TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE -SERIOUSLY ULTIMATE EDITION

Five young adults travel to Texas to check out the graves of siblings Franklin (Paul A Partain) and Sally's (Marilyn Burns) grandparents. Sally in particular is worried after hearing reports of grave robbery having taken place there.

While there, the group pick up the hitchhiker from Hell then - having booted him out of their van - decide to stick around and visit the grandparents' old house … and fall foul of the infamous Sawyer family, who live next door.

No more synopsis is required, I assume. Nor do I feel the need to expound on why this film is so seminal in the annals of contemporary horror cinema. I shouldn't have to remind readers of its simplistic beauty and raw nervous energy, it's iconic text introduction or the scream-laden final twenty minutes.

Suffice it to say, THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE has stood the test of time perfectly as one of the great American horror films. Not only because of its brilliant low-budget creativity (Robert A Burns' production and art design are revelatory) and genuine power to scare, but also due to it's savage timeless inversion of American family values. It's a subversive classic, and deservedly so.

As is this DVD package which promises a lot by proclaiming itself as the "Seriously Ultimate Edition" … but, housed in a lovely metal tin with a nice black-and-white photograph of the infamous "dinner" sequence on it's inside, it pulls the task off with style.

Disc 1 features the film in a cleaned-up anamorphic 1.78:1 transfer. It's the same transfer used for the excellent Dark Sky 2-disc DVD from a couple of years back (note the Dark Sky logo on the back of the tin), and is a vast improvement on any earlier DVD versions. While still displaying some grain thanks to its 16mm origins, the images have never looked brighter or sharper.

Audio is available in mono, 2.0 stereo and 5.1 mixes. All are evenly balanced and problem-free offerings, ensuring the film has never sounded better either. Optional subtitles are available in English for the hard of hearing. Apparently the Dark Sky 2-disc SE had some audio problems (some sound effects were lacking), but those have clearly been rectified here.

A gorgeous animated main menu includes a static scene-selection menu allowing access to the main feature via 16 chapters.

The only extras on disc 1 are two audio commentary tracks, both of which have been previously available but are essential nevertheless. The first is from director Tobe Hooper, director of photography Daniel Pearl and co-star Gunnar Hansen (Leatherface!). The second is provided by Marilyn Burns, Partain, Allen Danziger (Jerry in the film) and Robert A Burns.

Hooper's track is the better of the two in terms of technical information, even if his monotone style is a little sleep-inducing at times.

Disc 2 opens up with the new featurette "Off The Hook", which is also available (as are almost all of the extras listed here) on the recent Dark Sky Blu-ray disc. It's a 10-minute interview with the willing actress Teri McMinn (she plays the minor character Pam). She's cheery but there's not much on offer here if we're honest.

Then there's a brand new 16-minute interview with production manager Ron Bozman. It starts with him sitting in his garden on a sunny afternoon, and then moves indoors after five minutes as the clouds close in. It's a well-produced affair, interspersed with on-set stills and clips from the film.

"The Shocking Truth" follows, which no doubt any self-respecting fan of the film has already seen. It's Blue Underground's authorative look at the making and enduring influence of the film which manages to interview almost everyone involved in the production (Ed Neal's conspicuous by his absence though) and, despite it being several years old, remains hugely relevant. At 75 minutes long, it almost equals the film in length: now that's substantial.

Next up is an 8-minute tour of the CHAIN SAW house with that nice chap Mr Hansen. It's nothing jaw-dropping, but is interesting in it's own right and Hansen has an undeniable screen presence that's easy to warm to: he's an attractive personality.

Finally disc two bows out gracefully with a succession of outtakes from the "Shocking Truth" files.

Disc 3 keeps those amazing extras coming with Michael Felsher's excellent "Flesh Wounds". It's a seven-segment documentary that's just as meaty as "The Shocking Truth - it's 72 minutes long - but slightly more polished. It focuses on why the film has such an enduring appeal. A segment revealing more on Leatherface himself - Gunnar Hansen - is particularly illuminating, while elsewhere the likes of Tom Savini turn up to offer their thoughts on the importance of the film. And, Ed Neal turns up this time too.

Next up are interviews with Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel that, along with the Bozman interview on disc 2, are not on the Dark Sky Blu-ray release. They do, however, seem to be extended interviews culled from unseen "Shocking Truth" footage. By this point it's impossible to say what these two interviews can possibly add in terms of information, but are welcome inclusions anyway.

Then we have 25 minutes of deleted scenes, along with alternate footage, outtakes, trailers, TV spots, radio spots and - finally - a generous gallery of stills, posters and lobby cards from around the world.

THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE is in many ways the ultimate contemporary horror film. The enjoyable but inferior 2003 remake only serves to highlight how intangibly brilliant the original remains.

And this package is flawless. The DVD release of the year - if you're not yet interested in dipping into High Definition (the US Blu-ray disc is region free), this is a very highly recommended purchase.

Review by Stuart Willis