The buzz is back! Again! As it seems to be the norm for the most beloved fan favorites of the genre to be re-released every few years with improvements made (think the Evil Deads or Halloween), and seeing as the Texas Chainsaw Massacre is unquestionably one of the most famous and highly respected horror films ever, it's no surprise that we're now being treated to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre – The Ultimate 2-Disc Edition. But the question that comes to mind, as it does with many of these films that will seemingly have a new edition released every few years until the end of time, is whether or not it's really necessary? Do the slight improvements in quality that come with the newest technology or the inclusion of a few more extras really warrant die hard fans spending their hard earned money on the same movie again and again?

As far as the film is concerned, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is certainly worthy of the attempts to deliver a near perfect release. I won't elaborate on it too much because I'm sure most of the readers here have no doubt seen it (probably hundreds of times) and most likely already own it in some format. If not, what are you waiting for? Go out and pick this up so you too can experience the dark, gritty realism of the backwoods insanity and sadistic torture that makes this one of the most terrifying films ever and one that is still as effective and scary today as it was in 1974 – and that's no exaggeration.

Now, for the million dollar question that you've all been patiently awaiting an answer for – this edition does look significantly better than the previous Pioneer release. Both the video and audio presentations have been improved, from the non-anamorphic, 1.85:1 ratio transfer with only Dolby 2.0 sound of the Pioneer version to an anamorphic, 1.78:1 ratio transfer with Dolby 5.1 sound for this new Dark Sky edition. The picture quality has also been noticeably cleaned up, giving the film a very fresh look with its brighter, vibrant colors and tight, crisp clarity. I don't think I've ever seen the film look better than it does on this release, so all you quality hounds and home theater buffs can rejoice. But those of you who hold this film near and dear because it has that dirty, forbidden look of drive-in/grindhouse cinema gone by and the aura of danger that surrounds it, you might be a little put off. I don't want to say the film is too cleaned up, because it looks gorgeous, and I certainly don't mean to insist that because it's brighter visually that it comes off any brighter in tone (this film could never be made any "happier", I mean come on!), but let's just say that some of the dark, confusing scenes aren't so dark and confusing anymore. Some of you will think that's a good thing, I'm sure. But for the others maybe Dark Sky should have included some sort of grainy filter to watch the movie through as an extra, complete with film scratches and a faint hiss on the soundtrack – The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Heavily-Viewed VHS Rental Watched at a Sleepover in Your Parent's Basement Edition.

Below are some stills for comparison between the Pioneer (left) and the Dark Sky (right)

But what really sold me on this release is the inclusion of the documentary film, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Shocking Truth". Produced in 2000, this informative behind-the-scenes look at how the horror classic came to be was previously only available on foreign region discs, but thankfully Dark Sky has decided to finally make it available to U.S. fans. Just about everyone who was associated with TCM (or its sequels) is present for the extensive interviews that take us from the initial ideas behind the creation of the film to its commercial success (and lack thereof). You'll truly get a feel for all the good, like interesting insights on some of the grisly, "real" sets and props and how certain scenes were shot, and the bad, like having to deal with shady distributors or having a studio completely re-cut your film, of the Texas Chainsaw franchise.

As far as other extras are concerned, the new Dark Sky disc once again outdoes the previous Pioneer edition. Included is a second, 70 minute documentary (produced by Dark Sky themselves) titled "Flesh Wounds: Seven Stories of the Saw" that provides even more info the cinematographer, cast, locations, and convention footage. There are also deleted scenes and outtakes, a blooper real, outtakes from "The Shocking Truth", a tour of the TCM house with Gunnar Hansen, a behind-the-scenes of Grandpa's makeup, a still gallery, theatrical trailers and TV spots, and audio commentaries with Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Allen Danziger, Robert A. Burns, Tobe Hooper, Daniel Pearl, and Gunnar Hansen. This all comes housed in a beautiful, sturdy metal case with the classic shot of L-face on the cover. What more could you possibly want? Go get it, you pig bitch!!!