The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning - Directed by Jonathan Liebesman
Rated R for strong horror violence/gore, language and some sexual content.

Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year for one reason: slasher flicks. Starting this season of horror is director Jonathan Liebesman's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. A prequel to a remake, this Leatherface origin story suffers mostly from the overuse of the source material.

In The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, a group of young'uns find themselves at the mercy of a deranged Korean War veteran (R. Lee Ermey) and his cannibalistic family, which of course includes Thomas 'Leatherface' Hewitt (Andrew Bryniarski). It's up to leading lady Chrissie (Jordana Brewster) to save her friends from gruesome death.

R. Lee Ermey makes this movie. Without him, it would be almost completely useless. With a plot that is near identical to the 2003 Texas Chainsaw remake, the only thing of interest in The Beginning is Ermey's sadistic role as a war veteran turned sheriff turned cannibal. In fact, despite this film being built up as a Leatherface origins piece, the symbolic, chainsaw wielding character plays only a limited, supporting role.

At about 84 minutes long, don't expect anything too deep plot-wise. However, those primarily seeking gore will find a more violent film than the somewhat disappointing 2003 remake. Makeup and gore effects are surprisingly brutal and by no means campy. Almost completely devoid of humor (except that of R. Lee's twistedly dark variety), The Beginning is 84 minutes of violence with minimal fluff.

However, an extreme lack of originality and disappointing, sudden ending left me wanting oh so much more from this potentially great film. Although acceptable for fans of the genre, it's far from a horror classic. If you're looking for a fright this Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning will do the job, but you're better off waiting for Saw III.

Rating: 2.5 / 5