The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

Chrissie and her friends set out for one last wild weekend before a member ships out to Vietnam, hoping to squeeze in a final fling. A chance encounter with a hostile biker gang leads to a devastating crash that leaves the group stranded. A weathered lawman arrives at the scene, makes quick calls and escorts the survivors toward the Hewitt family home. There, a young Leatherface is growing up under a brutal household, learning to fashion fear and pain from the world around him. The mood is tense, recognizably brutal, and the film quietly expands the Texas Chainsaw universe without retelling the original. The atmosphere presses in with heat and dread, hinting at violence simmering beneath the surface tonight.

Directed by Jonathan Liebesman, the film is a 2006 prequel to the 1974 classic, building on the franchise with a new backstory for the Hewitt family. The production leans into a bleak sunbaked look, and uses practical effects to heighten the sense of immediacy.

Worldwide, the movie grossed 50,517,763 dollars on a 16 million budget, marking it as a solid commercial performer for a horror title and helping sustain interest in the Texas Chainsaw franchise. Its performance helped sustain faith in horror prequels and franchise renewals.

Within the franchise, it contributes to the ongoing mythos surrounding Leatherface and the Hewitt family, reinforcing the enduring image of a remote terror from a decaying rural landscape. R. Lee Ermey's Sheriff Hoyt becomes a memorable figure for fans. Its look at family dynamics and isolation lingers in the franchise.

Reviews were mixed, with praise for atmosphere and performances but criticism of pacing and plotting. The film centers on family dysfunction and the roots of violence, showing how fear erupts in a harsh rural setting, and it adds a blunt expansion to the Chainsaw mythology.