Hello Fiends, Herr Doktor here with another Horror favorite upgraded to Blu-Ray format. And let's tell the truth and give the Devil her due, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is arguably one of the greatest horror films ever presented. With a relative couple of dollars compared with other budgets of the time, Tobe Hooper knocks us on our candy asses with pure brutality. The film was ahead of its time on many levels bringing us several horror classifications in one. Slasher, Torture-Porn, Exploitation, and a house that could easily be featured on A&E's Hoarders Halloween episode all wrapped up in a filthy, rotting piece of flesh on film. What's not to love?
What Dark Sky films has done is re-release this film totally redone body and soul on Blu-Ray. When I first saw this movie as a kid it was on VHS, and it slapped me like a slaughterhouse semi. Of course without it I never would have never seen Jim Siedow as The Cook (still one of my favorite Horror actors see TCM pt 2), the Hitchhiker (AKA Nubbin), and of course the big man himself. Gunnar Hansen as the giant man-child Leatherface aka Bubba. The film was dark, grainy as hell, and raw. This is probably how it was meant to be seen. This movie is ugly as hell; nothing can be done about that, and who cares? What Blu-Ray has done has presented the TCM as clearly and precisely than ever thought possible, and this is the only film where I don't know if I should love it or hate it. The TCM was an early 1970's piece of Grindhouse/Splatterhouse low art. Dark, grimy, and thick as death on a low budget. This is not what you will see on Blu-Ray, but rather a clean, sharp depiction of the Texas crime scene. Check out the dinner scene free of noticeable blemish at least once.
The REAL beauty of this Blu-Ray is the 5.1 lossless HD audio. Holy hard shelled pepper-corn! This film sounds frickin incredible. Period. For the first time I actually hear Leatherface laugh during the hook impaling scene. That throws the man-child theory out the window. Leatherface was evil as hell, and I love it!
I found this release a treat, while some purists who actually watch films in original mono may hate it. (Mono is available) Go out and buy this classic and judge for yourself. I welcome all comments.
Hello Fiends, Herr Doktor here with another Horror favorite upgraded to Blu-Ray format. And let's tell the truth and give the Devil her due, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is arguably one of the greatest horror films ever presented. With a relative couple of dollars compared with other budgets of the time, Tobe Hooper knocks us on our candy asses with pure brutality. The film was ahead of its time on many levels bringing us several horror classifications in one. Slasher, Torture-Porn, Exploitation, and a house that could easily be featured on A&E's Hoarders Halloween episode all wrapped up in a filthy, rotting piece of flesh on film. What's not to love?
