Leatherface - Bloody Disgusting Blu-ray SteelBook

Our resident Chainsaw franchise expert M. Enois Duarate already reviewed Turbine’s excellent 4K UHD steel case release, so I’ll let his words stand for this one. Like him, I think Leatherface is an intriguing franchise addition with a great cast, but it doesn’t quite hit the mark. It’s certainly one of the better-made and I dare say more maturely approached entries in recent years. But its pace and approach to the origin story feels more confusing than compelling. Stephen Dorff and Lili Taylor headline this effort and they deliver dynamite performances elevating this outing as another simple-minded franchise entry. But the final act feels far too rushed to play fan service to let the story play out organically. E. and I have often wondered if there wasn’t a better longer cut out there. 

Anyway - here’s what E. had to say about Leatherface:

As far as prequels go, Leatherface isn't all that terrible, but it isn't all that good either. This eighth installment to the beloved franchise exists — and even endures — somewhere comfortably in "middle-of-the-road" territory. As any horror-hound already knows, there are far worse entries out there that attempt to take fans back to where the nightmare began and ultimately fail — The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, Exorcist: The Beginning, Prometheus and Rob Zombie's Halloween just to name a few. The danger in telling an origin story to an iconic horror figure is in either turning the monster into a sympathetic character or ruining the very mystery that makes them such a terrifying creature. The unknown is a big part of what makes them a frightening menace. Giving the monster a motive or explaining their genesis more often than not succeeds at lessening the terror.

Amazingly, this entry from French duo Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo (Inside, Livid) makes a decent attempt at expanding the mythos of the franchise and surprisingly avoids mucking it up. By favoring a story centered around the titular character's rise as the demented cannibal instead of the usual grisly carnage expected of the series, we have a movie that works both as a continuation of the series as well as a standalone tale about a troubled young man's turn into a terrifying, chainsaw-wielding maniac. Following Jedidiah Sawyer (Sam Strike) as part of a gang of escaped inmates adds an amusing classic grindhouse flair to the proceedings, especially with Ike and Clarice (James Bloor and Jessica Madsen) almost serving as darkly twisted nods to Badlands and Bonnie and Clyde. The dingy, sweltering cinematography of Antoine Sanier further complements this horror exploitation aesthetic. 

Granted, Jedidiah's aforementioned turn does come a bit sudden and quick, if not also too easily. Strange as it may sound, we could even argue that his transformation eventually feels unearned, making the ending feel somewhat rushed. Personally, the best part of Maury and Bustillo's otherwise strong effort is the gang of inmates and their captives. I would have liked more of the sadistic couple terrorizing the Texan countryside while evading capture by the equally perverse and ruthless Ranger Hal (Stephen Dorff). At the very least, it was interesting to see Jedidiah torn between surviving those lunatics while protecting nurse Lizzy (Vanessa Grasse) and the hulking mute friend Bud (Sam Coleman). The madness and callous violence surrounding him were affecting him in such a way as to make his metamorphosis into a brutal serial killer who wears the skin of his victims all the more fascinating and distressing.

Sadly, none of this is meant to be, and Leatherface ultimately feels like the product of studio interference. The movie's final quarter is so hurried and oddly paced compared to the rest that it's pretty clear achieving the inevitable conclusion by the 90-minute mark was more important than telling a good story. And that's really a shame because Maury and Bustillo display a great deal of talent and skill behind the camera, giving fans of the franchise a stylized entry that's frankly riveting. Lili Taylor's performance as the scary matriarchal leader of the Sawyer family is not only in line with the series' continuity, but it is also a promising accessory to Leatherface's formation. In the end, her character is just another unfortunate victim in a list of possibilities and "what-could-have-beens." The prequel can best be summed up as an admirable origin story and strong entry to an admittedly floundering franchise. 

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray 

Leatherface returns to Blu-ray for an all-new Walmart-exclusive Blu-ray + Digital SteelBook from Lionsgate and Bloody Disgusting. Like the rest of these Bloody Disgusting SteelBooks, we have the same BD-50 disc redressed with attractive packaging. The disc loads to a slew of trailers before arriving at an animated main menu with traditional navigation options.

On the video side, we have a respectable 1080p 2.35:1 transfer to celebrate. On its own, it’s a damn good presentation, but it’s not the best one out there (more on that in a bit). Details for this release are pretty darn impressive allowing us to fully appreciate facial features, costumes, and the film’s desolate take on the 1950s-era Texas countryside. Colors are skewed toward the golden tones, so true primaries don’t quite flourish without a little extra shading. Blue skies are a shade of blue, almost borderline green and reds a creepy crimson that almost skews brown. Black levels are deep and inky and the image has a nice sense of depth to it. 

But this isn’t the best transfer out there. Turbine released one heck of a 4K edition that takes all of the best this transfer has to offer and ranks it just a bit better. Sourced from that 4K DI, details are crisper and cleaner, and the HDR grade refines the film’s stylized cinematography. If you’re a big fan of this film, that’s the best way to go. 

For an a-traditional road film, this DTS HD MA 5.1 mix is solid stuff. The film makes great use of the expansive scenic locations reveling in the uneasy quiet. It’s not a mix that calls a lot of attention to itself. The hospital escape is the biggest and most active sequence of the film where the surround sound design really comes to life. But even in the quietest sequences of our band of miscreants traveling the Texas countryside, there’s enough element drift into the sides to give a great sense of spacious dread. 

Now, the previously mentioned 4K rides in with a DTS-HD MA 7.1 track, which I have to admit is better, but only just so. That track might feel a little more attuned for various scene-setting effects but like the 5.1 mix, isn’t the loudest or most bombastic track out there. Again the hospital escape sequence and the film’s climactic moments felt the most immersive.

What comes with this offering is an interesting but slim selection of extra features. The Making of covers a lot of the basic, EPK style features without getting too deep. At a little over twelve minutes it’s an interesting overview of the film and its genesis. The most interesting is the film’s 21 minutes of deleted scenes. While each on their own might not seem like much, I would very much love to see what this film would be like with all of those lost minutes reinserted and how that would affect the pace. The alternate ending is a playback option and I have to say I do like it a bit better. 

However, and as previously mentioned, Turbine’s 4K set offers significantly more material. Everything here but a couple more featurettes with over 96 minutes of cast interviews. Something to keep in mind.

• Play With Alternate Ending
• Behind the Mask: Making Leatherface (HD 12:24)
• Deleted Scenes (HD 21:04)

Leatherface isn’t great but neither is it a terrible entry either. It’s a middling one and the frustration of that comes from how much potential this one had. Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo brought to life a compelling idea for a Sawyer family origin that’s beautifully executed with some solid performances from the main cast. However, as evidenced by the number of deleted scenes in the bonus features selection, I have to wonder if a better film didn’t exist before studio scissors were sharpened. At less than 90 minutes it just feels too short, especially in the last act where it feels too rushed to reach some fan-serviced finale. I’d be curious to see what this film was like with those extra scenes reinserted properly. As is, it’s an okay flick, not the best of the franchise or the worst. With a new Bloody Disgusting-themed SteelBook exclusively from Walmart, Lionsgate recycles the previous disc - which is fine, it’s pretty good but the SteelBook is the main reason to purchase. That said, if you're a fan and wan the best disc out there, I can’t deny that Turbine’s 4K is a much better, fully-packed piece. So if you’re a big fan, that’s the one to aim for. Worth A Look

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