THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Remaking The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was a move that paid off big time due to being a box office success that it inspired the trend of horror remakes for a lengthy period. With Leatherface being compelling of a character, many have wondered an idea or two of his origin wondering how he became the slasher we know him for. Well, the wait finally ended.
PLOT
Originally billed as The Origin, 2006's The Beginning shows the first official origin of the slasher. He was born in 1939 and his birth mother died in a slaughterhouse giving birth to him. When her supervisor dumped him in a dumpster due to his deformity, he would found by Luda Mae Hewitt and raised by her and her son Charlie, naming him Thomas. Ironically, he would work in the same slaughterhouse as an adult and in '69, the place would be shut down by the health department. He would refuse to leave until the same supervisor makes him, but he wouldn't go quietly as he would bludgeon him with a hammer and take his chainsaw on the way out. When Sheriff Winston Hoyt (Lew Temple) is called to arrest him, Charlie kills him first and takes his identity. In the meanwhile, Eric and his brother Dean are driving across the country, with their girlfriends, Chrissie & Bailey to enlist in the Vietnam war. Eric is actually enlisting for his second tour while Dean is a new draftee who doesn't want to go. When stopping at Luda Mae's diner, they get followed by a biker gang. When they continue driving, Eric spots him trying to burn his draft card. And when they argue about going together, one of the members credited as Alex (Cyia Batten) pursues them in attempt to rob them. She still tries for it after Eric's distraction results in crashing as he hits a cow. They get far from saved when Charlie shows up to shoot Alex. After he puts her body in the car, he calls for Monty to pick it up in his tow truck while he takes the group to their home. Chrissie hides in the crashed car while being towed to the house. At the house, Thomas butchers Alex's body while Charlie tortures Dean for wanting to avoid his enlistment. He and Eric do break from restraints, but are overpowered by Thomas who stops them from escaping. While Charlie knocks Eric unconscious, Dean gets caught in a bear trap and Thomas drags Bailey with a meat hook when she tries to escape. When Chrissie heads back to the highway, she flags down Alex's partner Holden (Lee Tergesen) and asks for his help to rescue everyone else. He does take her back to the house, but refuses to work with her and goes in alone. Predictably that backfires because when confronting Charlie, he gets killed by Thomas with the chainsaw. Chrissie goes in to find Eric tied up only to hide from Thomas who later skins his face and use it as his first handmade mask. When she tries to save Bailey after freeing Dean from the trap, she gets stopped by Charlie who drugs her and drags both ladies & Dean to the dinner table. By the time Chrissie wakes up, Thomas slits Bailey's throat and tries taking her back to the basement before she breaks free and jumps out a window. With Monty being shot in the leg by Holden earlier, Charlie orders Thomas to sever them both. Dean regains conscienceness and is able to get the upper hand on the fake sheriff, but beats him down enough to escape rather than kill him. He catches up to Thomas chasing Chrissie to the now abandoned slaughterhouse and gets killed trying to protect her. Chrissie then takes the car of the dead supervisor and is able to see a state trooper with a pulled over pedestrian. Just when she pulls over, Thomas who snuck in the car in time, impales her from behind and causes them to crash and kill everyone in sight. The film ends with Leatherface being shown to have survive the crash and walk home.
THOUGHTS
I was indeed interested in seeing a prequel to this slasher due to enjoying the remake and I find myself honest saying this one ain't so bad. Director Jonathan Liebesman is able to make something with the right amount of flair to have its own excitement. I say this with seriousness because although it ain't better than the 2003 predecessor, it's easily better than the 90s sequels. Steve Jablonksy honestly made my favorite score of the franchise because it nails the eery atmosphere it's going for and editors Jim May & Jonathan Chibnall are able to give another emphasis on how grungy the setting is. I also think the makeup team led by Greg Nicotero put another best piece of work here for the series as they depict such realistic gore. They even peak with their work in depicting Leatherface's deformity. Before he starts skinning people, I was impressed with the idea of him wearing a muzzle as that represented his attempt at fitting in before sticking with all he knew that was violence. It's obvious that he stands by the Hewitt's side, whether or not he knows he's adopted, because they're the only ones who bothered giving him a chance at life but you just wish he had it differently. As expected, the Hewitt family deliver in being just as deranged as before when R Lee Erney dials it up in Charlie's sadistic nature who is at his most comfortable when tormenting others. Seeing him kill the real Hoyt as predicted solidifies how much he demands control in his life with the world changing around him and refusing to do the same. Monty and Luda Mae stand by his side because they don't know any other solution and as the years pass, it's obvious they don't regret it either. Although he is bound for a comeuppance, it doesn't change the fact he's quite formidable without Leatherface himself. The returning Andrew Bryniarski still gives a whole other layer as the infamous slasher because we see him display dominance for the first time chronologically and wants to feel powerful the way Charlie presents himself. Before the masks though, it was the chainsaw that did it for him and every time he revved up it up with ease, it of course meant he wasn't ever gonna turn back. Knowing this, you could only mourn for those who run into him and deal with a terrible inevitable. Matt Bomer & Taylor Handley brought an interesting dynamic as Eric & Dean because although these brothers care about each other, they can't agree with the need to fight for their country. Dean doesn't want to go through it because he refuses to bare possible PTSD, whereas Eric is willing to go back to protect him. Sadly, they go through a smaller war they couldn't win. In all honesty, I enjoyed Diora Baird as Bailey because she supported how Dean was feeling thus wanting to flee the country with him. Unfortunately, neither of them got that happy ending. Jordana Brewster also stirred things up very well as the final girl Chrissie because like Erin, she had the heart big enough to look out for others. Besides respecting Eric for re-enlisting, she couldn't help trying to save her friends because she knew she couldn't forgive herself if she didn't. She was smart enough to get help, but it predictably was not enough for her to escape a cruel fate. Even though the predecessor had its optimistic ending, this follow up showed how smart evil can be depending on the scale. This film is still fine, but then there are things that could've been done differently. Like I don't understand why would Eric's group sleep on the side of the road? I know they had just left a hotel and they slept in the car, but that put them at risk of Leatherface and they didn't even know it. I even thought it was a weak-ass jump scare when Chrissie saw the biker gang outside. It wasn't like they were trying to keep quiet since they were all chattering. And honestly, how did Eric not see the cow before turning around? Had he just pulled over like Alex demanded, he could've shot her before Charlie showed up. Also, how did he not see Eric try to open the door? I mean he was looking right at him when reaching at the house, so it's so weird of obliviousness. Eric also messes up on looking away when hearing Dean get caught in the trap. I know he's worried of his brother, but he should've dealt with Charlie before tending to him whether or not it would've been too late. Lastly, I know it's a prequel where the Hewitts are bound to survive this movie unlike their victims, but it's done too obvious. Like what pissed me off more than Dean not getting a gun to finish off Charlie was the fact Leatherface was able to sneak into the car in time to kill Chrissie. And the fact they don't explain how he caught up is ridiculous. It makes sense for her to die because had she lived, the Hewitts would've been investigated by the cops long before Erin had passed through. However, I feel like there could've been a better whammy of an ending like having Charlie catch up instead of Thomas. Ignore this, then you'll respect this movie for what it's going for. To wrap up, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning is an interesting prequel that knew exactly how to ante things up when needed. If you've enjoyed this slasher franchise from the get go, I hope you'll like this one as well.
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