Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Special Edition) (DVD)

The trailers looked good and the film did not disapoint as I thought this was one of the better horror remakes I had seen in quite some time, including the recent release of Dawn of the Dead, which I loved. The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre was one of the most influential horror films of all time, and that is a fact that is not denied as this special edition goes on.

Loaded with tons of goodies that will impress any true horror movie fan from a collectible metal plate (a bit worthless) to superior artwork, commentaries galore, documentaries, deleted scenes and more so let's break this thing down piece by piece.

Quickly I can tell you the video looks great and the audio is second to none with a Dolby Digital 5.1 track as well as the hallowed DTS track, which both add to the creepy factor of the movie, but more importantly let's talk about all the special features you are going to get here:

Commentaries
This bad boy has commentaries from just about everyone except for the gaffer. From producer Michael Bay to director Marcus Nispel and then even some cast members. Their breakdown of the film is just as insightful as it is important to the fact that they all recognize what kind of a task they took on in recreating a beloved horror movie.

Severed Parts - Deleted Scenes
Once again, it seems like I have been saying this often, but what we have here are some great deleted scenes including an Alternate Opening and Ending, a little more blood, a little more gore, and a look at where the storyline looked to go including the thought of introducing the fact that Erin (Biel) was preggers.

These scenes are definitely worth the view and included with them is a documentary titled Severed Parts going through the scenes explaining just why they were all cut.

Chainsaw Redux: Making a Massacre
This is one great, hour long, documentary on the making of this remake from script to the final shot, it shows just how much respect the creators had for the original and just how risky of a venture they knew it was. Their attention to detail adds a little more respect for exactly what they were able to accomplish here.

Ed Gein: The Ghoul of Plainfield
For those of you that don't know The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is loosely based on Ed Gein, a killer of a different sort, who liked to make clothing out of people and even rob a grave or two. His life also was the spark that started Silence of the Lambs, and what you have here is one hell of a creepy documentary on his life.

Gein was just as much of a horror if not more than Leatherface, and the fact that the things he did are true, it is just grotesque and this documentary, while short, is an excellent look into his life and the things he did.

Screen Tests
Also, included are the screen tests for Jessica Biel, Eric Balfour, and Erica Leerhsen, which are interesting to see, especially Biel's and Leerhsen's. Biel is forced to act out the scene where she is lying face down on the ground crying and Erica is asked to scream, and I mean LOUD! Balfour's is pretty much boring, but these are a couple of things you don't normally get to see, these people actually have to work hard for their jobs, who knew?

Art Galleries
Now I have never been a big fan of photo galleries on DVDs they take too much time to navigate and what the hell do I really care about looking at stills on a TV where I am actually looking for live-action. Nonetheless I can say that people who are fans of these features will like what they have here even though I wasn't.

Included are Production Art and looks at the Leatherface Concept Art.

Motograter "Suffocate" Music Video
Not really my cup of tea.

Trailers
I love watching the trailers to the films I loved, it actually gets me excited for them again and included on this is one hell of an awesome trailer, which was Michael Bay's original idea which includes nothing but a black screen and scary sound effects over the blackness of a girl being chased and screaming. It is quite intense and a really cool addition to the DVD.

Crime Scene Photos
Also inside you get an envelope of crime scene photos, which on the back gives detail on when the photo was taken and where the item was described. While they are cool and you know they add to the expense of the collection it is pretty much like the metal faceplate to the DVD, useless.

Overall, I must say that this is a must-buy for any horror fan or fan of the remake period. The other edition of the movie available is just the movie with a couple of features, and everything that comes included in this set makes it the much better buy above and beyond what the other edition could hope to offer.

Basically I am telling you that it is time to finally buy a special edition besides the Lord of the Rings Extended Editions, hey I just realized these where all made by New Line, seems like they must know what they are doing over there.