Jessica Biel's Big Break Came In The Remake Of A Legendary Horror Movie

Marcus Nispel's 2003 remake of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" was an important entry in the revival of slashers in the aughts. Particularly because it took a practically untouchable classic, Tobe Hooper's 1974 original, and updated it for a younger generation who had just started exploring the then-current horror landscape. There's hardly any Millennial movie fan who didn't encounter Nispel's directorial debut in some shape or form during those years — Leatherface and his screaming chainsaw were virtually inescapable — with a high likelihood of never having seen the original.

One of the reasons for that was the young, fresh, and attractive cast that included Jonathan Tucker, Eric Balfour, Mike Vogel, David Dorfman, and most importantly, striking bombshell Jessica Biel. It was her first leading role in a horror film after a long and successful stint on TV in "7th Heaven" and turns in a few less-recognized movies (like "Summer Catch" and "The Rules of Attraction").

Biel had just turned 21, and emitted the kind of beauty that turned heads on and offscreen, combined with a vivacious, hardscrabble talent that made her perfect to be a scream queen and final girl. She already had a name to herself in entertainment, but "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" was unequivocally the big break she needed to become a bonafide movie star.

While the torture era in horror during the aughts might be more closely associated with "Saw" and "Hostel" as its Hollywood kickstarters, the seed of the trend was already planted in "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." Far more grimy, gory, and psychologically harrowing than the original's previous follow-ups (the 2003 film was the franchise's fifth installment), Nispel's remake really swung for the fences in terms of graphic violence.

Unsurprisingly, critics hated it for that, but the movie struck a chord with younger audiences who were flocking to theaters to bathe in its brutal and blood-soaked frames. With a budget kept under just $10 million, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" amassed a whopping $107 million worldwide at the box office, which studios saw as a greenlight to start financing other modern remakes of horror classics. In the years that followed, we got 2005's "House of Wax" with Elisha Cuthbert and Paris Hilton, Rob Zombie's 2007 "Halloween," 2009's "Friday the 13th" and its ridiculously overpowered Jason Voorhees (directed by Nispel himself), and a 3D attempt at "My Bloody Valentine" that same year. All of which crushed it at the box office, by the way.

Arguably, none of those remakes had the inherent shock value and viscerally gruesome vibe that "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" nailed with aplomb. Wherever you stand on it, the 2003 remake certainly made a splash, one way or another. Last but not least, it skyrocketed Biel's career as a versatile actress, proving that she was just as capable of playing the naïve romantic interest alongside Nicolas Cage in "Next" as she was at portraying a fierce vampire hunter next to Ryan Reynolds and Wesley Snipes in "Blade: Trinity."