4k Movie, Streaming, Blu-Ray Disc, and Home Theater Product Reviews & News (2025)

Overview -

4K UHD Review By: Matthew Hartman
Celebrating fifty years of carnage, Turbine serves up Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre on a new four-disc Mediabook platter. Offering the same excellent A/V package and 62-page book from past editions, another Blu-ray disc of additional insightful bonus features has been added. If you already have one, two, or even five editions of the film on 4K, what’s one more? Highly Recommended

Ranking:

Did I need another copy of Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre on 4K UHD? No. But when you find yourself in the depths of a serious collection, the tendency is to push it as far as it can go, especially when I’m unable to part with any of them at this time. Each edition offers different art, packaging, some differences in A/V presentation, and of course a couple of different bonus features. I’m not really like this with any other film so I’ll give myself a pass for let one film eat up a significant amount of shelf space in the collection.

We’ve already done so many reviews of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre over the years I won’t linger too long here. I’ll just reiterate what I’ve said in past reviews now that this is one of my favorite films. No matter how many times I’ve seen it, it still crawls under the skin. I saw it at that right impressionable age where it stuck with me for the last couple of decades and has remained a permanent resident in my collection. It’s haunting, unnerving, and always a terrifying experience.

Check out our past coverage of Tobe Hooper's horror masterpiece:

2008 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - Blu-ray Review2016 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review [Turbine No HDR]2022 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review [Turbine Limited Edition SteelBook]2023 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review [Dark Sky SteelBook]
2023 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review [Second Sight Limited Edition]
2023 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review [Turbine Mediabook German Poster Art Cover]

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Refueling the saw for another cut at The Texas Chain Saw Massacre on 4K UHD, Turbine delivers a new four-disc 4K UHD + Blu-ray Mediabook. We have the same Region Free BD66 offering the 4K, the same Region Free BD50 offering the 1080p, the same Region B Locked BD50 for the initial bonus features but now we pick up a new Region Free BD50 disc for additional bonus features content. The excellent 64-page book Texas Chainsaw Massacre Legacy by Tobias Hohmann also returns. Again, it’s in German, but Google Translate is an effective easy way to read through the piece as it covers the extensive history of the franchise and all of the sequels, prequels, requels, and the remake. Each disc loads to an animated main menu with standard navigation options.

Ranking:

The same excellent 2160p Dolby Vision transfer returns:

As was the case with their SteelBook release of this film in 2022, the same transfer returns here. While beautifully restored, I love that this release maintains the gritty gnarly feel of the film without looking too clean or pristine. There are differences between the work Turbine did for this set and what Second Sight Did for theirs and I honestly have a hard time choosing one over the other as they’re both great. I guess it comes down to how "clean" you want this particular film to look. Here are E’s thoughts on this effort:

The drive-in cult classic rips into Ultra HD for a second helping, likely from the same HEVC H.265 encode asthe previous UHD release, which was itself struck from a fresh 4K scan of the original 16mm camera negatives back in 2016 but not mastered in the high-dynamic-range format. However, the folks at Turbine Media Group have gone back and released the seminal horror favorite in four collectible UHD packages, bestowing it to the slavering, voracious appetites of horror hounds with a proper HDR media profile that is sure to please their palates.

This native 4K transfer is a remarkably good upgrade over its SDR predecessors, showing better definition and clarity from start to finish. Granted, coming originally from a cheap 16mm reversal stock, the source won't ever yield the sort of results we've come to expect from the format with a good majority of the runtime looking fairly soft and blurry, but any such instances of poor resolution are inherent to the condition of the stock and the photography. In spite of that, the overall improvements are still perceptible and notable for a source of this vintage and from a micro-budget production, especially for those already familiar with the movie's history on home video. Fans will greatly appreciate every distinct detail, stain, smudge, and scratch inside the Sawyer house while the slight rust stains, scrapes, and scuffs on the outside of the kids' van are plainly visible, and the fine lines along clothing and the stitching in Leatherface's masks are detailed.

On a more important better note — and the reason for this new UHD upgrade — the Dolby Vision HDR presentation dazzles and astonishes thanks to a superb and well-balanced high dynamic range, offering exceptional, right-on-the-money contrast and crisp, pitch-perfect whites. Specular highlights radiate with brilliant luminosity, showing distinct differences in the clouds while the metal trim of the van shimmers and glistens with incredible realism. Brightness levels are equally strong and true throughout with pitch-black shadows that complement the story's creepy atmosphere while maintaining strong visibility during the darkest, poorly-lit sequences. Understandably, there is the occasional blooming in the brightest spots and shadows can engulf the finer details, but all things considered and comparing the last release, this remains a step up. Best of all, Daniel Pearl's photography benefits and really takes advantage of the wider color gamut, displaying intensely animated reds, vivid greens in the foliage, and true-to-life blues in the skies. The HDR video also comes with bolder, richly saturated secondary hues, and facial complexions are highly revealing with healthy, peachy-red tones in the entire cast.

Awash in a natural, dense grain structure that is to be expected and unobtrusive, this new 4K HDR transfer is a genuine surprise considering the source's history and condition, which looks beautifully film-like and cinematic, making it the best the film has ever looked in any format.

Ranking:

The same selection of Atmos, Auro3D, DTS-HD MA 5.1 and DTS-HD MA mono tracks return:

Once again, the same excellent assortment of audio options returns for this disc. While German is the disc’s default language you can choose between a swath of English audio options including DTS-HD MA Mono, DTS-HD MA 2.0, Auro 13.1, and Dolby Atmos. All tracks are winners so depending on how you’re set up or how you want to experience the film, you’re locked and loaded. I personally go for the Mono track more than the others but I can’t deny that the Atmos mix is often shockingly effective. Here is what E. thought of the Auro 13.1 experience:

As with the previous release, Turbine slaps an exciting and surprisingly excellent bevy of listening options to this UHD edition, all of which are presented in either a German dub and in the original English. First, for the purists out there, fans can choose between the original mono in DTS-HD Master Audio or a great stereo alternative in DTS audio, or they can step it up a notch with a satisfying DTS-HD MA 7.1 upmix, which is actually the default of the Auro-3D codec for those without the equipment. For those wanting to take it to the next level though, the 4K disc also offers the choice between a pair of remarkably impressive object-based soundtracks: an Auro-3D 13.1 mix and a Dolby Atmos track that defaults to Dolby TrueHD 7.1 for those without the equipment. During the pandemic, I decided to redesign my speaker layout in the thirteen-channel Auro configuration due to its versatility, so the choice was, needless to say, a relatively easy one.

Besides, after watching and hearing this movie on various audio formats for the past four decades — some of which were better than others — I opted to give the Auro-3D option a go this time around. To my shock and amazement, the audio engineers at Auro Technologies did phenomenal work carefully extracting specific audio cues from the new remastered source and moving them to specific areas of the environment without ever seeming forced or artificial. It's not a night and day difference from the Atmos track, so my sentiments remain relatively the same as in my previous review. But in all honesty, I would actually give the Auro mix the edge and rate it slightly higher because it sounds and feels more natural, even true-to-life orvérité.

Still front-heavy and faithful to the source, random noises are heard echoing throughout the Sawyer house, adding to the creepiness and making for a satisfying hemispheric soundfield. The real highlight is hearing footsteps on the second floor of the abandoned Hardesty homestead while Franklin whines, and later, when Sally runs frantically around the Sawyer house, we hear the brothers yelling in hysterics and chasing after her in the distance. Granted, a few Foley effects still feel a bit fake, most notably at the beginning with vehicles speeding down the highway, but thankfully, these moments are far and few in between without distracting too much from the film's overall enjoyment.

The mix remains a front-heavy arrangement with plenty of background activity generating an engagingly expansive soundstage with a great sense of presence. Off-screen effects occasionally moving across the three top heights not only broaden imaging with subtle noises of the local wildlife, seemingly coming from all sides of the room, but the voices of the crowd gathering at a cemetery and Wayne Bell and Tobe Hooper's haunting musical score also widen the soundscape with extraordinary fidelity and warmth while lightly bleeding into the sides and overheads. In fact, the music does most of the work filling the room with suspense, thanks to a surprisingly dynamic and extensive mid-range, exhibiting crystal-clear distinction and separation between the various noises without the slightest hint of distortion. Meanwhile, low bass is expectedly light but nonetheless hearty and adequate for a film of this vintage. And dialogue reproduction is distinct and precise in the center from beginning to end, making this three-dimensional mix highly enjoyable.(Auro-3D Audio Rating: 84/100)

Ranking:

This set from Turbine offers up all of their previous excellent bonus features and adds a new fourth disc for even more excellent bonus feature content giving you one heck of a package to consider if you haven’t added this film to the 4K collection already. For you native German speakers, there is an extensive extra feature called On the History of Censorship that is in German and unfortunately for the rest of us does not include English subtitles - I’m working on relearning my distant familial language but with my limited handling, I was left out of the conversation pretty quickly.

4K UHD DIsc

• Audio Commentaryfeaturing Tobe Hooper
• Audio Commentaryfeaturing Marilyn Burns, Robert Burns, Allen Danziger, and Paul A. Partain
• Audio Commentaryfeaturing Tobe Hooper, Gunnar Hansen, and Daniel Pearl
• Audio Commentaryfeaturing Daniel Pearl, Larry Carroll, and Ted Nicoulau
• Isolated Scorewith sound effects

Blu-ray Disc One

• Audio Commentaryfeaturing Tobe Hooper
• Audio Commentaryfeaturing Marilyn Burns, Robert Burns, Allen Danziger, and Paul A. Partain
• Audio Commentaryfeaturing Tobe Hooper, Gunnar Hansen, and Daniel Pearl
• Audio Commentaryfeaturing Daniel Pearl, Larry Carroll, and Ted Nicoulau
• Isolated Scorewith sound effects

Blu-ray Disc Two

• TCM: The Shocking Truth(SD, 73 min), which is followed by a small collection of outtakes (SD, 8 min)
• Flesh Wounds(SD, 72 min)
• TCMFamily Portrait(SD, 61 min)
• TCMHouse Tour(SD, 20 min)
• Horror's Hallowed Grounds(SD, 20 min)
• Off the Hook(HD, 17 min)
• The Business of Chain Saw(SD, 16 min)
• Granpaw's Tales(HD, 16 min)
• Cutting Chain Saw(HD, 11 min)
• The 5-Minute Massacre(SD, 6 min)
• Deleted Scenes(SD, 25 min)
• Long Lost Scenes(HD, 15 min)
• Promotional Material(HD, SD)
• Outtakes(SD, 2 min)

Blu-ray Disc Three

• Conversation with Tobe Hooper and William Friedkin (HD 54:09)
• Interview with Tobe Hooper (SD 13:46)
• Interview with Kim Henkel (SD 8:25)
• On the History of Censorship - Conversion with Jorg Buttgereit, Dr. Stefan Hotgen, Dr. Roland Seim, and Christian Bartsch (HD 2:09:47)

I said it before and I’ll say it again, I didn’t needanothercopy ofThe Texas Chain Saw Massacreon 4K, but this is now mysixthso the collection will just keep growing I guess. This edition offered up beautiful new artwork but also added a fourth disc of new extras to Turbine’s already potent mix of excellent A/V and bonus features. For fans who haven’t picked this film up on 4K at all or are just gluttons for punishment aiming to add another version to the collection, Turbine’s offering is a true highlight for the film with a beautiful Dolby Vision transfer, Atmos and Auro 13.1 audio, andhoursupon hoursof extra features. Again, calling this oneHighly Recommended

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