The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) on Netflix
Five young adults driving through rural Texas pick up a traumatized hitchhiker. After she shoots herself in their van, Erin and the others go looking for the sheriff.
- Netflix3.4/5
- IMDb6.2/10164,035 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes37%
Trailer
Plot summary
On August 18, 1973, five young adults drive through Texas toward a concert after a trip to Mexico. Erin Hardesty rides in the van with Kemper, who is her boyfriend, and with her brother Morgan, plus their friends Andy and Pepper. Along the road they pick up a traumatized hitchhiker who insists they are going the wrong way and raves about a bad man, then kills herself with a revolver. Wanting the police, the group stops at a gas station, where Luda Mae, who runs the store, sends them to the Old Crawford Mill to find Sheriff Hoyt. There they meet only Jedidiah, a boy who says Sheriff Hoyt is home drinking. Erin and Kemper walk through the woods looking for the house, leaving Morgan, Andy and Pepper behind.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Andrew Bryniarski asked producer Michael Bay in person for the role of Leatherface. Brett Wagner had been cast first but was hospitalized on the first day and fired for lying about his physical abilities, so the filmmakers called Bryniarski, who accepted.
- Bryniarski did all his own stunts as Leatherface in very hot, humid weather, wearing a "fat suit" that raised his near-300 lbs to 420 lbs. The suit heated up quickly, so he had to drink a lot of fluids before a shoot.
- In earlier drafts, Erin, the film's main character, was nine months pregnant throughout the film. Producer Michael Bay insisted the pregnancy be removed from later drafts.
- Like the 1974 original, the remake is loosely inspired by the real-life crimes of Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein, whose crimes also inspired the novels Psycho and The Silence of the Lambs.
- Early plans announced for the remake would have told the story in flashback, with Marilyn Burns, who starred in the original film, returning as an aged Sally Hardesty recounting the events.
- The film's financial success set off a wave of horror franchises remaking their originals through the 2000s and 2010s, including House of Wax, The Wicker Man, The Omen, Halloween, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Carrie and Poltergeist.
- The trailer and TV spots used a version of This Mortal Coil's cover of "Song to the Siren" that was recorded just for the trailer, sung by Renee Firner of the band Moneypenny.
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was the first film produced by Platinum Dunes, which went on to produce remakes of several other 20th-century horror films.
