Product: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Original Uncut) [Region 2] (1974)
Rating: 5.0
The Chainsaw Series: The Saw is Still Family
Here is a listing of all the current films in the TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE series:1) THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1973) The classic original directed by Tobe Hooper. Featuring the original family; Leatherface, Cook, Hitchhiker, Grandpa and Grandma. They terrorize Sally Hardesty, her wheelchair bound brother Franklin and their three friends.2) TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 (1986) The original sequeldirected by Tobe Hooper. The family (now called Sawyer) return: Leatherface (aka Bubba), Cook (aka Drayton Sawyer), Hitchhiker (now a stuffed puppet/corpse after being crushed by that truck), Chop Top (Hitchikers twin brother, a Vietnam vet who finances the family business.), Grandpa (now 135) and Grandma (looking very dry and crumbly after 13 years). The uncle of Franklin and Sally, a texas ranger, hunts down the family with the help of a cute little lady DJ named Stretch. This film had many production problems and several second unit filmed sequences were deemed unusable by Hooper who was not able to reshoot them. As a result the movie is a bit short and lacks coherence at times. But not Hooper's fault.3) LEATHERFACE: THE TEXAS CHAISAW MASSACRE 3 (The Saw Is Family) (1990) This was produced by New Line Cinema and was supposed to be the first in a new franchise series of Texas Chainsaw movies. This never happened. The only characters from the original to return here are Leatherface (here called Junior, and how did he survive that chainsaw through the torso) and Grandpa (now a skinny white corpse, guess the grenade got 'im). Stretch, now a TV news reporter, appears in a silent cameo at the beginning. Five new family members are introduced. Momma (the crippled head of the family), Little Girl ( who might be Leatherface's daughter), Tex (another brother), Tinker (who creates gadgets) and Alfredo (who disposes of "leftovers"). Most are dead by the end of the film. There are two versions of this film, an R rated and an Unrated. There is also an alternate ending that is included on the DVD. Neither ending is especially satisfying.4) TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE NEXT GENERATION (aka RETURN OF THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE) (1994-96)This was released in a longer version (RETURN) and then edited downfor home video and retitled (NEXT GEN.) Once again the only returning characters are Leatherface and Grandpa (alive again. WOW! How did that happen? Must be a different grandfather.) and once again five new characters are introduced. I guess these backwoods types really do have big families. This time there is Darla (Leatherface's sister), her husband Vilmer and his brother W.E. (Apparently no relation to late W.E. Sawyer mentioned at the beginning of part 3). Near the end two new weirdos are introduced, and it is revealed that Sally Hardesty-Enright is alive after all. Ther is no cannibalism in this movie at all. And as if that werent enough, one character gets impaled on a meat hook and then shows up later wandering down a road, HUH!?!4) THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (2004) This is the remake of of the original. Some scenes are duplicated, but mostly it bares no resemblance to the original version. The family name has been changed to Hewitt (probably for legal reasons) and once again Leatherface is surrounded by a new group of weirdos. Their motivations are a little fuzzier this time around and it is not made clear that they are cannables. But there are sexy girls with oversized balloons to chase around. Its entertaining enough, but its really different from the original. Come to think of it. Parts 3 and 4 were closer to being remakes than this is.5) TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE BEGINNING (2006) is a prequel to the remake. Id love to see a prequel to the original. Hear me Hooper?6) TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: A FAMILY PORTRAIT (199?)This is a dockumentary about the original film. All of the original family members are interviewed (except Grandma.)Also of interest: A comic book called JASON VS. LEATHERFACE was published for 3 issues in 1994. It details the meeting between Jason Voorhees of Friday The Thirteenth fame and the Chainsaw family (first called Sawyer but changed to "Slaughter" in the second issue. Probablyfor legal reasons again.) The character designs do not resemble the cast of any of the movies with the exception of Leatherface, who resembles the Part 2 version and Jason, who looks much as he did in "Jason Goes To Hell". Its played entirely for laughs and takes serious liberties with the established histories of both series. But it is fun and worth a look, if you can find it. In 1990 Part 1 and Part 3 were adapted into comic books., these are almost impossible to find today. A new comic book, based on the remake, is being released in may (2005). Also a new series of Chainsaw novels, also based on the remake, is currently in publication. These are also prequels. It is unlikely that we will see the new Leatherface character in any proper sequels, since his arm was cut off at the end of the remake.