I understand a lot of the hate this film gets here, it's derivative and not wildly original. However, I make the argument that, really this was a seriously low budget film that actually did I good job at what it set out to do.
I first saw this film as a kid, and as you might expect, it scared the SHIT out of me! It's very likely that the experience people who were in they're youth when they first saw the texas chainsaw massacre and halloween, was the same I had with this film. The mother/daughter relationship resonated with me and has always had a beep effected for me. And for that this film set out exactly to do what it set out to do. And even now as a young man, I still gravitate back to this movie even with my later exposure to bigger and better horror classics. It is in part very good at what it does and the love for 70s and 80s horror shines though.