Product: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Original Uncut) [Region 2] (1974)
Rating: 5.0
A NIGHTMARE 36 YEARS IN THE MAKING
Summer. 1998. The small electronics section of the local department store was relatively quiet on this night. The tube televisions on display were emanating just enough white noise to be heard but not enough to distract customers. He stood before the undersized display of VHS movies. He was alone, something he didn't seem to mind as much anymore, scanning the shelves for something old and new at the same time. Horror films hadn't been allowed in his household growing up, but freedom had come in the form of a driver's license a few years prior. Not only could he come and go as he pleased, he could purchase the films he, at one time, could only listen to his classmates describe. It was a right of passage that was long overdue.The small collection of cardboard slipcases stared back at him as he scanned the shelves with his eyes. A title in large, red block letters on the bottom shelf caught his attention. It was a title he recognized. The cover of the package depicted a large man wearing a butcher's apron and what appeared to be a mask of human flesh. He grips a chainsaw in his hand while a young woman screams in the background; hanging from a meat hook attached to a crude support stand assembled from railroad ties. It was grotesque. It was macabre. It was The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.He vaguely remembered the title from his childhood through a screwball comedy called "Summer School". In the movie, two teenage, class clowns make numerous references to the title even going as far as having a classroom viewing of the film on the projection screen. It was a film reference not really understood at the time by the young mind, but one that was certainly remembered. As if the memory had been stored away in the furthest corners of his mind like old photo albums in an attic, just waiting to be rediscovered. He purchased the movie, left the store and drove away.On to the evaluation phase of this review: Seeing The Texas Chainsaw Massacre for the first time was, at best, confusing for me. After my initial discovery adventure of the film (as told above) I was hopeful this movie could be compared to John Carpenter's classic "Halloween" in terms of quality and genuinely frightening storyline. At the time I was really into creepy, atmospheric themes in horror films, whereas the settings would become sort of a character itself in the film. Say for example the Danvers State Mental Hospital in Brad Anderson's film "Session 9", which is also another one of my favorites.We (my friends and I) watched The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, for the first time, in the front room of an apartment. I didn't like it. Quite frankly I thought the film was far too confusing, not so much in terms of what's going on but how it attempts to narrate itself. Scenes are jumbled with camera cuts, close-ups, blurs, darkness, film grain and dissonance. I didn't understand how, at the time, twenty four years of hype had been attached to this film. As the closing credits rolled on the screen I (the overly opinionated, self-righteous, teenage film critic I was) openly told my friends the movie failed. I wasn't captivated at all by the befuddling mess we just watched. Specifically letting them know I was completely unimpressed with the film's lack of subtleness. That's when one of my friends said something that made me reanalyze the whole film. "That's the whole point, it's supposed to be a nightmare."A nightmare. Suddenly it all sort of clicked. The sporadic cuts, the fuzzy out-of-focus moments, the tight shots, the extreme noise, the abrupt ending; it was a nightmare. It was like coming so close to death. it vomits on you. My initial perspective of this overlooked masterpiece was altered by a single, casual sentence. Thanks Duke, wherever you are.Re-watching The Texas Chainsaw Massacre throughout the years has become almost nostalgic for me. I've watched as the film has progressed from one superior media format to the next. When I found it, it was a mere full screen copy on VHS. When it found its way to DVD I was right there to pick up the first copy on the shelf. Today we have Blu-Ray. What is it we find so fascinating about picture clarity? For me it's seeing a film that, statistically, should have failed miserably and vanished into obscurity survive and evolve. VHS to DVD, DVD to Special Edition DVD, Special Edition DVD to Blu-Ray. Who could have though a film shot on grainy 16mm film back in the early 70's could not only survive but manage to adapt to the times? A rhetorical question that can easily be answered with a literal answer; we did, that's who.The Blu-Ray disc itself is as good as it gets (at least for now). Picture quality is on par but don't expect to see Pirates Of The Caribbean 4 HD clarity here. The content itself mirrors the same extras as the Special Edition DVD that was released two years prior with one major Blu-Ray exclusive added; a short, ten minute segment entitled, "Off The Hook with Teri McMinn". The former 'Texas Chainsaw' recluse Teri McMinn comes out of hiding for a rare interview. She discusses in detail how her big death scene was accomplished, plus working with Tobe Hooper and the rest of the cast and filmmakers. A nice little bonus.No matter how or when you found The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and added it your compendium of horror films, this Blu-Ray edition is an a commemorative necessity thirty six years in the making. A grainy, 16mm film that has aged for decades but has somehow become more unblemished with time. A grotesque nightmare that has survived, evolved and found it`s way into the hearts of fans everywhere. The only difference now; that nightmare is in high definition.