‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ (2003): 10 Things You May Not Know

When Platinum Dunes pursued an all new remake of the 1974 film from director Tobe Hooper, the plan was to be as faithful to the source material as possible. This led to bringing in several major players from the original. Hooper and Kim Henkel, who co-wrote and co-produced the first movie, returned to the franchise with this film as co-producers. The original film’s cinematographer, Daniel Pearl, also came back to reprise his position. Actor John Larroquette, who provided the creepy voice narration at the beginning of the first film, also returns to reprise this role, providing the opening commentary once again.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre doesn’t seem to get the same level of vitriol as other horror movie reboots. Perhaps that’s because of how well it recognized its roots.

Related Article: ‘Pumpkinhead’: 10 Things You May Not Know

While several names from the original film’s crew returned to the series to work on the reboot, the movie doesn’t feature any returning cast members. Two major players from the first film’s cast did almost have cameos, however. Scream queen Marilyn Burns, who plays final girl Sally Hardesty in the first film, was originally intended to appear in the story as an older version of her character, having since been committed for decades following the events of the 1974 classic. The idea was likely scrapped once the creative decision was made to completely ignore the original movie.

Leatherface actor Gunnar Hansen could have shown up in the movie as well. He was offered the chance to cameo as the truck driver in the end, a new take on the small part by Ed Guinn in the original. It would have been an interesting way of including him, but Hansen turned the cameo role down. The part then went to Brad Leland.

We all know Dolph Lundgren best for starring in many action films and playing Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. He’s no stranger to the horror genre either, co-starring with Kristina Klebe in the freaky (but funny) movie Don’t Kill It. However, the Swedish actor could have also been a part of one of the most popular slasher movie franchises ever, as he was offered to play Leatherface in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

However, bringing Lundgren into the Hewitt home was just never meant to be. The Kindergarten Cop 2 star ultimately passed on the role, but envisioning him behind the mask is still fun to think about.

When it was first announced Michael Bay would be producing a remake of Tobe Hooper’s original film, Andrew Bryniarski saw an opportunity. Having worked with Bay previously on Pearl Harbor, Bryniarski personally approached him the very same week of the announcement to campaign for the role. Unfortunately for Bryniarski, director Marcus Nispel wasn’t interested, casting an unknown actor after Dolph Lundgren turned down the part.

Luck would soon enough find its way to Bryniarski, however. According to the actor himself, the person cast as Leatherface had lied about his abilities, injuring himself during the very first take on day one of filming. Now in desperate need of a Leatherface, producers gave Bryniarski a call to see if he still wanted the role.

Related Article: Funko’s Horror Savage World Line Features Leatherface

Everyone knows that Marilyn Manson composed the score for original Resident Evil film in 2002. The controversial rocker seemed to be a natural at scoring horror films, as the music was one of the movie’s best qualities. Perhaps this is why Manson had originally signed on to provide the music for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, as reported by MTV at the time.

For better or for worse, Manson was later forced to drop out of the project at the last minute, due to scheduling conflicts resulting from The Golden Age of Grotesque‘s release. He was then replaced by Transformers series composer Steve Jablonsky.

For the most part, legendary critic Roger Ebert was never a big fan of horror movies. More often than not, the genre films he’d review would be given a low-star rating with a recommendation to avoid it. Still, Ebert was a bit more selective with giving movies a zero-star rating, saving it specifically for the movies he absolutely hated the most.

Even when it comes to horror reboots, Ebert gave some credit to the most notable films. He gave the Friday the 13th reboot two stars, calling it “the best Friday the 13th movie you could hope for.” The remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street fared a bit worse with only one star, but hey, that’s still something. As for the 2003 version of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Ebert hated it with every fiber of his being, giving it zero stars. “There is not a shred of reason to see it,” Ebert said in his review. “Don’t let it kill 98 minutes of your life.”

Related Article: ‘Halloween III’: 10 Things You May Not Know

Playing opposite Jessica Biel in the film is Eric Balfour, who plays her boyfriend Kemper. The name comes from serial killer Edmund Kemper, who murdered 10 people in the ’60s and ’70s. Because of the horrific nature of his crimes, Kemper is one of the most notorious murderers of all time, and currently resides at California Medical Facility.

More recently, Ed Kemper has found his way back into pop culture once again by appearing on the Netflix series Mindhunter, portrayed by actor Cameron Britton.

Speaking of Balfour, the way the actor chose to leave the set after finishing his work is definitely worth mentioning. In the film, his character Kemper winds up becoming the first of Leatherface’s victims, making Balfour one of the first of the cast to wrap up filming. After his final cut, the actor stripped out of his wardrobe, tossing his clothing aside. He was met with laughter and applause from the cast and crew as he walked off the set wearing only a baseball cap. The moment can be seen in behind-the-scenes footage from the home video release.

Related Article: Tales from the Crypt: 10 Things You May Not Know

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre wasn’t a hit with every critic, but it managed to draw big money at the box office. Against its $9.5 million budget, the film earned over $80 million in the United States and $107 million worldwide. The next highest-grossing film is the movie’s prequel, The Beginning, which made $51 million at the global box office. Texas Chainsaw 3D would see the profits fall a little further, earning about $47 million globally. Financially, the 2003 remake is ultimately the peak of the series.

It’s hard to say if we’ll ever see the franchise reach these numbers again. The prequel film, Leatherface, had a very limited release and made less than $1 million in ticket sales. It’s looking like Leatherface’s best days at the movie theater are behind him.

Before the editing process trimmed down the movie, there were some rather interesting subplots. The film originally had alternate opening and ending sequences, revealing an older version of Jessica Biel’s character Erin. In the beginning, a “present day” Erin – who has been living in a mental asylum since the 1974 massacre – is being interviewed by a reporter about the incident. She insists that Leatherface is still out there somewhere, but nobody believes her. In the alternate ending, the reporter realizes Erin is right when she reveals the chainsaw-killer only had one arm, and the body thought to belong to Leatherface had two.

Also dropped from the film is the revelation that Erin is pregnant with Kemper’s child. One deleted scene has her revealing her pregnancy to Kemper, who was previously unaware. This explains why she refuses to smoke the marijuana with her friends. Sadly, the alternate ending also reveals that her baby was placed in foster care after the massacre, due to Erin’s commitment in the asylum.

Related Article: ‘Halloween II’: 10 Things You May Not Know