Movies
Outtakes From the Original ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’!
Dark Sky Films has released quite the Halloween treat this Friday morning with a nearly 4-minute long video showing outtakes from Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
To mark the film’s 40th anniversary, Dark Sky Films presented the digitally re-mastered masterpiece on Blu-ray for the first time in a stunning Limited Deluxe “Black Maria” Collector’s Edition box set.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre appears in an all-new 4K digital transfer and with a newly created 7.1 surround sound mix supervised by director Hooper (Poltergeist). This release marks the only transfer of the film to go back to the original 16mm A/B rolls, the actual film that rolled through the cameras. Fans of the film will recognize the unique packaging as a replica of the iconic ‘Black Maria’ cattle truck that comes to Sally Hardesty’s rescue when she’s being pursued by Leatherface, a fitting nod to the legions of TCSM enthusiasts who were instrumental in keeping the film at the forefront of the genre throughout for the past 40 years and a true collectible display piece.’
This four-disc DVD/Blu-ray combo pack will include a wealth of extras, including:
-A Leatherface apron
-Theatrical mini-poster
-Five audio options
-Four feature commentaries with the filmmakers and cast,
-Several making-of featurettes
-Deleted scenes, outtakes, bloopers, trailers and much more
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre received a mixed critical reception upon its initial release – the Los Angeles Times called it “despicable” – but horror fans immediately recognized it has a breakthrough in unbearable suspense. The story, written by director Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel, is dreadfully simple: Five young people on a weekend getaway in remote Texas countryside fall prey to a chain saw-wielding butcher (dubbed Leatherface because of his mask made of human skin) and his demented cannibalistic family. Thanks to startling scenes such as a woman being impaled on a meat hook, horror cinema would never be the same. Violent, confrontational and shockingly realistic, the film terrified audiences and was the most buzzed-about release of its time (a buzz fueled by the marketing campaign that claimed it was based on a true story).
Thrust upon an America disillusioned by the Vietnam War and Watergate, the 1974 shocker faced a storm of controversy, censorship and outcry. But this masterpiece of horror has stood the test of time to become a landmark motion picture and cultural milestone, having opened the (sliding steel) door to the entire slasher genre of the 1980s and beyond.
In addition to the Limited Deluxe “Black Maria” Edition of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre , the film will also be released as a standard DVD, Blu-ray and DVD/Blu-ray Combo on September 16 at retail outlets nationwide.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 40th ANNIVERSARY BLACK MARIA LIMITED EDITION BOX SET
Street Date: Exclusively at gorgon-video.com only September 16, 2014
Street Date: retail outlets nationwide October 14, 2014
SRP: $99.98
Rate R
4K Digital Transfer, 7/1 Surround audio
EXTRAS:
A Collector’s Edition Bonus Disc:
* 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
* The Business of Chain Saw: An Interview with Production Manager Ron Bozman
* New Deleted Scenes & Outtakes
* Grandpa’s Tales: An Interview with John Dugan
* Cutting Chain Saw: An Interview With Editor J. Larry Carroll
* Deleted Scenes & Outtakes
* Blooper Reel
* Outtakes from “The Shocking Truth”
* Horror’s Hallowed Grounds: TCSM
* Dr. W.E. Barnes Presents “Making Grandpa”
* Still Gallery
* 40th Anniversary Trailer
* Trailers
* TV Spots
* Radio SpotsThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre 40th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTOR’S EDITION DVD & BD COMBO
Street Date: September 16, 2014
SRP: $49.98
Rated R
4k Digital Transfer, 7.1 Surround audio
EXTRAS:
Collector’s Edition Bonus Disc:
* 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
* The Business of Chain Saw: An Interview with Production Manager Ron Bozman
* New Deleted Scenes & Outtakes
* Grandpa’s Tales: An Interview with John Dugan
* Cutting Chain Saw: An Interview With Editor J. Larry Carroll
* Deleted Scenes & Outtakes
* Blooper Reel
* Outtakes from “The Shocking Truth”
* Horror’s Hallowed Grounds: TCSM
* Dr. W.E. Barnes Presents “Making Grandpa”
* Still Gallery
* 40th Anniversary Trailer
* Trailers
* TV Spots
* Radio SpotsThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre 40th ANNIVERSARY DVD OR BD
Street Date: September 16, 2014
SRP: $24.98 DVD / $29.98 BLU-RAY
Rated R
4k Digital Transfer, 7.1 Surround audio
EXTRAS:
4 Feature Commentaries:* Writer-Producer-Director Tobe Hooper, actor Gunnar Hansen, Cinematographer Daniel Pearl
* Actors Marilyn Burns, Allen Danziger, and Paul A. Partain, and Production Designer Robert Burns
* NEW Commentary with Writer-Producer-Director Tobe Hooper
* NEW Commentary with Cinematographer Daniel Pearl, Editor J. Larry Carroll and Sound Recordist Ted Nicolaou
Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
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