The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Blu-ray Movie Review

Fans should definitely rip into this one.

MPI Media Group has re-released the cult sensation 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre' to Blu-ray in a four-disc set special edition. The set contains the film -- remastered in 4K and presented in 1080p with an all-new 7.1 channel lossless soundtrack -- and four audio commentaries on disc one and a number of exciting bonus features on a dedicated disc two, some of which are new, many of which carry over from the previous release. DVDs are also included. Read below for more details, and watch for a review of the 'Black Maria' edition in the coming days.

Walking the wrong way.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was filmed 40 years ago on 16mm film stock. It's never going to look like a brand new movie shot on RED or some other top end digital platform, or even a modern 35mm film, so expectations need to be realistic for how "good" it's ever going to look on home video, if "good" these days is clean and digital-smooth. That said, expectations for this release are met, and oftentimes exceeded. The fairly gritty, lightly soft texturing remains, but the movie -- mastered in 4K and presented on Blu-ray in 1080p high definition -- looks terrific, far better than the previous release. Though there's some noise mixed in, the grain structure appears largely even and attractive, if not a touch sharp at times. A few pops and speckles are mixed in, too, but this is a relatively clean, precise presentation. Clarity is strong, and details are good-to-striking, usually somewhere in the middle. As noted, the film is a little soft by default but viewers should be more than pleased with the way the image handles facial textures, clothing lines, dings and dents on the van, rough Texas terrain, and worn down accents around the house and the morbid decorations scattered through it. Colors are satisfying. Reds in particular stand apart nicely, such as a shot relatively early in the film that sees the girls, one of whom is in red pants, standing beside a red Coke machine against a wall with red accents along the bottom. Blue clothing, too, stands nicely apart, but much of the film is rather dark or heavy on earthy exterior tones. Black levels are sufficiently deep, and flesh tones appear accurate. Though it doesn't look like a new film, it looks pretty much like it should. It's not quite like seeing the film for the first time, but it's like seeing everything in it for the first time. Fans should be ecstatic with this release.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre contains several English language soundtrack options, chief among them a new DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack. Much like the video, the film will never sound like a new release Action/Horror picture, but that doesn't make this track any less intense and dynamic. It provides some good atmospheric elements, whether cars passing and the engine working as heard inside the van near the beginning or light exterior elements like blowing wind and rustling grasses in select exteriors. The track produces some fantastically immersive elements, too. The famous "flash photography" sounds heard at the beginning are as stringy and terrifying as ever; they surround the listener with a terrible sense of foreboding made all the more impressive thanks to the wonderful clarity with which they're reproduced. It's amazing how well these sounds set the tone for the movie, even for audiences who have seen it countless times before. The moment, and the excellence with which it's reproduced on this new Blu-ray, is a true champion for the power of sound design in film. Later in the film, sounds of buzzing chainsaws, screaming victims, and other morbid and macabre elements spill into and around the stage with startling authority and accuracy. Dialogue reproduction is clear and focused in the middle. This, like the video, is an excellent presentation fans should love.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre contains a wide array of bonus content spread across two discs. The set comes housed in a tri-fold DVD case-sized "Digipak" presentation with the Blu-ray discs in the middle section in a stacked-staggered formation and the DVDs on the other in the same configuration. Glossy artwork is included, as is a slipcover.

Disc One:

• Audio Commentaries: Ever wanted to know everything there is to know about The Texas Chain Saw Massacre? Aside from mind-melding with Director Tobe Hooper and the rest of the cast and crew, almost six hours worth of audio commentaries are about the closest most fans will ever come. With our tracks, two of which can be found on the previous Blu-ray release and two of which are new to this set, and featuring a wide variety of the people who made the film happen, fans can spend the better part of a day enjoying the thoughts of those who know the movie best and share their memories about the film. Included are the following: Track One: Writer-Producer-Director Tobe Hooper, Actor Gunnar Hansen, and Cinematrographer Daniel Pearl. Track Two: Production Designer Robert Burns and Actors Marilyn Burns, Allen Danziger, and Paul A. Partain. Track Three: Writer-Producer-Director Tobe Hooper. Track Four: Cinematographer Daniel Pearl, Editor J. Larry Carroll, and Sound Recordist Ted Nicolaou.

• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Shocking Truth (480i, 1:12:49): The same supplement from the original release linked above; see that review for details.
• Flesh Wounds: Seven Stories of the Saw (480i, 1:11:42): The same supplement from the original release linked above; see that review for details.
• A Tour of the TCSM House with Gunnar Hansen (480i, 8:03): The same supplement from the original release linked above; see that review for details.
• Off the Hook with Teri McMinn (1080p, 17:02): The same supplement from the original release linked above; see that review for details.
• The Business of Chain Saw: An Interview with Production Manager Ron Bozman (480i, 16:27): The industry veteran speaks on his work on the film, which includes the demands of the job, life on the set and stories from the shoot, the chain saw prop, legal disputes and conflicts following the film's release, his career post-film with emphasis on his work on The Silence of the Lambs, the film's legacy, and more.
• New Deleted Scenes & Outtakes (1080p, 4:3, 15:07): A number of scenes presented silently due to missing production audio.
• Grandpa's Tales: An Interview with John Dugan (1080p, 15:48): The actor who portrayed "Grandpa" discusses the character as described to him in the pitch, makeup, his shooting schedule and work on the set, additional tasks on the film, life on set, Tobe Hooper's work, his work with the cast, the film's legacy and his unique take on it as a member of the cast, and more.
• Cutting Chain Saw: An Interview with Editor J. Larry Carroll (1080p, 10:47): Carroll shares stories from the set, including his work with Hooper, life on the set and the challenges posed by the Texas heat, the length of the shoot and the demands on the filmmakers, and work after the film.
• Deleted Scenes & Outtakes (480i, 25:23): The same supplement from the original release linked above; see that review for details.
• Blooper Reel (480i, 2:22): The same supplement from the original release linked above; see that review for details.
• Outtakes from "The Shocking Truth" (480i, 7:40): The same supplement from the original release linked above; see that review for details.
• Horror's Hallowed Grounds: TCSM (480i, 4:3, 20:19): From 2006: Host Sean Clark takes viewers on a tour of the areas seen in the film.
• Dr. W.E. Barnes Presents "Making Grandpa" (1080p, 2:45): The same supplement from the original release linked above; see that review for details.
• Still Gallery (1080p, 2:27).
• Trailers: 40th Anniversary Trailer (1080p, 1:38), Trailer 1 (480i, 1:43), and Trailer 2 (480i, 1:31).
• TV & Radio Spots (480i): TV Spot 1 (0:35), TV Spot 2 (0:33), TV Spot 3 (0:37), Radio Spot 1 (0:32), and Radio Spot 2 (0:32).

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a bonafide genre classic, a one-of-a-kind film that will be remembered in the annals of Horror until the end of time. Its reputation is partially built on the name and the imagery it convokes in a popular culture sense, but the film is so much more, a dark, moody, extraordinarily well made, and deeply frightening experience that relies far less on gore and far more on suggestion and atmosphere and purely evil characters to scare its audience. It's the pinnacle of the Horror genre and a film not to be missed. MPI's Blu-ray release of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre features excellent video, superb 7.1 channel lossless audio, and tons of supplements. This release earns my highest recommendation.