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Reviews
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)
Don't expect anything new
Please don't get me wrong, this is a good horror film. To those looking for gore, it is there any there is plenty of blood shed. I would speculate several scenes have been cut to appease the mpaa. Had this film been release before Hostel, The Hills Have Eyes, or the Saw Franchise, more of the film would have ended up on the cutting room floor. The film is being advertised as it will show up how Tommy Hewitt became Leatherface. Anyone looking for any real discovery to this information will have to look somewhere else. Truthfully the only real incite into the Hewitt family origin is how a homicidal sexual deviant was able to become a Sheriff. Being a prequel, the lack of background information is, to say the least, disappointing.
I don't want to get into specifics, but there are several parts where the film feels as though it being recycled. Some scenes feel as if they were rehashed from other Chainsaw films, needless to say they did not live up. Add to this the typical slasher clichés (don't go upstairs/down to the basement, etc) and it only adds to the predictability.
Rest Stop (2006)
rent, don't buy
I got a chance to see a screening of the unrated version of this film, and was mildly impressed. The story is centered around a young woman who is traveling to California with her wanna be actor boyfriend. Along the way they encounter a psycho killer who stalks the area around a nearly abandoned rest stop.
The film is being released in both a R rated version and an unrated version. I can only speculate as to what is going to be cut to get the R rating. I don't see cutting the gore or violence taking much away from the film. Cutting the nudity could lessen the effectiveness of the set up.
Unfortunately, what won't be cut is Joey Lawrences performance. I don't think I'm giving away too much say that his death scene is too long, since the director seems to freely mention that it is a ten page death scene. Mr Lawrence's performance is less than believable, and quite frankly his time on screen does not justify having to sit through his life story told from his deathbed.
I wouldn't recommend purchasing the DVD, but it might not be a bad rental.