Where it belongs
Continuity & connections
A prequel to the 2003 remake. Its origin story concerns Thomas Hewitt and the remake family, not the teenage Sawyer story told in Leatherface (2017).
Inside this dossier
1969 and the making of Sheriff Hoyt
Chrissie, Eric, Dean, and Bailey pass through Texas as the Vietnam-era setting places pressure on the brothers’ choices. Their journey intersects with the Hewitts after the local slaughterhouse closes and the family’s world contracts.
Building a prequel to the remake
Jonathan Liebesman directed the prequel, with a screenplay by Sheldon Turner from a story credited to Turner and David J. Schow. Lukas Ettlin served as cinematographer, while Steve Jablonsky returned as composer.
Returning to the Hewitt sound world
Steve Jablonsky’s return gives the remake and prequel a shared composer. This is a production connection, not evidence that every cue or sonic idea is repeated unchanged.
Theatrical and uncut versions
The Beginning reached US theaters in October 2006. It is the second released film in the Hewitt continuity but the earlier story when arranging the pair chronologically.