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The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Blu-ray Review |
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The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Blu-ray
New Line Cinema | 2003 | 98 mins | Rated R | Sep 29, 2009
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Blu-ray ReviewToday's lesson: never leave home without a means of adequately defending yourself from chainsaw wielding, cannibalistic maniacs.Reviewed by Martin Liebman, October 1, 2009 An idyllic summer afternoon became a nightmare. 2003's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre does so many things right that its one downfall may be that it's just too good at accomplishing what it sets out to do. While that's normally something that would make a movie an all-time classic, this is one instance where "too much of a good thing" can have the opposite effect. On one hand, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is an incredibly well-made movie in the context of its genre. One of the most chillingly atmospheric films viewers are ever likely to see, there's not one single frame in the movie that doesn't at least hint at despair; the film's vomit-toned color palette is evidence of that. The atmosphere is made possible thanks to stunning cinematography, chillingly grisly and worn down locales, and above-average acting from every member of the cast. The film is also incredibly brutal; legs and arms are hacked off, people are impaled on hooks, bodies are sliced in half from the groin up, people are shot through the head, and their faces are worn as masks. The gore, combined with the atmosphere, simply becomes too overpowering.
Five friends are en route to Dallas to see Lynard Skynard in concert. Driving across the back roads of Texas in a hot van with no air conditioning, love, good times, and "Sweet Home Alabama" are in the air -- until the van almost strikes a dazed pedestrian wandering aimlessly about the road. The girl -- clearly traumatized, bloodied, and claiming that everyone is dead -- shoots herself in the back of the van. In a panic, the friends -- Kemper (Eric Balfour), Erin (Jessica Biel), Morgan (Jonathan Tucker), Andy (Mike Vogel), and Pepper (Erica Leerhsen) -- soon find themselves with the unenviable task of explaining the situation to authorities. Despite their best efforts, they cannot track down the local sheriff. Finally becoming privy to the location of his home, Erin and Kemper leave their friends behind to find the only man that can help them. However, he's nowhere to be found, and while Erin once again tries to contact him, Kemper goes missing. Returning to the sheriff's home with Andy and in search of Kemper, Erin comes face-to-face with Leatherface (Andrew Bryniarski), a deformed, chainsaw-wielding killer. Though Erin escapes, Andy is not so fortunate. Finally meeting the town sheriff, Hoyt (R. Lee Ermey), it soon becomes clear that he's in on the fun and that the surviving teens are in for a night of pain and suffering beyond their wildest imaginations. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a tale of two worlds, a grim film of unrelenting terror framed around a beautiful shooting style that utilizes angles, a mixture of steady and handheld shots, and distant and in-tight framing to tell the story. Simply put, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is to gore what South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut is to bad language. There's no way around it; this is a terribly brutal film that's difficult to watch, and even seasoned gore hounds will likely find themselves wincing during several scenes, though the film's dark and unforgiving atmosphere and hellish locales only add to the intensity of the violence. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre might be grotesque beyond imagination, but it's also a well-crafted film from a technical perspective. There's an ever-present feel of doom-and-gloom that permeates every frame; even the film's more free-flowing, happy-go-lucky opening minutes feature a vomit-toned color scheme that positively spells out the dread and despair to come. The film also differs from its predecessor in that it eschews that film's grittier, documentary tone and surprising lack of on-screen, front-and-center violence in favor of atmospherics and sheer brutality. As a result, this remake is less effective in tone but not in style. This is certainly a film geared more towards modern audiences; it can be slow and deliberate -- and effectively so -- in its opening act, but when the chainsaw starts a-buzzin' and limbs go a-flyin', there's no reprieve until the credits begin to roll. One strength of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre that seems to get lost in the shuffle of the atmosphere, gore, and cinematography is the surprisingly sound acting from the bevy of lead characters; Horror aficionados are all-too-familiar with the shoddy performances that seem to come standard with the genre, but The Texas Chainsaw Massacre throws that hindrance to the side and delivers a collection of raw, emotional, and all-too-real performances that sell the sense of dread and terror that overlay the film. Biel and Balfour in particular are excellent; though Balfour doesn't stick around long enough to face the nightmare head-on, he delivers a fine performance as a man facing an impossible situation while trying his best to take it all in stride and provide something of a much-needed leadership role to the group after the suicide. Of all the players, though, Jonathan Tucker delivers what might be the single-finest moment in the film. Facing off with Sheriff Hoyt in the back of the van, he positively exudes fear in a scene that demands to be witnessed in its entirety to be fully appreciated. One thing that helps the actors along the way is the film's locales, design, and make-up. They always seem to be in the midst of dark, grimy, inhospitable locales and covered in filth, blood, sweat, and, in times of great panic and fear, their own spit, snot, vomit, and tears. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre truly is a product of its look, and the atmosphere, cinematography, gore, and performances -- for better or worse -- come together in nearly perfect harmony to create one of the most brutal and bone-chilling films ever made. Video  The Texas Chainsaw Massacre slices into Blu-ray with a transfer that reflects the film's intended rotten appearance. Presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio, this 1080p Blu-ray looks about as good as it can given the source material. As might be expected of a dark and grimy movie, fine detail is never all that impressive; then again, the dreary, depressed, and borderline grotesque locations and color palette, combined with plenty of dark locations, don't really lend to the film an opportunity to present lavish eye candy. Interiors are often hazy and drenched in shadow, lending even less opportunity for the transfer to reveal the nitty-gritty nuances of the film's several eerie locales. Nevertheless, there are a few shots that allow the film to bask in the resolution afforded to it by Blu-ray, particularly in the film's opening segment inside the hot and stuffy van, which showcases a fair amount of sweat glistening off skin and facial hair on the men. Though much of the film is bathed in darkness, black levels can sometimes look too bright and unnatural, but then again the film must juggle between being so dark that audiences can't see what is going on and brightening things up just a bit to reveal the intricacies of the set design. The transfer also retains a generally fine layer of grain throughout. Though there is a touch of shimmering in a few scenes as well as a bit of edge enhancement, the film doesn't seem to suffer from too many other problems. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre may not be pretty, but this Blu-ray seems to capture the film's intended look nicely. Audio  The Texas Chainsaw Massacre features but one soundtrack, a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless mix. Dialogue is occasionally a bit difficult to make out, though this seems more a result of character sometimes mumbling their lines rather than forcefully annunciating each syllable. The track's true strength and most noticeable trait, however, comes in the form of its excellent, virtually seamless atmospherics. Many outdoor scenes reveal a fabulous level of environmental ambience, particularly in the form of buzzing insects, that brings the hot and sticky Texas afternoon to vivid sonic life. Indoor scenes, too, deliver the goods; Leatherface's hellish basement features the sound of dripping water and rattling chains coming from every direction; the surround speakers are used to good, natural effect here, only adding to the nasty visuals and intense violence. As to the more aggressive sound effects, the film's title weapon -- the chainsaw -- buzzes with a horrific presence and slices through wood and flesh with a terrifying volume and power. While The Texas Chainsaw Massacre isn't the most aggressive, bass-heavy, or loud soundtrack out there, its incredible sense of space and atmosphere nevertheless makes it an upper-echelon track. Supplements  The Texas Chainsaw Massacre serves up a smorgasbord of supplemental features, this package headlined by a trio of commentary tracks. Track one features Director Marcus Nispel, Producer Michael Bay, Executive Producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form, and then-Co-Chairman/Co-CEO of New Line Cinema Robert Shaye. This track is cobbled together from several sources, but this doesn't really interrupt the flow. The participants discuss the way the film came to be, the importance that audiences believe the story to be true, the film's look and tone, the assemblage of the cast, the film's uneasy tone, set design, and more. Track number two again features Director Marcus Nispel, this time accompanied by Cinematographer Daniel Pearl, Production Designer Greg Blair, Art Director Scott Gallagher, Supervising Sound Editor Trevor Jolly, and Composer Steve Jablonsky. Billed as a "technical commentary," this one is again cobbled together from several different recordings and looks at the differences between this film and the original, the budget, the film's look, shooting locations and geographical conditions, set dressing, and more. Finally, track three is manned by Director Marcus Nispel, Producer Michael Bay, Screenwriter Scott Kosar, Executive Producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form, and Cast Members Jessica Biel, Erica Leerhsen, Eric Balfour, Jonathan Tucker, Mike Vogel, and Andrew Bryniarski. As with the other two commentaries, this one is assembled from various sources and edited together. The track covers much of the same information as heard in the previous tracks but sometimes from a different perspective. The participants speak on how the story evolved, the characters' experiences throughout the film, shooting on budget, casting, why people are drawn to Horror films, and more. Next up is Chainsaw Redux: Making a Massacre (480p, 1:16:08). Though dubbed a "featurette," this is in fact a fill-length documentary that begins by looking back at the original picture and the process of reinventing it for a modern generation. Though some of the comments overlap from the commentaries, this piece does take a solid, fascinating, and to-the-point look at the production. The piece recalls New Line buying the film before there was even a script and takes an in-depth look at the casting, shooting the picture, designing the sets and Letherface's mask, creating some of the more gruesome special effects, and more. Ed Gein: The Ghoul of Plainfield (480p, 24:16) gives viewers a more in-depth look back at the Wisconsin killer that served as an inspiration for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Severed Parts (480p, 16:41) takes an in-depth look at the cutting room floor and reveals some of the scenes deleted from the final picture. These scenes are also included separately under the Additional Footage heading. Next is a collection of three screen tests, one each for Jessica Biel, Eric Balfour, and Erica Leerhsen (480p, 7:16). Rounding out this collection of extras is the music video Suffocate by Motograter (480p, 3:06), two trailers (480p, 1:30 & 2:20), and seven TV spots (480p, 3:49 combined runtime). Final words No doubt about it, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of the most effective movies ever made. It absolutely captures the tone it strives for, but it's so effective at being positively terrifying that it often seems just too much to bear. As to whether this is a "good" movie or not, that's up to each individual viewer's tolerance levels for the material. Most over-the-top or excessively violent films seem to have some sort of lighter, maybe even comedic edge to them, but not here. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is dark, unforgiving, exclusively violent, and unbearably atmospheric from beginning to end. Be forewarned. New Line's Blu-ray release is generally spectacular. The 1080p transfer recreates the film's intended look just fine, and the Dolby TrueHD lossless soundtrack reinforces the film's chilling atmosphere to near perfection. Also featuring a plethora of bonus materials, this Blu-ray comes recommended to fans of the film. 
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