Overview: Violent, confrontational, and shockingly realistic, director Tobe Hooper’s THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE terrified audiences in a way never thought possible when it was unleashed on a politically and socially tumultuous America in 1974.

Facing a storm of controversy, censorship, and outcry throughout its troubled release, this masterpiece of horror has stood the test of time to become a landmark motion picture and cultural milestone.​

Now, for the first time, Dark Sky Films proudly presents its director-approved 4K restoration of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE on UHD, bringing all the scares and the screams into terrifying focus and clarity, making for an immersive viewing experience you won’t forget.

Whether first-time viewer or long-term fan, this is THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE as you’ve never seen or heard it before!

4K UHD Blu-ray Verdict: MPI Home Video / Dark Sky Films is expanding their 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray catalog offerings this month with the release of the highly-anticipated The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in the expansive 4K Ultra HD Steelbook format this February 28th, 2023.

For my money, this The Texas Chainsaw Massacre [4K Ultra HD Steelbook] has a crisp sharpness to it that takes a fairly large step forward from others that have tried to bring this horror gem to the masses.

So, what we have is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre presented to us as a two-disc combo pack, with other stand out points you should know being: Codec: HEVC / H.265, Resolution: Native 4K (2160p), HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10, Aspect ratio: 1.78:1 and Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1.

Featuring Dolby Vision and HDR10 for brighter, deeper, and way more lifelike colors, as with most all 4K UHDs, everything that we watch features these qualities - but somehow, this film gloriously shines within them all.

Noticeably crisp with the overall clarity receiving an obvious boost here on this release, what is more is that it is enjoyably noticeable. For me, it’s the now infamous Shorts Scene (which is actually used in directing classes around the world for young filmmakers), where after shouting out for Kirk, our red-short wearing female (Pam) leaves the water and heads directly for the house!

For as well as some new nuances to the somewhat drab palette courtesy of Dolby Vision we also get to witness sudden bright pops of color; such as the very same exquisitely shot scene above, where Pam, until the menacing structure hides the safety and security of blue clouds and a bright, sunny day by filling the entire frame, disappears into the discomforting shadows of the front porch. Simply phenomenal, as a film making art, but also as to how overall crisp this color all looks now, some 50+ years on.

As for the audio, well we get the choice of: English: Dolby Atmos, English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit), English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit) and English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 16-bit).

Overall, this is a very strong 4K HDR Blu-ray presentation, and, for the most part, the audio track remains fairly similar to its DTS-HD counterpart; with much of the action occupying the surrounds with outstanding directionality and placement where effects flawlessly pan between the sides and rears.

As for the movie itself, well, since the dawn of time, man has entertained one another by telling chilling tales of the mad and macabre. In the beginning merely illuminated by the flickering lights of a campfire, later the stories of horror was put on to paper and the theater stage as the institution of man grew more sophisticated, through the annals of time.

When the magic of motion pictures first dawned upon us in the early 20th century, that grand tradition naturally continued in this new medium and now, almost a hundred years later, an extensive catalogue of titles have been responsible for generations upon generations of nightmares, chronicled and passed down through the ages to invoke joy and wonderment in the hungry masses of scare crazed fans.

In the 21st century however, one of the ultimate truths in the way of fright flicks is that something changed back in the smoldering summer heat of 1974 (just as it did when George A. Romero created the modernized version of the zombie in 1968). The change? From them on out, all roads traveled in the ways of horror would inevitably lead to Texas.

After hearing rumors about grave robbing and ritualistic desecration of the corpses at various rural graveyards in and around Texas, five youths, consisting of Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) and her invalided brother Franklin (Paul A. Partain) accompanied by three of their friends are subsequently en route to examine the condition of their grandfather’s resting place and afterwards spend a few days crashing at an old family heirloom - an abandoned farmhouse, that’s as desolated as it is sheltered - for a bit of relaxation under the blistering hot summer sun.

As the group ventures though the bucolic landscape, they pass a depleted and crumbling old slaughterhouse, where they decide pick up a dense looking hitch-hiker (Edwin Neal) standing at the side of the road, but this benevolent act backfires horribly as the mood turns increasingly sinister, culminating in the ominous stranger attacking the wheelchair bound Franklin and cutting his arm with a filthy straight razor before the group can managed to push him out of the van.

As the party reaches the confides of the old family home, the mood is understandably a bit tense, with Franklin in particular, distressed by the preceding events, getting on everyone’s nerves with his excessive whining about the matter. As the mood starts to settle and the group begins to unwind, the faction soon separate and while some stay at the house to get settled, others turns to exploring the area - an initiative that will prove highly ill-advised as a certain part of the region’s residents doesn’t take too kindly to strangers.

Soon the kids plunge into a seemingly never-ending nightmare as they are attacked by the monstrous Leatherface (Gunner Hansen) and his nefarious family of cannibals who proves that you don’t need much in the way of etiquette or social skills, when equipped with a bloody big chainsaw and a full-size supply of meat hooks!

You might wonder why I chose to incorporate the little intro on the history of horror, preceding the synopsis. Well, you see, I was going for that epic feel - a touch of grandeur, if you will, as I not only regard The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as the greatest horror film of all time but quite possibly the greatest motion picture ever produced, period!

Just like it pertains to most examples of great film making, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is utterly unique - a movie that completely obliterates genre conventions and transcends the boundaries of its form. I cited Night of the Living Dead (George A. Romero, 1968) earlier, which is the film that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre undoubtedly shears most of its attributes. Both were conjured up during times of great turmoil, globally as well as within the United States.

Both movies also reflects an alarming distrust in authorities and societies’ appointed leaders and their escalating lies and deception, while simultaneously operating as a stake through the heart of the American myth concerning the altruistic good guys sporting white hats while forever prevailing against the deficient elements. In these films man as a whole, was the deficient element.

Another funny coincidence is that both films have also been added to the permanent collection of New York City’s Museum of Modern Art, thus validating their claim as legitimate, unconventional art. Not bad for a film originally entitled Headcheese. Co-written by Kim Henkel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is, just as Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) and Deranged (Alan Ormsby, Jeff Gillen, 1974), inspired by the heinous crimes of Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein, and introduces gritty Texas-atmosphere in a sizzling heat with discomfort, disgust and death along with the now almost mythical chainsaw and one of the most iconic masks in horror cinema history.

But the film is not just cruel and horrifying. It’s also a kind of social satire (without being funny), which turns and twists the so-called American Dream and the gloss image of the perfect American family. Daniel Pearl’s secure sense of eerie cinematography is one of this film’s many strengths. Shot on 16mm using a Bolex and Eclair NPR camera, the visuals and the compositions are a work of pure incontrovertible art (you could hang any frame on the wall) and Pearl’s handheld, free-wheeling, pseudo-documentary cinema-vérité style with almost panic-like zooms on skulls, bones, rusty birdcages and dilated eyes, is an ideal fit for the frantic and unsettling narrative, palpable throughout the piece.

But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for some sly and rather sophisticated set-ups along the way. Check out the aforementioned scene where Teri McInnis’ Pam walks from her previous position by a swing set, towards the ominous looking farmhouse, for further proof of this. A grainy and nicotine yellow color pattern seems to be all pervading in the scenes depicting daytime activities, capturing the desolated landscape of the lone star state flawlessly, with its desiccated dirt roads and untamed vegetation, whereas nighttime as a fusion of shadowy black and steely blues invokes similar awe and astonishment at the capacity of the film and the people behind it.

The score by Wayne Bell and Hooper himself is another triumph. This experimental soundtrack is reminiscent of twisted uncontrolled metal sounds and squeals, and is highly unorthodox in its chaotic sound design, tailor-made for evoking anguish and discomfort.

Last I want to mention the film’s brilliant set-design courtesy of art director Robert A. Burns, which truly act as a benchmark for the genre and has acted as inspiration for every Hillbilly Horror following. The acting performances are also incredibly effective. Especially Marilyn Burns and Paul A. Pertain are extremely valuable in bestowing the film with an almost impenetrable sense of tension and despair, throughout its 90 minute of run time.

The rest of the fresh faced cast seems to act primarily as fodder, but personally I enjoyed the fact that they are portrayed with an air of naive innocence about them. But let’s face it, you came here for the family and boy do they deliver, as this is quite possible the baddest bunch of hombres ever depicted on film.

Edwin Neal is absolutely radiant as the psychotic Hitch-Hiker, attacking each scene with a manic energy befitting a true berserker; he doesn’t so much draw you in as pull you violently face to face with his epic performance. Equally impressive is the character of the cook, the irascibly family patriarch, who is brilliantly brought to life by veteran character actor Jim Siedow. Sadly he passed away in 2003, but left us this immaculate part to enjoy.

Leatherface, meanwhile, is a full-fletched horror-icon, celebrated by all as the true face of the franchise and it’s not difficult to see why. Gunner Hansen embodies this monstrosity with all his might and he truly is Leatherface, reducing all others who have subsequently donned the human skin mask to a mere afterthought.

Tobe Hooper’s almost apocalyptic landscape is a deserted wasteland of dissolution where vibrant colors and hope for a future is all but desiccated. The lone star state has metamorphosed into a hellish bone yard of dying cattle, rusted gas stations and desecrated cadavers, and now functions as home base for a pack of psychotic killers whose hunt for rations is the standard when it comes to challenging the established American experience in movie terminology.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is, without a doubt, Tobe Hooper’s masterpiece and an utterly flawless motion picture experience and its impact on the unsuspecting viewer, neither can nor will be replicated, ever again. In truth, Hooper has never since managed, or even gotten close, to reaching the majestic heights of his debut feature. Much like a young Orson Wells, Hooper hit the ground running, only to gradually run out of steam throughout his subsequent career.

Never the less, the fact that, and according to John Larroquette himself, that his payment for doing the opening narration was a marijuana joint, one has to still bow down to a master of such creative genius!

The film follows a group of young friends (played by Marilyn Burns, Allen Danziger, Paul A. Partain, William Vail and Teri McMinn) road-tripping by van through Texas who fall victim to a bizarre family of cannibals – including a huge masked madman known as Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) who always has a gas-powered chain saw at the ready.

The shocker originated many elements of the slasher genre that would soon explode: the use of power tools as murder weapons, a hulking faceless killer, a desolate rural setting, and the sadistic slaughter of innocent young victims.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre arrives in deluxe 4K UHD and 4K UHD Steelbook editions, each containing a bonus disc containing a wealth of supplemental materials. Disc 1 holds the 4K UHD feature film and four commentary tracks: writer-producer-director Tobe Hooper, actor Gunnar Hansen and cinematographer Daniel Pearl; actors Marilyn Burns, Allen Danziger and Paul A. Partain with production designer Robert Burns; Tobe Hooper solo; and Daniel Pearl, editor J. Larry Carroll and sound recordist Ted Nicolaou.

Disc 2, a Blu-ray, contains the new, never-before-seen feature-length documentary The Legacy of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and several featurettes. These include “The Cinefamily Presents FRIEDKIN/HOOPER,” a conversation about the film between Tobe Hooper and The Exorcist director William Friedkin; “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Shocking Truth”; “Flesh Wounds: Seven Stories of the Saw”; a tour of the TCSM house with Gunnar Hansen; “Off the Hook with Teri McMinn”; and “The Business of Chain Saw: An Interview with Production Manager Ron Bozman.

Filling out the generous package are deleted scenes and outtakes, a blooper reel, trailers, vintage TV and radio spots, and much more to thrill fans old and new.