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Movies / Upcoming / The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

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The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)

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Reviews Counted:77

Fresh:10

Rotten:67

Average Rating:3.4/10

Consensus: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning is full of blood and gore, but not enough scares or a coherent story to make for a successful horror film.

Runtime: 89 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

US Box Office: $39,418,953

Synopsis: The producers behind the successful 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre return to deliver this startling prequel, which details the beginnings of the Hewitt clan and exposes their psychotic... The producers behind the successful 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre return to deliver this startling prequel, which details the beginnings of the Hewitt clan and exposes their psychotic idea of family fun. For the first time, audiences will learn what led to the origin of Leatherface, perhaps the most iconic horror character of all time. It's 1969. The conflict in Vietnam has exploded. The toll on the United States is catastrophic, the losses immeasurable, while the draft ramps up to feed the military machine. And 18-year-old Dean Hill's (Taylor Handley) number is up. But before Dean can report to the local induction center, his brother, Eric (Matt Bomer), who has recently returned from a tour of duty in Vietnam, decides to surprise Dean. Despite the concerns of his devoted fiancée, Chrissie (Jordana Brewster), Eric plans to re-enlist alongside Dean in his beloved Marine Corps in hopes of keeping an eye on his directionless brother. Unfortunately, Dean's plans do not coincide with Eric's. Dean's simple strategy to dodge the draft and head south to Mexico is sponsored by his strong-willed girlfriend, Bailey (Diora Baird). But before either couple realizes the true battle they are about to confront, the boys and their respective girlfriends head across Texas for a final fling of serious fun. Soon after their journey begins, the spirited foursome is spooked by a menacing pair of bikers, Holden (Lee Tergesen) and his girlfriend, Alex (Cyia Batten). When Alex chases the group's jeep, propelling them into a serious accident, Chrissie is thrown from the vehicle. As Alex attempts to rob the injured trio, Sheriff Hoyt (R. Lee Ermey) arrives on the scene and turns the tables on their would-be assassin. While Chrissie hides in the nearby brush, she watches as the sheriff inexplicably taunts her friends before ordering them into the back of the patrol car. Unbeknownst to Chrissie, Hoyt is headed back to the Hewitt family home, where his nephew, Thomas – who is being groomed to become the terrifying monster known as Leatherface (Andrew Bryniarski) – and the rest of the Hewitt clan await. As Chrissie witnesses the horrors inflicted by the Hewitt family upon the people she loves, she realizes she is their only hope of survival. New Line Cinema, in association with Michael Bay, presents The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, the terrifying story of a family left behind in a fading rural town, with no hope, no prospects and nothing left to lose, whose eccentric behavior crosses the line into gruesome, sadistic ritual. The film stars Jordana Brewster, Taylor Handley, Diora Baird, Matt Bomer, Lee Tergesen, Cyia Batten and R. Lee Ermey. --© New Line Cinema [More]

Starring: Jordana Brewster, Andrew Bryniarski, Cyia Batten, Diora Baird

Starring: Jordana Brewster, Andrew Bryniarski, Cyia Batten, Diora Baird, Matthew Bomer, Taylor Handley, Lee Tergesen, R. Lee Ermey, Lew Temple, Heather Kafka, Marietta March, Terrence Evans

Director: Jonathan Liebesman

Director: Jonathan Liebesman
Screenwriter: Sheldon Turner
Story: David J. Schow
Producer: Mike Fleiss, Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Brad Fuller
Studio: New Line Cinema

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Reviews for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

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41 - 60 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
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If you're the kind of horror fan who likes your gore to be chased down with something more-like, say, wit, suspense or genuine fear-this picture has little to offer.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
10/09/06
Ethan Alter
Ethan Alter
Film Journal International

For me, it was worthwhile just to hear R. Lee Ermey call one of his victims "Dumplin.'"

Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | comment Comment
10/09/06
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

You know a trend has crested and collapsed by the time Michael Bay gets a hold of it.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
10/09/06
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

The story’s been played out so many times.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
10/09/06
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

All you need to know about the character is he's really crazy and carries a chain saw. And he's got an even crazier uncle who all but steals the film.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
10/09/06
Peter Hartlaub
Peter Hartlaub
San Francisco Chronicle

Liebesman's woefully rancid and riddled prequel of the same name is basically a horrendously harried yet uneventful hollow shell of its former bloodied self.

Full Review Source: Movie Eye | comment Comment
10/09/06
Frank Ochieng
Frank Ochieng
Movie Eye

If you are into extremes this ultra-violent blood feast is probably just your ticket.

Full Review Source: Maxim | comment Comment
10/09/06
Pete Hammond
Pete Hammond
Maxim

What about the kid's formative years? Now *that* might have made for a movie. Instead we get another pack of kids ripe for ever more gruesomely depicted slaughter...

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
10/07/06
Laura Clifford
Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews

Most slasher sequels are just lame retreads; this is a retread, but it's well shot and acted, even when the onscreen logic is odd.

Full Review Source: LYTRules.com | comment Comment
10/07/06
Luke Y. Thompson
Luke Y. Thompson
LYTRules.com

A top-notch grindhouse flick perfect for the Halloween season. It's also the best this series has seen in twenty years.

Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment Comment
10/07/06
Dustin Putman
Dustin Putman
DustinPutman.com

The most brutal Massacre since the 1974 original.

Full Review Source: Juicy Cerebellum | comment 2 Comments
10/06/06
Alex Sandell
Alex Sandell
Juicy Cerebellum

Ermey again easily steals the show as the redneck 'sheriff' from hell.

Full Review Source: FulvueDrive-in.com | comment Comment
10/06/06
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
FulvueDrive-in.com

Rest assured you've seen it all before.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
10/06/06
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

R. Lee Ermey's performance at the patriarch is impressively nutso. In every other respect, though, this is a redundant and deeply unpleasant movie.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
10/06/06
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

It's as remorseless and disheartening as any of the others, more gory and less scary.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
10/06/06
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

No character, no commentary. Just slice-and-dice, pare-and-scare, scream-and-run and fall-and-die.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
10/06/06
Stephen Whitty
Stephen Whitty
Newark Star-Ledger

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning misses everything that made the first one eat into your spine like meningitis.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
10/06/06
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
New York Post

Jonathan Liebesman's prequel to Tobe Hooper's 1974 horror classic is just another trip down a very dusty road.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
10/06/06
Elizabeth Weitzman
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News

Apart from reviving the original Massacre's pervasive sense of Nixon-era malaise, it doesn't offer much in the way of satisfying origins.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
10/06/06
Sam Adams
Sam Adams
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Ever gone into a movie knowing exactly what's going to happen and still been scared by it? Yeah, me neither.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
10/06/06
Alex Markerson
Alex Markerson
E! Online
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
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Latest News for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The...

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