The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning is a 2006 American slasher film and a prequel to the 2003 film. The sixth installment in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, it was written by Sheldon Turner from a story by Turner and David J. Schow, directed by Jonathan Liebesman and co-produced by Kim Henkel and Tobe Hooper (co-creators of the original 1974 film). The film's story takes place four years before its predecessor. It stars Jordana Brewster, Diora Baird, Taylor Handley, Matt Bomer and R. Lee Ermey.
Originally, the film had the subtitle The Origin. New Line Cinema had to pay $3.1 million more than expected in order to keep the rights to the franchise after Dimension Films made a large offer to buy it.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning was released in North America on October 6, 2006. The film received negative reviews from critics but still grossed $51.8 million on a budget of $16 million, although this would be less than half the gross of the previous film.
Plot
In 1939, a woman dies while giving birth prematurely in a slaughterhouse in Texas, and the supervisor abandons the baby in a dumpster. When young Luda Mae Hewitt finds the child, she takes him back to the Hewitt residence, names him Thomas and raises him as her own son.
Thirty years later, Thomas works in the slaughterhouse under the same supervisor who left him in the dumpster. When the plant is shut down by the health department, he refuses to leave until the supervisor makes him. Thomas kills the supervisor with a hammer and finds a chainsaw, which he takes with him. When Sheriff Hoyt attempts to arrest him, Luda Mae's son, Charlie Hewitt kills Hoyt and assumes his identity.
Meanwhile, brothers Eric and Dean, are driving across the country with their girlfriends, Chrissie and Bailey, to enlist in the Vietnam War. At a diner, they run into a biker gang, one of whom follows them on her motorcycle. She draws a shotgun and orders the group to pull over. In the ensuing chaos, the car crashes, and Chrissie is thrown into a field. When Hoyt arrives, he kills the biker and makes them put her body in his car. He then calls for Uncle Monty to tow the jeep, which Chrissie is hiding in.
Hoyt drives the group to the Hewitt house where he has Thomas butcher the biker's body. Chrissie runs to the highway and flags down Holden, the biker's boyfriend, and they return to the house together. Hoyt tortures Dean after finding out that he was going to forgo the Vietnam War draft. When Hoyt leaves, Eric breaks free from his restraints and gets Dean to safety before sneaking into the house to free Bailey. Bailey escapes in Monty's truck but Thomas stabs her with a meat hook and drags her back to the house. Dean gets caught in a bear trap, and Hoyt knocks Eric unconscious.
Holden and Chrissie part ways to search for their friends. While Chrissie finds Dean, Holden takes Hoyt hostage. Thomas straps Eric to a wooden table and slices off the nerves in both of his arms. Hoyt calls out to Thomas for help, and Thomas kills Holden with the chainsaw. Chrissie finds Eric in the basement but is unable to free him, and hides when Thomas returns. Thomas kills Eric with the chainsaw, then skins his face and wears it as a mask. Chrissie is about to flee when she hears Bailey's screams and decides to save her. She finds her upstairs, but Hoyt catches her and brings her downstairs for dinner, along with Bailey and an unconscious Dean. Leatherface slits Bailey's throat and tries to take Chrissie to the basement, but she stabs him in the back with a screwdriver, and jumps out of a window.
Dean regains consciousness and savagely beats Hoyt before heading off to find Chrissie. Chrissie enters the slaughterhouse, grabs a knife and cuts Leatherface's face, but he overpowers her. Dean intervenes but Leatherface kills him with the chainsaw. Chrissie escapes in the slaughterhouse supervisor's car and drives off. She sees a state trooper and pulled over pedestrian, but as she pulls over, Leatherface appears in the backseat and impales her with the chainsaw, causing her to lose control and crash into the trooper and pedestrian. Leatherface walks along the road back towards the Hewitt house.