The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Tobe Hopper's 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre' is a landmark low budget horror movie which must be considered a modern classic. Hooper's subsequent career has ben extremely uneven, and frequently disappointing, but even if he never made another movie he would still be a legendary figure. As would Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) and his twisted family played by Edwin Neal and Jim Siedow, and immortal scream queen Marilyn Burns. These actors never have to set in front of a camera again, they'll never be forgotten by horror buffs worldwide! In this day and age of cynically conceived and marketed MTV-friendly teen slashers it's a revelation to see old school horror classics like this, Romero's 'Night Of The Living Dead' and Craven's 'Last House On The Left'. Uncompromising movies, pure horror that makes no attempt to water themselves down and court a mainstream audience. This movie was one of the most controversial of the 1970s, censored or banned here in Australia, and in Britain, and despite the hundreds of horror movies released since, it is still powerful and fresh. There is an undercurrent of bizarre black humour underneath the film, a lot subtler than the sequel and other more obvious "horror comedies". The terror isn't compromised, the uneasy giggles make the extreme images even more difficult to dismiss. The cast, all unknowns at the time, and from what we know know paid diddley squat, are all pretty good, especially Marilyn Burns (who Hooper used in his underrated 'Eaten Alive' and who also appeared in the Charles Manson TV biopic 'Helter Skelter'), and whiny paraplegic Paul A. Partain (who went on to bit parts in 70s Drive-In faves 'Race With The Devil' and 'Rolling Thunder' and very little else). One would have thought both would have went on to bigger things watching their performances in this movie but sadly it wasn't meant to be. Gunnar Hansen is absolutely extraordinary as Leatherface. An amazing performance with his features obscured and no real dialogue to speak of. I don't think it's an exaggeration to compare it to Boris Karloff in the original 'Frankenstein'. Leatherface is a horror icon, and 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre' is a landmark movie that remains essential viewing for every horror buff. It's a sensational movie that still has the power to confront, disturb and terrify audiences worldwide!

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre tells the story of five friends that are driving across Texas on a road trip. When they stop to visit an old house where two of them, a girl and her brother, grew up, their day goes horribly wrong. All of them are quickly dispatched by a chainsaw wielding maniac, and the last survivor is taken hostage by the maniac's family of cannibals. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a the "classic" that started the slasher genre, but it is overrated.

I have infinite respect for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, because it is a cheesy low budget film that director Tobe Hooper had to struggle to make, dealing with the hot Texas sun and his low budget, and yet he was able to churn out a cult classic that is still loved today. What I like about The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is that it paints a very disturbing picture. It's not the bubblegum horror movie you'd see nowadays. It's psychologically disturbing. It blasts your senses with sights and sounds you'll find very disturbing a graphic. The chilling score is made up of various sounds you'll hear in a slaughter house. The whole movie is very claustrophobic, with the camera getting super close-ups of the victim's eye, and the camera cutting to random, disturbing images in the middle of a scene. The movie is very disturbing that way.

What I don't like is the way the plot pans out. It is far too simplistic. The people who are killed die too soon into the film, and it all happens too fast. The last half hour or so of the movie is the last survivor screaming non-stop, and it gets annoying. I also didn't like how certain scenes are so dark you can't even see them. This may have been done for effect, but it only ruined the experience for me. Obviously the acting isn't even close to good, but what can you expect from a low budget 70's horror.

Overall, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is an okay movie to watch, and it deserves respect, but I just don't think it's the cinematic masterpiece everyone says it is.

6.5/10

I remember first hating this movie, not because I found it scary, it is, though not in a jump scare kind of way, but on the back of it first being released on DVD, in the UK, and all the attention it was getting. So, I bought a copy, decided I didn't like it, returned it, and when asked for a reason I reported that the 5 star reviews on the cover, and those pointed to within the store, were wholly inaccurate - I'm amazed I managed to get a refund for that. Anyway, I was 20 years old back then, 42 now, and find myself able to appreciate it much much more.

All the really good stuff in this movie sits within the last 20 mins or so, and is really quite masterful. There is some good amount of build up to that, including Leatherface's first moments of hack and slash, but all the serious tension and horror comes at the very end, and is really effective. What's interesting about it, is that there isn't an enormous amount of character development, which I suppose also serves to make the travellers in this case more disposable, the focus being much more front and centre on the horror being experienced. It seems somewhat more visceral, with the victim's having had very little character development, in the build up, which seems to bring it more closely to you. Hope that makes sense in some way.

Anyway, well worth your time!

To say this movie had an impact on me when I watched it when I was younger would be an understatement. Not as gory as you may imagine and that's the true magic of this film. Its what you imagine. Who's coming around the corner, am I safe and so on.

Hooper does an amazing job of creating tension and tension makes horror, supported by the occasional actual brutality to remind us of the potential consequences.

Sure the gore has aged compared to what is often being produced these days, but the film still holds up really well.

The (original) Texas Chainsaw Massacre, is without a doubt in my mind, the most impressive horror film to date. No other horror film stays with you in the same way. You feel not only fearful for the characters, but at times feel afraid for your own safety. The natural lighting and loose, improvised acting style creates a strong sense of reality that no other horror film can possibly achieve. Under a thin layer of dated aesthetics (1973 style of dress) lies the most dangerous, horrifying and psychotic world ever committed to script or screen. As the first of its kind, this movie set the mold for the modern horror film, though none were ever to realize any comparable distinction. It gave birth to the "slasher" genre (for better or for worse) . It is also one of few timeless films that has managed to combine horror and avant-garde styles, successfully. Unlike its remake, this one is more of an exercise in minimalism and simplicity (think even Dogme). The expert subtlety of the filmmakers; Tobe Hooper (writer/director), Kim Henkel (co-writer) and Daniel Pearl (cinematographer) results more in

psychological terror than in gore. The air-tight script, jarring realism and attention to detail are unparalleled in practically any film, horror or otherwise. And last, but by far not the least Marylin Burns PHENOMENAL performance is the only in cinematic history (a close second by that of Shelly Duvall in The Shining) that evokes such a nature of desperate and primal fear. You truly believe in every single one of her screams that her life is hanging by a single, thin thread.