The Texas Chain Saw Massacre franchise has given audiences several disturbing sequels and reboots. From the ’80s campy slashers to its most recent installment, Netflix’sTexas Chainsaw Massacre, the franchise continues to introduce new villains, final girls, and varying incarnations of Leatherface. Nevertheless, one The Texas Chainsaw Massacre installment left viewers speechless through its explicit kills, suggestive content, and its political undertones, making it more than a run-of-the-mill slasher sequel. This is why The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning is an underrated prequel worthy of more recognition.
Introduces The Hewitt Family
New Line Cinema
The Hewitt family propels the plot in 2003’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, establishing a series of villains that are more sadistic than anything before introduced by the horror franchise. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre The Beginning gives an insight into how the Hewitt family became the bloodthirsty cannibals terrorizing unsuspecting travelers passing through Texas. Audiences see Leatherface’s origin story, thrown into a dumpster by a man who later becomes his supervisor and abuser. Pushed to the brink of insanity after years of abuse, Leatherface finally snaps and kills his abuser, getting his first taste at murder. Sheriff Hoyt, the ruthless villain that torments Erin and her friends in 2003’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, is also revisited. The real Sheriff Hoyt is actually murdered by Charlie Hewitt when protecting Leatherface, with Charlie usurping the role of sheriff in the small Texan town.
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What makes Sheriff Hoyt so disturbing is what he represents: a power-hungry man with zero inhibitions. Luda Mae Hewitt is one of the film’s more nuanced villains; while she rescues Thomas from certain death when he’s abandoned as a newborn, she is unaffected by her biological and adoptive sons’ murderous behaviors, even partaking in Bailey’s psychological torture as she prepares her for dinner despite the girl’s beaten state. The Hewitt family represents humans darkest desires unleashed without the possibility of repercussions.
Leatherface’s Backstory
Leatherface’s backstory had never been thoroughly explored in any Texas Chainsaw Massacre film prior to this installment–and that’s what makes Leatherface so horrific; he’s an ambivalent force with no motivation behind his killings aside from following his family’s orders. This prequel explores Leatherface’s history thoroughly, going as far as to give Leatherface an actual name, Thomas Hewitt. While Leatherface still doesn’t say a single word throughout the movie’s runtime, audiences can feel for a man who has been mistreated his entire life by a judgmental, barbaric community. Leatherface isn’t just a killer; he’s a victim of circumstances overcome by abuse.
Most Ruthless Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The one element that makes The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning stand out from other films in the franchise is its ruthless kills. Yet, that’s only one form of violence depicted in the film; from the abduction of Bailey, Dean, and Eric to their slow torture by the Hewitt family, these friends go through an excruciating ordeal before meeting their demise. Sheriff Hewitt relishes in torturing Eric and Dean, psychologically tormenting them for hours. Bailey is perhaps the unluckiest of the trio; she is abused by Hoyt in every imaginable way, slowly dismembered, and finally murdered. Chrissie, while managing to avoid any form of physical torture by the Hewitt family, is forced to sit through a sadistic spectacle where she is the guest of honor at the Hewitt family dinner, watching Bailey murdered and an unconscious Dean awaiting a similar fate. Even more nerveracking is Chrissie’s consciousness that it’s only a matter of time before she becomes a victim herself.
Set amidst the Vietnam War, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning shows the psychological effects war had on American youth of the time. The film opens with Eric and Dean driving across the country to enlist in the war after one last weekend with their girlfriends. While Eric is ready to serve again, Dean shares his plans of fleeing to Mexico to his girlfriend, Bailey. After being captured by the Hewitt family, Hoyt shows utter disgust upon discovering Dean’s plans to desert the war, fueling his torture against the group. While the film’s main purpose is to establish the backstory behind the massacres leading to 2003’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, this prequel makes a critical political commentary: youths were terrified to enlist in the Vietnam War. Dean’s harrowing experience at the hands of the Hewitt family is a parallel to what he likely would have witnessed in the war.
Social Disconnect
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning is a tale of social disconnect. No one takes notice of a newborn Thomas being disposed off in a dumpster minutes after his mother dies during childbirth. No one takes notices when the real Sheriff Hoyt is murdered by Charlie Hewitt and his identity is usurped. No one takes notice as the Hewitt family enact their reign of terror in Texas that sums up to over thirty-three victims before Erin narrowly escapes her encounter with them and exposes their crimes. As deadly as the Hewitt family proves to be as a whole, society is just as culpable in their willful ignorance of the happenings in the small Texan town where The Texas Chainsaw Massacre takes place. This is an unsettling reflection of our current society, where crimes against humanity occur all throughout the world while many turn a blind eye to them. Ultimately, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning is a prime example of art imitates life.
