The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

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The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

R

Released Oct 6, 2006

1h 31m

Horror

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Popcornmeter

16%

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86 Reviews

53%

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250,000+ Ratings

Chrissie (Jordana Brewster) and her friends (Matthew Bomer, Taylor Handley, Diora Baird) set out on a road trip for a final fling before one is shipped off to Vietnam. Along the way, bikers (Lee Tergesen, Cyia Batten) harass the foursome and cause an accident that throws Chrissie from the vehicle. The lawman who arrives on the scene kills one of the bikers and brings Chrissie's friends to the Hewitt homestead, where young Leatherface (Andrew Bryniarski) is learning the tools of terror.

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Critics 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.

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Brian Tallerico

UGO

Audiences will start playing the 'Who's Next' game as people run, scream and die, and the whole thing loses the power that this horrific creation once had over cinema.

Mar 24, 2007

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Marc Savlov

Austin Chronicle

It's neither as bad as it could have been, nor as interesting as it should have been, and the final desultory reaction is a decidedly minor one.

Rated: 1.5/5

Oct 30, 2006

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Randy Cordova

Arizona Republic

Gross and sadistic but never scary.

Rated: 2/5

Oct 28, 2006

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

"Prequel to a reboot" isn't always the best premise for a movie, but the further this got from the source material, the more fun can be had.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 15, 2025

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Matthew Rozsa

matthewrozsa.com

Andrew Bryniarski is the definitive Leatherface, as R. Lee Ermey is the definitive Texas country cannibal paterfamilias, in this underrated horror gem.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jun 21, 2021

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

At least no one stumbles and falls during drawn-out foot chases.

Rated: 4/10

Nov 21, 2020

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Jonathan O

This horror prequel is not that bad however for the R rated version is terrible but the unrated version is much better and fully bloody and gory and R. Lee Ermey (RIP) still terrified as Sheriff Hoyt from the 2003 remake version and really unbelievable nasty (with respect) make-up effects by KNB that looks very realistic.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/15/25

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Dennis J

Better than TCM 2, 3 and 4. The Remake was a little better but definitely a solid watch. Kept me immersed and entertained throughout till the end.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/05/25

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thiago s

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas de terror são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

06/25/25

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Stephen C

Failure in 1 hour and 31 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

06/14/25

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Julian S

It frames itself as a prequel, but the dread feels recycled—still, if the last one got under your skin, this keeps the tension humming.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/06/25

Full Review

Marsh X

I can comfortably say that this is the third best movie out of the texas chainsaw series after the first two (in my opinion), nevermind it's the fourth best. The pacing is really well done with how killing goes, dialogue between characters, chase scenes, etc. I think this movie was structured nicely, however the ending is absolute horseradish, it makes no sense that leatherface ended up in the car, and what's even more surprising is that Chrissie didn't even notice him. That's pretty much the only thing in this movie that swung me the wrong way but other than that this was an enjoyable experience, I wouldn't say I highly recommend this one but I still recommend it. Sheriff Hoyt also pissed me off a lot during this so kudos to his acting skills. 8.5/10

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/11/25

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Jonathan Liebesman

Director

Jordana Brewster

Chrissie

Andrew Bryniarski

Leatherface

R. Lee Ermey

Sheriff Hoyt

Lee Tergesen

Holden

Matt Bomer

Eric

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Synopsis

Chrissie (Jordana Brewster) and her friends (Matthew Bomer, Taylor Handley, Diora Baird) set out on a road trip for a final fling before one is shipped off to Vietnam. Along the way, bikers (Lee Tergesen, Cyia Batten) harass the foursome and cause an accident that throws Chrissie from the vehicle. The lawman who arrives on the scene kills one of the bikers and brings Chrissie's friends to the Hewitt homestead, where young Leatherface (Andrew Bryniarski) is learning the tools of terror.

Director: Jonathan Liebesman
Producer: Michael Bay, Mike Fleiss, Andrew Form, Bradley Fuller
Screenwriter: David J. Schow, Sheldon Turner, Tobe Hooper, Kim Henkel
Distributor: New Line Cinema
Production Co: New Line Cinema, Texas Chainsaw Productions, Platinum Dunes
Rating: R (Some Sexual Content|Language|Strong Horror Violence/Gore)
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 6, 2006, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 30, 2010
Box Office (Gross USA): $39.5M
Runtime: 1h 31m
Sound Mix: Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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