So, to the main feature; the 35mm 5K scan. Costing $742 to add to this set (including print rental, scanning, a HDD and postage), the print came on 4 reels, running at 1h 23m 00s when cut together, and looked surprisingly clean and fairly scratch free, bar some sprocket marks at the far right of frame. It's presented here entirely open matte right up to the edge of the frame, giving a roughly 4:3 image. You'll also notice from the screenshots further down, that while missing more from the top & bottom, the Blu-Ray frame is fractionally wider than my scan, and a little sharper. This is because my scan is from a 35mm blow-up from the original 16mm film which crops picture a little in the process. The Blu-Ray was scanned directly from the 16mm version so is slightly wider & sharper, but was then cropped to 16:9. Besides some colour correction (as the print had some red-shift), the transfer plays as-is, without further correction or restoration to closely replicate the genuine cinema 35mm experience. The current Blu-Ray releases go very heavy on the colour saturation, pushing the reds & yellows which is especially noticeable during the end shot which you can see in comparison in the frame below, and has been the bane of many fans for years. After adjusting the red shift, I aimed for a more neutral & natural colour-tone. One further point; this was actually a circa-1975 UK vintage print, with a Greater London Council 'X' certificate card playing beforehand. The providence of this print is not clear, since the GLC passed the film uncut & uncensored in 1975, but you can see a two sections have been censored; a few shots of the Hitchhiker cutting Franklin's arm, and Leatherface carrying Pam into the kitchen, and all of the subsequent scene. The UK 1983 Iver Film Service's first VHS release is supposed to be a straight transfer of the GLC 'X' rated version, but here, Franklin's arm cutting is not censored, but that source print was missing 28 seconds from the end of reel 2, which encompasses some of the Leatherface/kitchen scene which is also censored in this 35mm print, along with more that plays before. It's confusing but either way, the owner spliced the censored sections back in from a US print, so this transfer is ostensibly uncut. In addition to the 35mm transfer, I wanted to include a number of other notable versions. The first is a transfer of the 1983 UK Iver Film Services second release uncensored PAL VHS. There were actually two releases with the same tape, but different covers, in a short space of time. It's not clear why, but both tapes covers' are well known to collectors and served as excellent source material for the design of my double-sided Blu-Ray cover. The simple & stark red/white/black cover has long been a design-favourite of mine. As a curio, I'm including a transfer of Iver Film Service's first VHS release in 1982 (shown below). This came in a large black case identical to their full/abridged Super-8 versions, along with a cardboard slipcase version. This was a straight transfer of the UK theatrical print, which didn't pass the BBFC for a nationwide release, but was submitted directly to the Greater London Council and passed X without cuts for showings in London in 1975. While not 'censored', this print (and IFS's subsequent VHS transfer) was cut, in that 28 seconds was mistakenly left off the end of reel two. This version cuts from Leatherface revving the saw in the kitchen at the end of reel two, to the water pump windmill at the start of reel three. This was then corrected for IFS's later VHS releases. This VHS release was subtitled 'X (London)' on the front cover, and was sold during the film's 1982 limited theatrical run at the Print Charles Cinema, available with a badge & sticker to cinema attendees. These two transfers & scans are kindly presented here courtesy of UK collector Mark McNeil.

Adding a 35mm scan of Psycho seemed an obvious addition. This print came from an in-progress existing project, run by US fan The Aluminum Falcon. The project needed another €341 (Euros, or £297/$336) to reach its crowdfunding goal, which I covered in an agreement to get the film scanned so I could include it here. This is an uncut vintage 1960 German print, presented here as open matte right up to the edge of the film frame, giving a roughly 4:3 picture. While the quality is generally excellent throughout, the print itself has been damaged and repaired a number of times over the last 60 years resulting in around 5mins of missing footage over the standard theatrical uncut version. This consists of short lengths here and there, rather than one long section. The murder of Milton Arbogast at the end of reel 4 is missing for instance. The footage jumps from his walking up the stairs to start of the next reel. I did look into using an upscaled SD open-matte source to restore the missing sections, but thinking under the 'it-is-what-it-is' ethos, I decided to leave it alone. This exact print could be what you might see in an arthouse theatre, and it's all part of the grindhouse experience. Chances are, most people watching this disc will already know the film backwards so it's a limited drawback. It's featured here more as an extra to the main feature; The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Psycho's German language optical audio track was replaced with the retail UK Blu-Ray's DTS 2.0 audio, with its levels adjusted to more match the original stereo optical track. As with The Silence Of The Lambs above, I also added a little static noise across the whole audio, as well as heavier static & 'pops' at reel changes to make the A/V a better match.

While waiting for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 35mm transfer to arrive, an opportunity presented itself to get a scan of a German 35mm The Silence Of The Lambs print. This film has long been a top favourite of mine and seemed like it would fit within this set, plus I though there would be fairly limited interest in a stand-alone release. As many will know, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Silence Of The Lambs, and Psycho, were all roughly based on the American serial killer Ed Gein. A little background for those who don't know; Ed lived in Plainfield, Wisconsin, and came to notoriety in 1957 after being apprehended for the murder of a local store owner. As investigations progressed, a second murder came to light, as well as fair number of grave exhumations. Ed's house was discovered to contain an array of macabre items including Human-skin covered seats, lampshades and a wastebasket, bones & parts adorning furniture, masks made from human heads and even the beginnings of a woman suit. He was convicted of murder and spent the rest of his life in state hospital, dying in 1984 at the age of 77. Amidst rumours that Gein's house was slated to become a tourist attraction, it burned to the ground the year following his incarceration in a suspected arson attack. It has been remarked, that it was the slowest the local fire department had ever attended a fire, as everyone wanted the house and its memory gone.

The Silence Of The Lambs 35mm print transfer is presented here as open matte, right up to the edge of the film frame, making the picture virtually square. This would mean a matte to 1.85:1 removes around 45% of the image. Zoom that in a little to neaten-up the left & right sides and you're over 50% of the frame gone on the cropped Blu-Ray release. The print was in excellent condition. It's uncensored, and plays identically to the standard theatrical/Blu-Ray release. Between the print rental, scanning, HDD and postage, it cost €865 (Euros, or £754/$853) to present here. Being a German print; The Silence Of The Lambs has the the title text in German; Das Schweigen der Lämmer, as well as a German language optical audio track, but nothing else localised of note. The audio was replaced with the retail UK Blu-Ray's DTS 5.1 audio, down-mixed to stereo, and levels adjusted to more match the original stereo optical track. I also added a little static noise across the whole audio, as well as heavier static & 'pops' at reel changes to make the A/V a better match. I did toy with reverting the title text, but the moving background made that hard to do convincingly, so that was left as-is.

Alongside the main features, I thought it would be nice to include some related 35mm trailer scans. Each one cost around $45/£38 to hire & scan, and took around an evening each to restore from the raw scan, to a finished video file. The Amityville Horror Trailer (1979 - 2m 01s)
This trailer doesn't contain any actual footage from the movie, it's more of an unsettling & jarring teaser trailer. This plays before The Texas Chain Saw Massacre on Disc 1, fitting as a similarly low budget horror offering. Psycho II Trailer (1985 - 1m 03s)
This trailer needed a fair amount of work, and even when completed it still looks failry rough. The Psycho footage recycled for the first half looked bright green rather than black & white, and the remainder looked very dark. I did the best I could with it, as I really wanted to include this to play before Psycho on Disc 2. The Shining Trailer (1980 - 1m 39s)
This again is more of a teaser trailer, just featuring the full shot of the blood-flood coming out of the lift/elevator. Being a little more high brow than the first two, I added this to play before The Silence Of The Lambs on Disc 3.

The extras featured here are all related UK TV broadcast programs & documentaries, which have never been included on retail releases. A few are VHS transfers, but most are higher quality SD digital captures; taken during the original broadcasts. They are listed below in order of their broadcast date, earliest first. Clive Barker's A-Z Of Horror - Ep1, American Psycho (BBC2, 4 October 1997 ~ 52m 05s)
This was part of a six-part series looking at various aspects of Horror, presented by Clive Barker. This first episode is devoted to Ed Gein, and the films he inspired, including Psycho, Texas Chain Saw Massacre, & The Silence Of The Lambs. It includes movie clips intercut with cast & crew interviews. This is a VHS transfer, copied from an existing fanmade DVD The 100 Greatest Scary Moments (Channel 4, 25-26 October 2003 ~ 3h 19m 42s)
This was a well-remembered marathon documentary broadcast over two evenings for Halloween 2003. Presented by UK Comedian Jimmy Carr, it counts down the 100 greatest scary moments as voted for by British viewers. It features a long list of well known talking heads, including many famous actors and directors, intercut with film clips. Even with all the advert breaks edited out, plus the closing & opening credits/sequence between episode 1 and 2, it still runs a huge 3h 19m. This was aired a year before US channel Bravo aired their 100 Greatest Scary Moments remake. This was an AI upscale from an existing digital capture internet download. Texas Chain Saw Massacre Intro by Tim Roth (Channel 4's The Banned Season, 8 March 2005 ~ 03m 27s)
This was a short introduction presented by British actor Tim Roth, for the films' first UK TV broadcast during Channel 4's Banned Season, broadcast among a number of other contentious movies including Bad Lieutenant, Snuff, A Clockwork Orange and The Last Temptation Of Christ. This was an AI upscale from an existing digital capture internet download. The Real Silence Of The Lambs (Channel 4 Horror Week, 27 October 2005 ~ 36m 57s)
Shown as part of Channel 4's Horror Week in October 2005, this is a documentary about Ed Gein, featuring archive footage and interviews with a number of the people involved. This is an AI upscale from an existing digital capture internet download. The Perfect Scary Movie (Channel 4 Horror Week, 29 October 2005 ~ 1h 41m 47s)
Another feature length talking heads documentary, this explores all the elements needed to create a truly scary movie. Presented by Richard O'Brien, it features a long list of well known talking heads, including many famous actors and directors, intercut with film clips. A History of Horror, with Mark Gatiss - Ep3, The American Scream (BBC Four, 25 October 2010 ~ 58m 48s)
This was part of a three-part miniseries. the first episode covers the early days of Hollywood horror, the second covers the Hammer horror British wave, and the third episode featured here looks at American horror of the 60's & 70's; the rise of slashers including The Texas Chain Saw Massacre & Halloween, and the theme Satanism and demonic possession. This was an AI upscale from an existing digital capture internet download.

The main source for the cover art was an easy decision; the simple & stark red/white/black 1983 UK IFS VHS cover which has long been a favourite of mine. The alternate UK 1983 IFS VHS cover made a natural reverse side for my cover (although the rendition of Leatherface always reminded me of Joey from Friends with a turkey on his head). I have to add that I feel I can lump virtually all the The Texas Chain Saw Massacre VHS, DVD & Blu-Ray retail cover artwork together, as ranging from poor to pretty awful, but that's just personal opinion. I used a number of poster & home-release sources to piece together the widest versions of the cover arts for both sides, then simply copied over the spines & backs from the VHS covers to my Blu-Ray cover, with some tweaking.

In keeping with the grindhouse feel, I wanted to make the release look like an 80s UK pre-cert ex-rental, with a BBFC '18' rated banner slipped into the sleeve on top of the cover, along with suitably matching disc art. Video rental shop owners would add '18' rated banners to the cover & tapes all adult material, regardless of it being passed by the BBFC in the pre-VRA days, both to indicate a suitability age range, and in the hopes of stopping seizures by the DPP & the police. The disc arts are based on ex-rental VHS tapes, with various stickers, stamps, and stock numbers.

As the double-sided cover artwork was completed early on in this project (before the addition of the other two films), I decided to stick to my original design, which doesn't outwardly mention Psycho or The Silence Of The Lambs. I reasoned that the main draw of this set by a long way, would be The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and the other two titles would have more limited appeal among horror fans, and as such it might be detrimental to retitle the set The Ed Gein Collection or some such. A stand-alone Blu-Ray set for either film would involve a lot more work than including them as an extra here. The disc-art was tweaked however, so viewers would know which of the three movies' was on which disc.

I decided to take a different approach to the menus here, than my last few Blu-Ray releases. I wanted to have a motion background with a mock-up of a mid 80's British video shop counter. For my 2008 The Evil Dead - The Treasures Collection DVD, I did something similar, creating a mock-up of the Evil Dead cabin floor by assembling all the elements digitally from pre-existing stock photos & textures. This took weeks of work, trying to get the perspective, colours, & levels on each element right, and then animate them, and even then it didn't look amazing. For this menu, I thought it would be much quicker & simpler to physically create the counter scene.

I assembled & filmed it in 4K from different angles in a few hours. The props included two pre-cert VHS tapes, a few early 80's video magazines and some period accurate British coins I bought on eBay. I left a blank white A5 card in the centre onto which I could superimpose the selectable menu text later. Using a few filters I gave the footage an aged VHS look, and edited some music & stock sound effects together to give a 60sec mini soundtrack. You can watch it below.

In keeping with the Video Shop theme, I also created a 14cm x 12cm (5½" x 4¾") sticker set, with life-size versions of original British video shop stickers created from scratch using scans & photos. Each Blu-Ray comes with one sticker set. They're designs dated across a range very roughly from the early 80s to the 90s. These are purely a decorative nostalgic bit of fun, and I've added a warning sticker, NOT to stick these on the Blu-Ray discs themselves, as they will likely come off in your player as the disc warms up. While stickers on ex-rental covers are the bane of many collectors’ lives, equally I think they have a great nostalgia factor, and they're something we won't see again. Going to a video shop was one of my earliest 'horror' memories, walking in and looking at the huge array of lurid horror titles I was too young to watch (all BBFC censored/certified by that point). I especially remember seeing the cover artwork for Dolls around 1989 or so. I wasn't a big fan of the film itself once I saw it later, but I always liked the artwork.