The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

Director:

Marcus Nispel

Writers (WGA):

Kim Henkel (1974 screenplay) and
Tobe Hooper (1974 screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

17 October 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Inspired by a True Story

Plot:

A group of friends passing through are stalked and hunted down by a deformed killer with a chainsaw in order to sustain his poor family who can only afford to eat what they kill.

Plot Keywords:

Leatherface | Suicide | Chainsaw | Psychopath | Telephone

Awards:

7 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Jessica Biel	...	Erin
Jonathan Tucker	...	Morgan
Erica Leerhsen	...	Pepper
Mike Vogel	...	Andy
Eric Balfour	...	Kemper
Andrew Bryniarski	...	Thomas Hewitt (Leatherface)
R. Lee Ermey	...	Sheriff Hoyt
David Dorfman	...	Jedidiah
Lauren German	...	Teenage Girl
Terrence Evans	...	Old Monty
Marietta Marich	...	Luda May
Heather Kafka	...	Henrietta
Kathy Lamkin	...	Tea Lady in Trailer
Brad Leland	...	Big Rig Bob
Mamie Meek	...	Clerk
John Larroquette	...	Narrator (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Scott Martin Gershin	...	Leatherface (voice) (uncredited)
Harry Jay Knowles	...	Victim On a Silver Platter (uncredited)

Directed by
Marcus Nispel

Writing credits (WGA)
Kim Henkel		(1974 screenplay) and
Tobe Hooper		(1974 screenplay)
Scott Kosar		(screenplay)

Produced by
Jeffrey Allard	....	executive producer
Michael Bay	....	producer
Matthew Cohan	....	associate producer
Joe Dishner	....	co-producer
Ted Field	....	executive producer
Mike Fleiss	....	producer
Andrew Form	....	executive producer
Bradley Fuller	....	executive producer (as Brad Fuller)
Kim Henkel	....	co-producer
Tobe Hooper	....	co-producer
Pat Sandston	....	associate producer
Guy Stodel	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Steve Jablonsky

Cinematography by
Daniel Pearl		(director of photography) (as Daniel C. Pearl)

Film Editing by
Glen Scantlebury

Casting by
Lisa Fields

Production Design by
Greg Blair

Art Direction by
Scott Gallagher

Set Decoration by
Randy Huke		(as Randy Smith Huke)

Costume Design by
Bobbie Mannix

Makeup Department
Troy Breeding	....	key makeup artist
Grady Holder	....	makeup artist: special effects body dismemberment
Kelly Nelson	....	key hair stylist
Carla Palmer	....	head makeup artist (as Carla E. Palmer)
Scott Stoddard	....	special makeup effects artist

Production Management
Joe Dishner	....	unit production manager
Tami Goldman	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Randy Fletcher	....	first assistant director
Phil Hardage	....	second assistant director (as Philip Hardage)
Katie Tull	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
Steve Allen	....	carpenter
Annilee Ballentine	....	set dressing buyer (as Annilee Ballentine Ramirez)
Amy Bell	....	assistant property master
Kevin Berve	....	prop fabricator
Debbie Cortez Haber	....	art department coordinator
Erick Garibay	....	assistant props
David Hack	....	set dresser
Heather Ingram	....	art department intern
Joe McCusker	....	construction coordinator
Mark Millicent	....	storyboard artist
King Orba	....	property master (as Mark Wallace)
Melissa Pagen	....	assistant: production designer
Darren Patnode	....	on-set dresser
Shane Patrick	....	leadman
Jeremy Reeves	....	set dresser
Charles Seale	....	carpenter
Corissa Smith	....	scenic artist
Christopher Stull	....	set dresser
Kara Sutherlin	....	stand-by scenic
Gary Wimmer	....	lead scenic
Robert R. Wonson	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Mark Allen	....	sound effects editor
Steve Bartkowicz	....	re-recording engineer
John Bires	....	sound engineer
Stacy Brownrigg	....	production sound mixer
Matt Colleran	....	sound re-recordist
Thadd Day	....	second boom operator
Chris Frazee	....	boom operator
Scott Martin Gershin	....	sound designer
Scott Martin Gershin	....	sound supervisor
Frederick Howard	....	sound editor
Trevor Jolly	....	sound supervisor
Kevin Maloney	....	additional boom operator
Paul Menichini	....	sound effects editor
Brad Sherman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Gregg Silk	....	assistant sound engineer
Branden Spencer	....	supervising assistant sound editor
Edward M. Steidele	....	foley artist
Jon Taylor	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jon Title	....	sound effects editor
Chris Trent	....	foley mixer
Jerry Trent	....	foley artist
Caron Weidner	....	sound effects editor

Special Effects by
Gary D. Bierend	....	special effects assistant
Rocky Gehr	....	special effects
Brandon K. McLaughlin	....	special effects supervisor
Gregory Nicotero	....	special effects makeup
Christopher A. Suarez	....	special effects technician
Chiz Hasegawa	....	coordinator: KNB EFX Group (uncredited)
Kevin McTurk	....	special effects makeup (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Andy Barrios	....	Inferno artist: Asylum
Joel Behrens	....	compositor: Asylum
Emma McGuinness	....	visual effects executive producer: Asylum
Nathan McGuinness	....	visual effects supervisor: Asylum
Kosta Saric	....	visual effects editor: Asylum Visual Effects
Jason Schugardt	....	visual effects supervisor
Greg Stuhl	....	digital artist
Bridget M. Taylor	....	digital artist: Asylum VFX
Jeff Werner	....	visual effects producer
Jesse James Chisholm	....	element photography (uncredited)
Mark Alan Loso	....	compositor (uncredited)

Stunts
Jill Brown	....	stunt double
John Cann	....	stunt double: Mike Vogle
Anthony Cecere	....	stunt coordinator
Nicola C. Hindshaw	....	stunt double: Jessica Biel
Diana R. Lupo	....	stunts
Carl Milinac	....	stunts (re-shoots)
Lillie Miller	....	stunt double
Bryon Weiss	....	stunt double: R. Lee Ermey
Jay Krueger	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Roger Basquette	....	digital video assist operator
Buzzy Burwell	....	set lighting technician
Jason Casillas	....	assistant camera
Matt Cowan	....	grip
Theda Cunningham	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Donald R. Howe Jr.	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Edison Jackson	....	best boy electric
Eric R. Laudadio	....	assistant camera
Greg Lomas	....	dolly grip
James Marks	....	remote camera technician
Edward A. Navarro	....	additional electrician
Eric Pickett	....	additional video assist
Ryan Pilon	....	assistant camera (second unit)
Paul Postal	....	electrician: additional photography
Van Redin	....	still photographer
Donis Rhoden	....	best boy grip
Peter D. Roome	....	additional first assistant camera
Andy Ryan	....	chief lighting technician
Tom Shinn	....	electrician
Peter Simonite	....	additional photographer
Jeremiah Spinney	....	grip
Greg Travis	....	grip
Jeffery J. Tufano	....	camera operator
Aaron Atom Vyvial	....	grip
Sean Wright	....	grip
Thomas Young	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Peter Simonite	....	cinematographer: second unit (uncredited)

Casting Department
Lisa Fields	....	local casting
Julia Kim	....	casting associate
Meagan Lewis	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Matthew Jerome	....	costumer
Nyima Johnston	....	wardrobe
Kathy Kiatta	....	costume supervisor
Stephanie A. Steel	....	costume production assistant
Yvonne Wilburn	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Nathan R. Fitzgerald	....	associate editor
John McCunn	....	digital intermediate producer
Dennis McNeill	....	color timer
Sara Mineo	....	post-production assistant
Thatcher Peterson	....	digital color producer
Christopher Reichel	....	digital intermediate conform editor
John Scheer	....	digital intermediate editorial
Rob Sciarratta	....	video color timer
Kurt Smith	....	color timer

Music Department
Bob Badami	....	assistant music editor
Wayne Bell	....	composer: original theme
Jay Flood	....	composer: additional music
Tobe Hooper	....	composer: original theme
Malcolm Luker	....	score mixer
William V. Malpede	....	music assistant (as William Malpede)
Melissa Muik	....	score recordist
Jennifer Nash	....	music editor
Paul Silver	....	music editor: temp mix
Mel Wesson	....	ambient music designer

Transportation Department
Greg Faucett	....	transportation coordinator
Russell E. Scott	....	picture cars

Other crew
Crisoforo Aguilar	....	key set production assistant: additional photography
John Arszyla	....	medic
Meg Beatty	....	set production assistant
Ken Beggs	....	head animal trainer
Allison Bergstrand	....	assistant: Mr. Field
Sidney Bowen	....	assistant: Mr. Nispel
Brinton Bryan	....	additional set production assistant
Doug Carter	....	key set production assistant
Simon Cassels	....	title designer
Mia Cevallos	....	liaison: Chapman
Monique Champagne	....	production assistant
Brad Wm. Clark	....	assistant: Mr. Nispel (as Brad Clark)
Logan Cooper	....	location scout
Shanti Delsarte	....	production coordinator
Tiffany Lynn Drucker	....	production assistant
Aaron L. Enz	....	assistant: Mr. Allard
Pam Fuller	....	script supervisor (as Pam Fuller Vasquez)
Josh Gold	....	assistant: Mr. Form and Mr. Fuller
Joey Hudgins	....	assistant location manager
Susan Jasso	....	additional set production assistant
Lauren Kaufman	....	assistant: Mr. Form and Mr. Fuller
Nell Kennedy	....	production assistant
Kelly Kernan	....	location manager
Vas Leonidov	....	artistic consultant: Mr. Nispel
Carolyn Mcguinness	....	assistant: Mr. Bay
Tammy McKendrick	....	production coordinator
Rana Morrison	....	location assistant
Rich Newman	....	production assistant
Heidi S. Pavey	....	production coordinator: additional photography
John M. Pisani	....	unit publicist
Gabe Proctor	....	additional video playback operator
DeLayne Rasmussen	....	assistant production office coordinator
Mikey Reyes	....	production and props assistant
Jeremy Roberts	....	payroll accountant
Ralph Sall	....	album producer
Alicia Utz	....	assistant: Mr. Fleiss
Jeff Valeri	....	assistant production coordinator: additional photography
Suzanne Welch	....	assistant: Mr. Field
Leigh A. Wilbourn	....	production coordinator
Edward Albolote	....	assistant: Michael Bay (uncredited)
Justin Herber	....	assistant: Mr. Bay (uncredited)
Warner Loughlin	....	acting coach (uncredited)
Deborah J. Page	....	location manager: re-shoots (uncredited)
Christopher Scull	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Daniel Villagomez	....	credits administrator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• New Line Cinema
• Focus Features
• Radar Pictures (in association with)
• Platinum Dunes
• Next Entertainment
• Chainsaw Productions LLC

Distributors

• Focus Features (2003) (worldwide) (all media) (sales)
• Bir Film (2006) (Turkey) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox de Argentina (2005) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• AcmeFilm (2004) (Lithuania) (theatrical)
• Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution (2003) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2004) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Constantin Film (2004) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Eagle Pictures (2003) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Entertainment Film Distributors (2003) (UK) (theatrical)
• Herald Film Company (2004) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Metropolitan Filmexport (2004) (France) (theatrical)
• New Line Cinema (2003) (USA) (theatrical)
• Odeon (2003) (Greece) (theatrical)
• RCV Film Distribution (2004) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• RCV Film Distribution (2004) (Luxembourg) (theatrical)
• RCV Film Distribution (2004) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2004) (Finland) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2004) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Alliance Atlantis Communications (2003) (Canada) (all media)
• Alliance Atlantis Home Video (2004) (Canada) (DVD)
• Entertainment in Video (2004) (UK) (DVD)
• Europa Filmes (2005) (Brazil) (all media)
• Good Machine International
• Highlight Film (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• New Line Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• RCV Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)
• RCV Home Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD) (2-disc special edition steelbook)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2004) (Finland) (DVD)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2004) (Finland) (VHS)
• Veronica (2006) (Netherlands) (TV) (first national airing)
• Village Roadshow Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Asylum VFX (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes and dollies
• Company 3  digital color timing
• Edel American Music  soundtrack released by
• Film Finances  completion guarantor
• Pivotal Post  Avid editing equipment provided by
• Sound Satisfaction  foley recording facilities

Also Known As:

"La masacre de Texas" - Argentina, Mexico (imdb display title), Venezuela
"Massacre à la tronçonneuse" - Canada (French title), France
"Ο Σχιζοφρενής Δολοφόνος με το Πριόνι" - Greece
"A texasi láncfűrészes" - Hungary
"Kruvinosios skerdynes Teksase" - Lithuania (imdb display title)
"La matanza de Texas" - Spain
"Massacre no Texas" - Portugal (imdb display title)
"Michael Bay's Texas Chainsaw Massacre" - Germany
"Motorsågsmassakern" - Finland (Swedish title)
"Motorsagmassakren" - Norway (imdb display title)
"Motorsavsmassakren" - Denmark (DVD title)
"Non aprite quella porta" - Italy
"O Massacre da Serra Elétrica" - Brazil
"O shizofrenis dolofonos me to prioni" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)
"Tekisasu chênsô" - Japan
"Teksanska masakra pila mechaniczna" - Poland (imdb display title)
"Teksas katliami" - Turkey (Turkish title)
"Texas Chainsaw" - Japan (English title)
"Texase mootorsaemõrvad" - Estonia
"Texasin moottorisahamurhat" - Finland
"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Motorsågsmassakern" - Sweden (imdb display title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong horror violence/gore, language and drug content

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Taiwan:R-18 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Mexico:C | Portugal:M/18 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Canada:18+ (TV rating) | Malaysia:(Banned) | Australia:MA | Brazil:18 | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Germany:18 (nf) | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Singapore:R(A) | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R (certificate #39964) | Argentina:16 | Chile:14 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

The film was made into a haunted house at Universal's "Halloween Horror Nights" in both Florida and Hollywood Universal parks.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the sheriff is saran-wrapping the dead girl in the van, the roll of wrap jumps in and out of the box between shots..

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator:The film which you are about to see is an account of the tragedy which befell a group of 5 youths. It is all the more tragic in that they were young. But had they lived very, very long lives, they could not have expected, nor would they have wished to see as much of the mad and macabre as they were to see that day...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Masters of Horror: Pick Me Up (#1.11)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Sweet Home Alabama

Surprisingly good remake.

The horror/sci-fi movie critic Richard Scheib coined the term "Backwoods Brutality" to describe the slew of low-budget movies that emerged in the 1970s which had as their main theme the violent and abrupt destruction of middle-class serenity. The concept has occasionally found expression outside of the horror genre (Straw Dogs, Deliverance), but since Wes Craven's Last House on the Left (1972), it has been a mainstay of the horror genre. Even thirty years later, the basic idea continues to be remade and re-interpreted.

In my view, the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) is the most successful exponent of the genre. As it often is in the American variations of this genre, the TCM takes the so-called blue state/red state dichotomy to a grotesque extreme: the backroads of the Deep South is another country and its inhabitants exhibit uncontained contempt for every unsuspecting wayfarer. Its use of tension, which is meticulously established in the movie's first 45 minutes, and release -- the last 45 minutes -- is almost elegant in its simplicity. Throughout, violence is used in sparing and sudden bursts until the adrenaline-fueled final act, during which it is mercilessly sustained.

With some minor qualifications, this description also fits Marcus Nispel's 2003 remake. Here the enlarged budget and technical expertise have worked both for and against the film. On the one hand, a variety of new elements have been added to the story. Some, like the mysterious little boy or the ending, are so-so, while others, like Leatherface's skin mask or the "extended family," are effective. On the other hand, the professionalism and attention to detail demonstrated by Nispel and Daniel Pearl (whose cinematography here is magnificent) on down to those responsible for filming locations and set detail, is consistently impressive.

So the basic "tension-release" framework has been lifted from the original but instead of improving on it the filmmakers have saddled it with characters, situations, drama, and violence. (We learn from the DVD extras, happily, that some "tender moments" were left on the cutting room floor.) I give it a 7 because ultimately I think it works as a horror movie on its own terms -- in fact, I don't think a better American horror movie has been made since 2000 -- and Nispel/Kosar deserve credit attempting to revise the concept in minor ways for fans of the franchise. On the balance, however, the original's low-budget guerilla-like realism as well as some of its visceral power has been compromised.

Of note, finally, is the performance of Jessica Biel. Having earned her acting chops on the Christian TV show/cheesefest, Seventh Heaven, Biel has as of late found a niche playing physically tough, but likable and intelligent characters. She's quite excellent here; as it was for the original TCM's Marilyn Burns, Biel's performance is exhilarating and intense -- a kind of endurance test. But one easily believes she has the acuity and toughness to survive the ordeal.