14,000,000 |
| Gross revenue | $51,685,963 |
| Preceded by | The Texas Chainsaw Massacre |
| Followed by | The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning is a 2006 film and a prequel to New Line Cinema's 2003 film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It was directed by Jonathan Liebesman and released on October 6, 2006 in North America and is set 4 years before the 2003 remake. The film previously had the subtitle The Origin.
New Line Cinema had to pay $3.1 million more than expected in order to keep the franchise in the studio fold after Dimension Films made a pricey deal with original rights holders.
Taglines:
- Every Legend Has a Beginning.
- The Only Thing More Shocking Than How It Ended, Is How It All Began.
- Witness the Birth of Fear
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[edit] Plot
August 7, 1939 Thomas Hewitt is born in a meat-packing plant in Travis County, Texas. His mother dies right after birth and the plant boss abandons the newborn in a dumpster, at which point he is discovered by Luda Mae Hewitt while she searches for food. She takes Thomas to the Hewitt residence where the seeds of one of the most deranged and infamous murderers in American cinematic history are planted.
July 1969, brothers Eric (Matthew Bomer) and Dean (Taylor Handley) are driving across the country with their girlfriends Chrissie (Jordana Brewster) and Bailey (Diora Baird) before they're to be shipped out to Vietnam. This will be Eric's second tour of duty as he is returning to watch over his recently drafted little brother. Unknown to Eric, Dean has plans to dodge the draft and head to Mexico with Bailey.
While driving, they stop by a local eatery where they find a group of bikers who taunt the girls. As the group pulls away from the eatery, they are followed by Alex, a female biker. A chase ensues, and the group crashes into a cow and flipping their car. In the process, Chrissie is thrown from the car and lands in the weeds, out of sight of the others.
Sheriff "Hoyt" arrives on the scene. He immediately shoots Alex and forces the teens out of the wreckage. After finding Dean's burned draft card he pulls Eric and Dean in front of him and demands to know which man is Dean. Eric covers for his brother and says he is Dean. Hoyt places the body of the biker in the car and forces Eric, Dean and Bailey into the car with him. The Sheriff calls for a tow truck to tow the wreckage. The tow truck comes and Chrissie, hiding in the wreckage of the car, is taken along.
The Sheriff takes the group to the Hewitt House and calls for his nephew Tommie (aka 'Leatherface') to butcher the body of the biker, Alex. Eric and Dean are brought to a barn and hung by their arms from the rafters and Bailey tied to the kitchen table.
Chrissie ends up at the Hewitt household and sees her friends tied up by Sheriff Hewitt. She runs back to the highway and flags down one of the bikers, Holden, from the diner for help, telling him about the kidnapping of Alex, who is Holden's girlfriend. He follows Chrissie back to the Hewitt residence and they wait for nightfall.
Meanwhile, Eric and Dean are sprayed down with water by Hewitt. He reveals to them he developed a taste for human flesh while as a prisoner of war in the Korean War. To punish Dean (actually Eric) for trying to avoid the draft, he wraps Eric's face in plastic wrap in an attempt to suffocate him. Dean admits that it is his card and Hewitt tells Dean to do ten push-ups and he will let him go. Hewitt then beats Dean with a billy club while he does his push-ups, eventually knocking him unconscious. Eric gets free as well and the duo approach the house to rescue Bailey. During the rescue Eric is beaten with Hoyt's shotgun and Dean is caught in a bear trap. Bailey finds the tow truck and begins to drive away, however Leatherface hooks her in the chest with a meat hook and drags her from the truck. Eric is taken to the basement and strapped to a wooden table. Leatherface skins one of his arms, exposing the muscle and tissue and his screams are heard from the house.
Holden enters the house searching for Alex and surprises Sherrif Hewitt. Hewitt leads him to 'the girl', but it is actually Bailey. Leatherface then attacks and kills Holden. Chrissie finds Eric and tries to release him from the table, but is unable to release the metal straps bolted to the table. Leatherface comes downstairs and Chrissie hides under the table while he runs a chainsaw through Eric. Leatherface then skins Eric's face and puts it on as his own.
Chrissie escapes from the basement to find the front door open leading to freedom, but reconsiders after hearing Baily's desperate screams and decides to save Bailey who has been tied-up on the second floor. As Chrissie attempts to untie Bailey she is caught by Hewitt and Leatherface and brought downstairs for dinner. Hoyt has possibly knocked out Baileys teeth before having supper, and Leatherface proceeds to slit Bailey's throat with a pair of scissors and then grabs Chrissie to bring her downstairs. On the way to the basement, Chrissie manages to free herself by stabbing Leatherface in the back with a screwdriver and escapes by jumping out a window with Leatherface in pursuit, chainsaw in hand. As this occurs, Dean regains consciousness at the dinner table, assaults Hewitt by smashing his head repeatedly into the solid concrete porch and Dean heads off to help save Chrissie.
The trio's chase takes them to a nearby farm where Chrissie hides in a slaughterhouse. She slits Leatherface's face with a knife, but is dragged to the floor. Dean interrupts and Leatherface impales Dean on his chainsaw as Chrissie looks on in horror. She then makes her way to an automobile and drives off into the night. Chrissie is desperately looking for help and sees a sheriff's deputy that has pulled over a citizen. As Chrissie heads to apparent freedom, Leatherface suddenly appears in the back seat and gores Chrissie with his chainsaw. The car loses control and crashes into the deputy and citizen. The movie closes with the narrator explaining the number and gruesomeness of the murders that are to follow, as Leatherface walks slowly back along the dark road.
[edit] Alternate Endings
There are 3 alternate endings for this film:
The first one is mostly the same as the original film, except after Leatherface kills Chrissie, the closing dialogue is different.
In the second one, Chrissie escapes the slaughterhouse, and while she is driving, Leatherface cuts her with a knife instead of killing her with the chainsaw.
The last one is the most different. After Leatherface kills Dean, Chrissie runs outside and gets into the car. She finds the keys in the car instead of the office, but as she starts the car, Leatherface chainsaws her through the car window. We then see various families arriving at Luda Mae's shop, then we see the families' cars all piled up to be sold, implying they have all been killed.
[edit] Cast
| Actors/Actresses | Role |
|---|---|
| Jordana Brewster | Chrissie |
| Taylor Handley | Dean Hill |
| Diora Baird | Bailey |
| Matthew Bomer | Eric Hill |
| R. Lee Ermey | Sheriff Hoyt |
| Andrew Bryniarski | Thomas Hewitt / Leatherface |
| Lee Tergesen | Holden |
| Cyia Batten | Alex |
| L.A. Calkins | Sloane |
| Tim De Zarn | Employer |
| Terrence Evans | Old Monty |
| Kathy Lamkin | Tea Lady |
| Marietta Marich | Luda Mae Hewitt |
| Marcus H. Nelson | Lackey |
| Emily Kaye | Biker |
| Lew Temple | Sheriff Winston |
- The characters of Henrietta and Jedidiah Hewitt, two family members from the original film, are not present in the prequel.
[edit] DVD release
- The film was released in R-rated and unrated versions on January 16th, 2007.
- The unrated version of the film leaves in all twenty scenes that were removed or edited on release in order to secure an R-rating. Also, some scenes were altered, giving them a grainier, more graphic look.
- About 5 Minutes of the film was cut in order to avoid the NC-17 Rating.
[edit] External links
- Trailer (Large)
- Official Site
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning at the Internet Movie Database
- Quicktime Trailer
- Box Office Mojo
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning at Rotten Tomatoes
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