User:Paleface Jack/The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Directed by	Tobe Hooper
Written by	Kim Henkel Tobe Hooper
Produced by	Tobe Hooper
Starring	Marilyn Burns Paul A. Partain Edwin Neal Jim Siedow Gunnar Hansen
Cinematography	Daniel Pearl
Edited by	Sallye Richardson Larry Carroll
Music by	Tobe Hooper Wayne Bell
Production company	Vortex Inc.
Distributed by	Bryanston Distributing Company
Release date	October 11, 1974 (1974-10-11)
Running time	83 minutes (theatrical)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$80,000–140,000
Box office	$30.9−100 million

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent horror film produced and directed by Tobe Hooper, who co-wrote it with Kim Henkel. The plot follows a group of friends who fall victim to a family of cannibals while on their way to visit an old homestead. It was marketed as based on true events to attract a wider audience and acts as a subtle commentary on the era's political climate. While minor story details were inspired by the crimes of the murderer Ed Gein, its plot is largely fictional.

Henkel and Hooper produced the film for less than $140,000 ($900,000 adjusted for inflation) and used a cast of relatively unknown actors drawn mainly from central Texas, where the film was shot. The limited budget forced Hooper to film for long hours seven days a week, so that he could finish as quickly as possible and reduce equipment rental costs. The film struggled to find a distributor due to its content, but it was eventually acquired by the Bryanston Distributing Company.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was released in the United States on October 11, 1974. While the film initially received polarized reception from critics, it was highly profitable, grossing over $30 million, equivalent to over $150.8 million as of 2019. It drew controversy at the time because of its content and Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) originally rated it an X rating until several minutes were cut to secure an R rating. The film faced similar difficulties internationally, being banned in several countries.

The film thematizes brutal violence and social commentary. Writers and scholars have argued the film reflects the changing attitudes and familial struggles in society, with the impacts upon urban communities in the wake of industry advancement and economic hardships. Other themes of the film have been the subject of extensive critical discussion, writers and scholars have interpreted it as a paradigmatic exploitation film in which female protagonists are subjected to brutal, sadistic violence. It has gained a reputation as one of the greatest and most influential horror films, credited with originating several elements common in the slasher genre, including the use of power tools as murder weapons, the characterization of the killer as a large masked figure. Its financial success led to a franchise that continued the story of Leatherface and his family through sequels, prequels, a remake, comic books, and video games.

Plot

In the early hours of August 18, 1973, a grave robber steals several remains from a cemetery near Newt, Muerto County, Texas. The robber ties a rotting corpse and other body parts onto a monument, creating a grisly display that is discovered by a local resident as the sun rises.

Driving in a van, five teenagers take a road trip through the area: Sally Hardesty, Jerry, Pam, Kirk, and Sally's paraplegic brother Franklin. They stop at the cemetery to check on the grave of Sally and Franklin's grandfather, which appears undisturbed. As the group drives past a slaughterhouse, Franklin recounts the Hardesty family's history with animal slaughter. They soon pick up a hitchhiker, who talks about his family who worked at the old slaughterhouse. He borrows Franklin's pocket knife and cuts himself, then takes a single Polaroid picture of the group, for which he demands money. When they refuse to pay, he burns the photo and attacks Franklin with a straight razor. The group forces him out of the van, where he smears blood on the side as they drive off. Low on gas, the group stops at a station whose proprietor says that no fuel is available. The group explores a nearby abandoned house, owned by the Hardesty family.

Kirk and Pam leave the others behind, planning to visit a nearby swimming hole mentioned by Franklyn. On their way there, they discover another house, surrounded by run-down cars, and run by gas-powered generators. Hoping to barter for gas, Kirk enters the house through the unlocked door, while Pam waits outside. As he searches the house, a large man wearing a mask made of skin appears and murders Kirk with a hammer. When Pam enters the house, she stumbles into a room strewn with decaying remains and furniture made from human and animal bones. She attempts to flee but is caught by the man and impaled on a meat hook. The man then starts up a chainsaw, dismembering Kirk as Pam watches. In the evening, Jerry searches for Pam and Kirk. When he enters the other house, he finds Pam's nearly-dead, spasming body in a chest freezer and is killed by the masked man.

With darkness falling, Sally and Franklin set out to find their friends. En route, the masked man ambushes them, killing Franklin with the chainsaw. The man chases Sally into the house, where she finds a very old, seemingly dead man and a woman's rotting corpse. She escapes from the man by jumping through a second-floor window, and she flees to the gas station. With the man in pursuit, Sally arrives at the gas station when he seems to disappear. The station's proprietor comforts Sally with the offer of help, after which he beats and subdues her, loading her into his pickup truck. The proprietor drives to the other house, and the hitchhiker appears. The proprietor scolds him for his actions at the cemetery, identifying the hitchhiker as the grave robber. As they enter the house, the masked man reappears, dressed in women's clothing. The proprietor identifies the masked man and the hitchhiker as brothers, and the hitchhiker refers to the masked man as "Leatherface". The two brothers bring the old man—"Grandpa"—down the stairs and cut Sally's finger so that Grandpa can suck her blood, Sally then faints from the ordeal.

The next morning, Sally regains consciousness. The men taunt her and bicker with each other, resolving to kill her with a hammer. They try to include Grandpa in the activity, but Grandpa is too weak. Sally breaks free and runs onto a road in front of the house, pursued by the brothers. An oncoming truck accidentally runs over the hitchhiker, killing him. The truck driver attacks Leatherface with a large wrench, causing him to fall and injure his leg with the chainsaw. Sally, covered in blood, flags down a passing pickup truck and climbs into the bed, narrowly escaping Leatherface. As the pickup drives away, Sally laughs hysterically while an enraged Leatherface swings his chainsaw in the road as the sun rises.

Cast

Main article: List of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (franchise) characters

(Seated, Left to Right) Marilyn Burns, Teri McMinn, William Vail, Ed Neal, John Dugan, Ed Guinn, Allen Danziger at Days of the Dead Indianapolis 2012

• Marilyn Burns as Sally Hardesty
• Allen Danziger as Jerry
• Paul A. Partain as Franklin Hardesty
• William Vail as Kirk
• Teri McMinn as Pam
• Edwin Neal as Hitchhiker
• Jim Siedow as Old Man
• Gunnar Hansen as Leatherface
• John Dugan as Grandpa
• Robert Courtin as Window Washer
• William Creamer as Bearded Man
• John Henry Faulk as Storyteller
• Jerry Green as Cowboy
• Ed Guinn as Cattle Truck Driver
• Joe Bill Hogan as Drunk
• Perry Lorenz as Pick Up Driver
• John Larroquette as Narrator

Cast taken from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Companion.

Themes and style

Main article: Themes and analysis of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Contemporary American life

Hooper's apocalyptic landscape is ... a desert wasteland of dissolution where once vibrant myth is desiccated. The ideas and iconography of Cooper, Bret Harte and Francis Parkman are now transmogrified into yards of dying cattle, abandoned gasoline stations, defiled graveyards, crumbling mansions, and a ramshackle farmhouse of psychotic killers. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre [is] ... recognizable as a statement about the dead end of American experience.

— Christopher Sharrett

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, like several of Hooper's films, thematizes and parodies contemporary American life of the period. Developed during the 1973–1975 recession and public mistrust of authority, the film explores the impact of industry advancement and economic hardships upon urban communities.

As journalists Louis Black and Ed Lowry write in their 1977 essay, the horrors in the film are anchored in our fears of human nature and American life, "Whereas most horror movies had traded on the ghosts of the dead or the supernatural transformation of the living. Chain Saw explores the almost unimaginable horror of those real events that appear in the headlines. When corpses rise from the grave in Chain Saw they are not resurrected by an otherworldly power, but dug up by real life ghouls."

Robin Wood characterized the antagonists as victims of industrial capitalism, their jobs as slaughterhouse workers having been rendered obsolete by technological advances. He states that the picture "brings to focus a spirit of negativity ... that seems to lie not far below the surface of the modern collective consciousness". Naomi Merritt explores the film's representation of "cannibalistic capitalism" concerning Georges Bataille's theory of taboo and transgression. She elaborates on Wood's analysis, stating that the family's values "reflect, or correspond to, established and interdependent American institutions ... but their embodiment of these social units is perverted and transgressive."

Thematic connections between the film and the exploration of family life in the works of Alfred Hitchcock were noted by the critic Christopher Sharrett. He argued that since Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) and The Birds (1963), the American horror film has been defined by the questions it poses "about the fundamental validity of the American civilizing process", concerns amplified during the 1970s by the "delegitimation of authority" in the aftermath of political scandal. Describing its themes as a continuation of Psycho's absurd and diseased underbelly of contemporary American life and American Gothic fiction, writing that Hooper brings these themes to their logical conclusion by "addressing many of the issues of Hitchcock's film while refusing comforting closure".

In Kim Newman's view, Hooper's presentation of the cannibal family during the dinner scene parodies a typical American sitcom family: the gas station owner is the bread-winning father figure; the killer Leatherface is depicted as a bourgeois housewife; the hitchhiker acts as the rebellious teenager. Newman

Vegetarianism

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has been described as "the ultimate pro-vegetarian film" due to its animal rights themes.

Social and political subtext

• https://euppublishing.com/doi/pdf/10.7227/GS.10.1.6

Violence and the final girl

The film has been the subject of extensive critical debate in its depictions of violence; critics and scholars have interpreted it as a paradigmatic exploitation film in which female protagonists are subjected to brutal, sadistic violence. Stephen King describes the violence in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre as "cataclysmic terror" in his 1983 treatise on the horror genre, Danse Macabre. He comments that the film artfully uses violence to push the boundaries of what is considered art and exploitation. The film historian Stephen Prince comments that the horror in the film is "born of the torment of the young woman subjected to imprisonment and abuse amid decaying arms ... and mobiles made of human bones and teeth."

Critics argue that even in exploitation films in which the ratio of male and female deaths is roughly equal, the images that linger for the audience are the violence committed against its female characters. The sociologist Leo Bogart highlights specific points in the film in support of this: three men are killed quickly, but one woman is brutally slaughtered—hung on a meathook—and the surviving woman endures physical and mental torture.

In her article Women and Violence in Film, academic scholar Mary Mackey wrote that the film "concerns itself with the varieties of violence men perpetrate against women". She argues that the women in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre are depicted as weak and incapable of defending themselves, adhering in her estimation, to the typical male power fantasy. Sally's capture and torture by Leatherface and his family are symbolic of male domination, which Mackey claimed was one of the reasons for the film's popularity.

Anticipating slasher film boom, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre incorporates the "final girl" trope—the heroine and inevitable lone survivor who manages to escape the horror that befalls the other characters: Sally Hardesty is considered one of the earliest examples of the final girl trope.

Production

Development

Writer-director Tobe Hooper (right) and co-writer Kim Henkel (left) on set during filming

The concept for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre arose in the early 1970s while Tobe Hooper was working as an assistant film director at the University of Texas at Austin and a documentary cameraman. During this period, Hooper had grown disillusioned by what he described as the "lack of sentimentality and the brutality of things", witnessing ongoing acts of violence in San Antonio. The graphic news coverage, epitomized by "showing brains spilled all over the road", led to his belief that "man was the real monster here, just wearing a different face, so I put a literal mask on the monster in my film". He started developing the concept under the working title Headcheese, from a story he had written years earlier involving elements of isolation, the woods, and darkness. While working on his feature film debut, Eggshells (1969), Hooper became acquainted with fellow Texas native Kim Henkel. The two became friends during production, and when Eggshells was completed, they began working on their next collaborative effort, with the decision that the project would be a horror film.

Henkel, working as an illustrator at the time, would meet at Hooper's residence each night for several months, brainstorming concepts for the project. During the creative process, they discussed aspects of the genre that frightened them, in addition to their own fears. The urban mistrust of the rural countryside and its residents factored heavily into these early discussions. Hooper later commented, "Back in the early part of the twentieth century, you would go out and get killed out in the country... Being out there, being isolated, before cell phones existed, even before telephones existed, but to be out there and there's no one out there to help you". The original concepts focused on fantasy elements, with Grimm's Fairy Tales (1812) by the Brothers Grimm cited as a major influence. Henkel stated that they were drawn to how these tales "deal with fundamental issues that human beings struggle[d] with". Henkel suggested a modern take on Hansel and Gretel, rooted in elements of isolation and innocents being lured away from civilization. Hooper would also suggest the story of a troll living under a bridge. These ideas were later discarded in favor of a more realistic and localized story that drew on their shared love of Universal Classic Monsters.

Some aspects of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre were inspired by the crimes of Wisconsin murderer and grave-robber Ed Gein. Gein's crimes, committed around his hometown of Plainfield, Wisconsin, had gained widespread notoriety in 1957 after authorities discovered that he had exhumed corpses from local graveyards and fashioned keepsakes from their bones and skin. Hooper claimed to have heard details of Gein from relatives when he was young, though Hooper admitted he did not know it was Gein until after the film's release. The idea of a seemingly normal person capable of committing such horrific acts fascinated co-writer Henkel, who incorporated the trait into members of the cannibal family. Over the years, Henkel described the confessions and crimes of serial killer Elmer Wayne Henley as an influence for the cannibal family. Actor Gunnar Hansen refutes this, noting that Henley confessed to the murders on August 8, 1973, well into the film's production.

Hooper and Henkel adapted the completed story outline into a workable script in January 1973. Working to expand his original story, Hooper suggested key plot elements for the film, breaking down each potential scene with Henkel. The two filmmakers drew upon the current changes in the cultural and political landscape as a central influence on the film. The intentional misinformation, that "film you are about to see is true", was a response to being "lied to by the government about things that were going on all over the world", including the Watergate scandal, the 1973 oil crisis, and "the massacres and atrocities in the Vietnam War". Hooper also cited his childhood love of the horror stories published by EC Comics as an influence on the film's style and atmosphere. The idea of using a chainsaw as a murder weapon, according to Hooper, came while he was in the hardware section of a busy store, contemplating how to speed his way through the crowd. The first draft was completed between three-to-six weeks.

Pre production

In 1973, Hooper and Henkel formed Vortex, Inc., with Henkel as president and Hooper as the vice president. Henkel recruited his acquaintance Ron Bozman to serve as the company's unit production manager, having worked with him on the film Windbreaker (1971). Principal financing for Chain Saw was provided by Bozman and Warren Skaaren. The executive director of the Texas Film Commission, Skaaren introduced the writers to his business partner Jay Parsley, then the Vice President of Student Affairs at Texas Tech University. Meeting with Parsley, the filmmakers convinced him to provide additional funding with his company MAB, Inc. through which he invested $60,000 in the production. In return, MAB owned 50% of the film and its profits. Additional funds were supplied by Henkel's sister Katherine, who gave the production $1,000, and Austin attorney Robert Kuhn, who invested $9,000 in the film. Kuhn also loaned the production his own mobile home to use as a wardrobe, dressing room, and restroom for the actors.

Hooper originally intended director of photography to go to Richard Kooris, however, conflicts with Kooris' schedule made him unavailable. Daniel Pearl, a recent UTA graduate, was hired after meeting with Hooper outside a film lab where Pearl was working on a recent documentary with Larry Carroll. Hooper was impressed with Pearl's work on the film and offered him the position six months later. According to Pearl, the cinematography was influenced by the works of photographer Russell Werner Lee, who was well known for his photographs documenting the various ethnography of American life.

Casting

Casting auditions took place between June and July of 1973, inside the office of art director and production designer Robert "Bob" Burns, who also worked as the film's casting director. Many of the cast members at the time were relatively unknown actors—Texans who had played roles in commercials, television, and stage shows, as well as performers whom Hooper knew personally, such as Allen Danziger and Jim Siedow. Danziger was approached early on for the project, and agreed to star in it before reading the script.

The lead role of Sally Hardesty was given to Marilyn Burns, a student and volunteer on a film commission at UTA. The filmmakers had met Burns during a lunch meeting with the cast and crew of Lovin' Molly (1974), a film Burns had originally been cast in the lead role before she was replaced by Susan Sarandon. Burns later learned of casting calls for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and decided to audition for the lead role in the film after being dropped from Lovin' Molly. While she did not think the script was well-written, she was excited about being cast in her first lead role. Burns met with Hooper and Henkel a few times before filming to discuss her character.

Teri McMinn during production of the film (1973)

Hooper originally wanted Pearl's wife at the time, Dorothy, to portray Pam. She turned down the role in favor of working as the film's make-up artist. The role went to Teri McMinn, who joined the project after she was contacted by Henkel, who discovered the actress' photograph in a local periodical, the Austin American-Statesman. The former girlfriend of Hansen's college roommate, McMinn was a student at the time, and worked with local theater companies, including the Dallas Theater Center before she was hired.

Sally's paraplegic brother Franklin, described in the script as a "Chaplinesque figure", was eventually given to Paul A. Partain. Partain, a member of a small theatre group, auditioned after learning of the casting call through the theatre's director. According to Partain, he arrived at the audition and was asked to read the lines of both the Hitchhiker and Franklin from the bus scene alongside other actors. Partain explained later that he felt drawn to Franklin with each reading and lobbied for the role. Partain remained in character for the duration of filming, his behavior between takes resulted in tension between the other cast members. as Partain recalled, "I was a young, inexperienced actor who didn't realize that it wasn't like theatre–You didn't have to stay in character all the time." William Vail originally intended to audition for the role of Franklin, however, he was later cast as Pam's boyfriend Kirk after meeting with Henkel.

Gunnar Hansen was later selected for the role of Leatherface. Hansen described the audition as lengthy, as the filmmakers discussed with him about the character and his relationship with his family. The filmmakers were impressed with the actor's imposing figure, and later cast him in the role. Having never been involved in a feature film, Hansen wrote that he had felt participating in a horror film would be a unique experience. During his first cast meeting with the filmmakers, Hooper explained the character in detail for Hansen; describing Leatherface as severely mentally impaired, and insane, which made the character violent and unpredictable. In preparation, Hansen experimented with different vocal tones and pitches to find the right voice for the character. He also visited a special needs school in Austin, observing how the students moved and spoke, in an attempt to find the proper movement and behavior.

Edwin Neal was hired early on in casting as the Hitchhiker. A Vietnam veteran, Neal recently enrolled in the acting department at the University of Texas at the time of auditions. Neal states that he based his performance on his schizophrenic nephew. The cannibal family's elderly "Grandpa" was portrayed by Henkel's brother-in-law John Dugan.

Minor roles were mostly comprised of friends and acquaintances of the cast and crew. The voice-over narration was performed by John Larroquette, a friend of the assistant director and editor Sallye Richardson. According to Richardson, she recommended him to Hooper because of what she described as the "perfect voice" for the role. During post-production, Hooper flew down to Los Angeles and recorded dialogue with him at the post-production studio Todd-AO. In later years, Larroquette claimed he was paid in marijuana for the role. Robert Courtin, and Ed Guinn are credited as the window washer and truck driver.

Direction

From the outset of development, Hooper was always intended to serve as the film's director.

Hooper manipulated the actors to get genuine reactions. Cast members were deliberately kept separated from those portraying the cannibal family and were told it would elicit a more genuine reaction on film; actors were told conflicting reasons for their isolation from the rest of the cast.

Hooper's directorial style was "laid back" according to members of the cast and crew.

Decision to limit and imply gore

Filming

See also: Texas Chainsaw House

The farmhouse used for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was moved from La Frontera to Kingsland, Texas, and restored as a restaurant.

Principle photography began July 15, 1973, under the working title Leatherface. An Eclair NPR 16mm camera, with fine-grain, low-speed Ektachrome Commercial film was used for the majority of filming. The camera required considerably more light than modern digital cameras and even most filmstocks of the day. Filmmakers had intended to shoot the film on an Arriflex 35BL 35mm camera, but abandoned the idea for budgetary reasons. Changing the camera format also gave the added benefit of a more mobile and cost-effective method of shooting on the standard theatrical 35mm format of the time, without significant sacrifices to image quality. Hooper opted for subjective camera angles and hand-held camera techniques to create an atmosphere and tension reminiscent of Roman Polanski's The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967), which they both admired. While a majority of sync sound portions were shot on the Eclair NPR, handheld and specialty shots were filmed using a 16mm Clockwork Bolex. Described as "guerrilla filmmaking of the most hardcore and dedicated variety", with the film crew developing custom-made rigs and techniques for certain sequences. Several elaborate, low-budget rigs were also constructed to accommodate the film's low budget, as the crew did not have enough money for a camera dolly. A large, wooden camera rig was designed and used to film tracking and dolly shots.

Scenes featuring the cannibal's house, the primary filming location, were some of the first to be filmed. The house was an early 1900s farmhouse located on Quick Hill Road near Round Rock, Texas, where the La Frontera development is now located. The production was granted access for five days by the owners, with the stipulation that they were only allowed to film in three of the house's rooms. The abandoned house sequence was not in the original script. Production discovered the house was located across the street from the main house, and developed the scene to take advantage of the location.

Kirk's death scene was originally scripted for Kirk to be knocked to the ground by Leatherface; according to Vail, he suggested that his character would spin around after being hit. Hooper liked the idea and included additional shots of a bloodied Kirk convulsing on the floor. For the tracking shot of McMinn's character walking up to the house, Pearl opted for a masked widescreen format with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, using the Bolex mounted on a custom-built camera track. A 48 foot (15 m) long dolly track and cart was installed between the swing and the house. Pearl laid down on the cart behind McMinn and slowly moved the cart forward while McMinn walked up to the door of the house.

Dinner Scene: Nicknamed "The Last Supper" by the cast and crew.

Sally's final escape was shot outside the farmhouse on a remote and rarely-used stretch of road, miles north of Austin. Before filming, the local sheriff was notified by the film crew of the film's production, who told him not to worry if he received any complaints from the locals. According to Hansen, the sheriff would only become outraged when the film crew blocked the road for an entire day.

Additional filming locations

Sequences involving the van were shot during the first third of filming. The van was a 1972 Ford Club Wagon, with its center seats removed to accommodate Hooper, Pearl, the camera, and sound engineer Ted Nicolaou. Scenes were challenging to shoot, as windows of the van were kept up to prevent audio contamination, resulting in higher humidity and temperatures. Cast members had not viewed Neal in makeup before shooting and were genuinely unnerved by his appearance. Multiple takes were filmed because of technical issues, and the cast frequently messed up their lines. The effect of the Hitchhiker burning the photograph required gunpowder to ignite it. The pyrotechnics were not properly handled, as there were no funds to hire a professional. In the first take, the effects crew used more powder than intended, creating a large burst of flame. The van suffered only minimal damage, and the crew successfully filmed the scene after a few takes.

The gas station scene was filmed at Ryan's Hills Prairie Grocery, which later became Bilbo's Texas Landmark, was located at 1073 State Highway 304, Bastrop, Texas. The sign "W.E. Slaughter Barbecue" was designed and added to the location. Courtin, portraying the window washer, accidentally splashed soapy water onto Siedow during the first take, resulting in the rest of the cast bursting into laughter that continued through several takes.

Franklin's Death and Sally's chase scene Night sequences were often difficult to shoot, as production could only afford two five-kilowatt and one ten-kilowatt light towers, resulting in underexposed reels. The sequence where Leatherface chases Sally through the woods was filmed on a 40 feet (12 m)-long dolly track. Pearl filmed the sequence using different angles and techniques, experimenting with focal length, Pearl created a large variety of different shots that were used in the editing process.

Cemetary scene: The opening sequence was filmed at Bagdad Cemetery, located in Leander, Texas.

Design and effects

Main page: Special effects of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Bob Burns was hired early in pre-production as the director of casting and art design, with additional roles in production design and special effects supervisor. Burns had met Hooper eight years prior and had worked on the press kit designs for Eggshells. Preparations began two months in advance of principal photography, with a total of $30,000 allocated for props and set decorations. Props for the film were briefly put on display at the UTA Union Art Gallery once filming had wrapped.

The interior of the cannibals' house was decorated by Burns, Church, and members of the production team. Most of the bones and dead animals were real, as the costs of acquiring them were often cheaper than the construction and purchase of alternatives. Props, such as furniture, and a lamp made from a human face, were constructed using a mixture of real and fake human bones, and a latex material for the upholstery, imitating the appearance of human skin; only ten of the remains seen in the film were fake.

Production difficulties

Production of the film was fraught with on-set difficulties, caused by extreme weather, malfunctioning equipment, and poor working conditions. Production was forced to restart after the first week of filming interior and exterior shots at the house. Members of the cast and crew have given contradictory statements on the real reason for the reset; Hooper and Pearl would describe a faulty or damaged camera lens, resulting in an entire week's worth of unusable footage, while others would state lack of funding or preparation as the reason.

The 160-page first draft contained detailed camera movements, lighting cues, character details, and more explicit violence; rewrites were undertaken throughout the majority of filming, with cast members handed the revised pages before they were filmed. "Most of it was paring down stuff that was excessive," Henkel wrote, commenting that cast members would assist in developing their dialogue.

The small budget and concerns over high-cost equipment rentals meant the crew filmed seven days a week, up to sixteen hours a day. The cast and crew found working conditions rough, with reported temperatures peaking at 110°F (43 °C) on July 26th. Most of the filming took place in the farmhouse, where conditions were described as putrid from the lack of air ventilation and rotting set pieces.

Audio and camera problems also affected the production.

Most of the cast performed their own stunts, resulting in close calls and on-set injuries.

At the wrap party, Hooper noted that all cast and crew members had obtained some level of injury. He stated that "everyone hated me by the end of the production" and that "it just took years for them to kind of cool off."

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was originally scheduled for 14 days of principle photography, though problems in production it took 28 to 56 days to wrap. The film exceeded its original $60,000 (about $371,000 adjusted for inflation) budget during editing. Sources differ on the final cost, offering figures between $93,000 (about $575,000 inflation-adjusted) and $300,000 (about $1,900,000 inflation-adjusted).

Post-production

Editing

A Steenbeck 16mm editing table was used by the filmmakers to edit the film.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: Cutting Chain Saw - Interview with Editor J. Larry Carroll

• https://www.rogerebert.com/mzs/the-texas-chainsaw-massacre-editing-table-massacre

Once principal photography finally wrapped in August, editing began the following month.

In a film less than ninety minutes long, there are a total of 868 edits, some of them as short as four frames, or one-sixth of a second.

Several scenes in the script were omitted from the film, often because Henkel and Hooper felt they were unnecessary to the pacing and undermined the tension.

Music and sound effects

Main article: Music and sound design of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Both Tobe and I loved that boundary between music and sound. That wonderful mushy grey area between "is it music?" or "is it just sound?" is an area we loved playing in, and it's an important component of what we were doing, so there becomes some indistinction, and that you the audience don't know is just fine.

— Wayne Bell in 2017 on creating the music for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

The film score was composed in collaboration between musician Wayne Bell and Hooper, with Nicolaou providing sound effects during principal photography. Hooper had envisioned the film as an experience that "would enter your mind the way music does", opting for an aggressive aesthetic for the film's score.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is cited for its avant-garde blend of music and sound effects, an aesthetic described by British magazine Little White Lies as "a complex layering of percussive, organic and electronic sounds". Blending music with sound effects, according to Bell, was intentional as it added to the level of unease through the uncertainty of what the audience hears.

Sound mixing was an integral part of the film's atmosphere and score, achieved through recording a wide range of musical instruments and natural sounds. When creating the sound design, Hooper and Bell blended music and sound so they would sometimes "clash" together. Hooper deliberately added animal sounds into certain scenes, in an attempt to recreate sounds occurring in a slaughterhouse. Working closely with each other, they performed a variety of music compositions to create potential scores for each scene. Audio tracks were also created before the scenes were filmed, and based only on certain plot points, such as scenes of extreme tension, the presence of characters in a room, or chase scenes. To achieve the unsettling tone, various stringed and electronic musical instruments were used. Pianos, children's instruments, and wind instruments were also used. Manipulating the intensity of the natural sounds in the film was important, according to Bell. In the scene where Leatherface attacks Kirk with a hammer, the sounds of bones and brass instruments blend with the soundtrack: "Our brain is trying to process the information we are given, but this information is on the verge of disgust, something we have never seen before," Bell commented.

Opening Titles sound file- Ogg

The film features seven original songs, written and performed by local artists. The song "Fool For A Blond", written and performed by Roger Bartlett, is briefly heard as the group picks up the Hitchhiker. According to Hooper, he chose it specifically for the scene because he felt it created an atmosphere of lightness and a strong contrast between what the viewer hears and sees. Other songs were written and performed by Timberline Rose, Arkey Blue, and Los Cyclones.

Over the years, the film's soundtrack has received recognition for its subtle provocation of disorientation and dread. In 2019, Rolling Stone included it as one of the 35 best horror film soundtracks, defining it as "dirty, outlaw country music combined with warped mainstream music" and deeming it "background noise turned into an avant-garde soundtrack". The soundtrack has been cited by the experimental pop band Animal Collective as a strong influence upon their musical output. Attempts were made to track down the original artists to record an official soundtrack album for the film. Issues with copyright holders made the project unfeasible, and the project was abandoned.

Additional funding and distribution

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre had struggled to attain funds through the entirety of its production. When hiring cast and crew members for the film, Bozman notified them that he would have to defer part of their salaries until after it was sold to a distributor, as they did not have sufficient funds to pay them. Vortex made the idea more attractive by awarding them a share of its potential profits, ranging from 0.25 to 6%, similar to mortgage points. The cast and crew were not informed that Vortex owned only 50%, which meant their points were worth half of the assumed value. Before the completion of the film, a total of $40,000 in cast and crew salaries had been deferred. Funds to complete the project were obtained from a film production group, Pie in the Sky, led by future President of the Texas State Bar Joe K. Longley provided $23,532 (about $145,000 inflation-adjusted) in exchange for 19% of Vortex. This left Henkel, Hooper, and the rest of the cast and crew with a 40.5% stake.

In the summer of 1974, Skareen began shopping a rough cut of the film in hopes of acquiring a distributor to finance the remaining editing costs. Columbia Pictures briefly showed interest during this period, offering to pay production in advance for the deal, but rescinded a week later. David Foster, who later produced the 1982 horror film The Thing, arranged for a private screening for West Coast executives of Bryanston Distributing Company, and received 1.5% of Vortex's profits and a deferred fee of $500 (about $3,100 inflation-adjusted). On August 28, 1974, Louis "Butchie" Peraino of Bryanston agreed to distribute the film worldwide, from which Bozman and Skaaren would receive $225,000 (about $1,400,000 inflation-adjusted) and 35% of the profits. Bryanston was already responsible for producing box office hits. Producers and filmmakers signed a contract with Bryanston and after the investors recouped their money (with interest),—and after Skaaren, the lawyers, and the accountants were paid—only $8,100 (about $50,000 inflation-adjusted) was left to be divided among the cast and crew.

Skaaren is credited for coming up with the film's title.

• https://www.chicagotribune.com/1990/03/06/hollywoods-mr-fix-it/

Release

Rating and censorship

See also: Video nasty and Film censorship

The Motion Picture Association of America's (MPAA) ratings board had been established several years before to replace the defunct Hays Production Code. The MPAA had already been criticized for its indirect censorship—reportedly almost a third of the films submitted to it had been recut to avoid an X rating. Producers of Chain Saw had reportedly urged Hooper to aim for a commercially profitable PG rating during filming, and Hooper had hoped the MPAA would give the complete, uncut release print the PG rating due to its minimal amount of visible gore. However, it was categorized under the X rating by the MPAA. Several minutes were cut, and it was resubmitted to receive a more commercially viable R-rating. In one instance, a distributor restored the cut material and presented it under an R rating. The film was censored in Canada for a time by the Ontario Film Review Board after several cuts were made. In February 1976, two theaters in Ottawa, Canada were advised by local police to withdraw the film lest they face morality charges, superseding the film board's ruling on the film. The following month, Stanford University students from British Columbia began petitioning to have the film banned from any future releases on television. Chain Saw was screened a year later in Ontario after it was resubmitted for classification.

Internationally, the film was subjected to extensive cuts and censorship. On February 27, 1975 the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) secretary Stephen Murphy informally viewed Chain Saw. While he admitted that it was well-made, Murphy was concerned by the high level of terrorization of its characters and focus on what he described as "abnormal psychology". It was also screened for board members of the British Film Institute (BFI), who expressed their disgust over the film. The BBFC refused certification in its first submission for classification on March 14, with the board stating that local councils would likely deem the film unacceptable. A shorter version was submitted to the Greater London Council for approval, who ruled that the film could be screened in London under an X certification. Some local councils approved screenings in their districts while others banned it. After a year-long theatrical run in London, it was later banned in the United Kingdom on the advice of Murphy and his successor James Ferman.

While the British ban was in effect, the word "chainsaw" was banned from film titles, forcing imitators to rename their films. By the early 1980s, the British Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had increased prosecution and confiscation of films they deemed a violation of the 1959's Obscene Publications Act, and the publication of the "Video Nasties" list by the DPP sparked moral panic. While not deemed a true Video Nasty by the DPP, the film is often linked to the more severe "Section One" portions of the list. It was officially classified under "Section Three", and while it could not be prosecuted for obscenity, the film was liable to seizure and confiscation under a "less obscene" charge. The unrated theatrical cut was submitted to the BBFC in 1984 for a home media release but was refused certification. In 1998, despite the BBFC ban, Camden London Borough Council granted the film a license. After the retirement of BBFC Director Ferman the following year, the board passed the film uncut for theatrical and video distribution with an 18 certificate, and it was broadcast a year later on Channel 4.

When the 83-minute version of the film was submitted to the Australian Classification Board by distributor Seven Keys in June 1975, the board denied the film a classification, and similarly refused classification of a 77-minute print in December that year. The 83-minute print was submitted by Greater Union Film Distributors in 1981 and was refused registration. It was later submitted by Filmways Australasian Distributors and approved for an R18+ rating by the ACB in 1984. It was banned for periods in many other countries, including Brazil, Chile, Finland, France, Ireland, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, and West Germany.

Theatrical screenings

Bryanston scheduled The Texas Chain Saw Massacre for an October 1st premiere in Austin, Texas. Neal attended a number of these screenings in Austin, intentionally frightening attendees during his scenes until the theatre owners told him to desist. It was screened nationally in the United States on October 4th, as a Saturday afternoon matinée, later expanding to approximately 200-screen wide release by October 11th. On October 30th, it opened in 105 theaters in New York, and an additional 45 theaters in Los Angeles. An opening in New York's Cinema Village a year later was deemed a huge hit. Attending the screening, journalist Michael Wolff commented on the opening as "a cultural experience but an acquired taste", with young cinemagoers filling the air with pot smoke as the film played.

False advertising as a "true story" factored heavily into the film's marketing campaign, with some advertisements promoting it as "the first horror film made in Austin".

By March 27, 1975, Toronto-based newspaper Exalibur reported the film was currently screening in 230 theaters across the country, describing one theatre as "overflowing with thrill seekers". Midnight screenings of the film were highly successful, attracting crowds of cinema-goers for the next couple of years. For eight years after 1976, it was annually reissued to first-run theaters.

Box office

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was a financial success and a box-office hit. On October 16th, Bryanston began running full-page advertisements, claiming the film had grossed $602,133 ($2.9 million in 2024) at its Texas screenings within its first four days, surpassing many of Bryanson's releases up to that period, including their American release of Bruce Lee's Return of the Dragon (1972), and Andy Warhol's Flesh for Frankenstein (1973). By the third week it placed at number three for the highest-grossing films behind The Longest Yard and Airport 1975, with $456,000 ($2.19 million in 2024).

In its first five months of release, it grossed $5 million to $7 million ($24 million to $33.7 million in 2024) in North America. It earned $14.421 million ($69.3 million in 2024) in distributors' rentals during its theatrical release in 1974 in the United States and Canada. After a year-long theatrical run, it had grossed $20 million in ticket sales, approximately $96.2 million in 2024.

Box office figures within and outside the U.S. and Canada are inconsistent and incomplete. According to the box-office tracking websites Box Office Mojo and the Numbers, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre earned from $26.5 million to $30.8 million worldwide, totaling $128 million and $148 million when adjusted for inflation. This would make it the 12th highest-grossing film released in 1974. Total box office figures are unclear because of Bryanson's tampering of their financial records, releasing inaccurate figures to avoid paying residuals. Estimations of the film's worldwide gross have varied between $50 million and $100 million (Approximately $240 million and $481 million in 2024), the full extent of the film's box office receipts are unknown.

Reception

Critical response

Upon release, the film received polarized reviews. Critics often described the film as "well made", while its intensity and "gruesome" elements were a source of criticism. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it two stars, stating it was "without any apparent purpose, unless the creation of disgust and fright is a purpose", but wrote positively on its acting and technical execution. The Times critic David Robinson commented that the film, while well made, was essentially "unpalatable".

Open hostility and condemnation by critics and the public towards its dark, oppressive tone and violence worldwide were widely reported. During his opening monologue, The Tonight Show host Johnny Carson openly lambasted the film and the MPAA's decision to award it an R rating. Many critics refused to review the film based on its content, while others were derisive, calling it "cheap sensationalist rubbish". Linda Gross of the Los Angeles Times called it "despicable", and described the filmmakers as more concerned with creating "ugly and obscene" violence than with its "plastic script". In his 1976 article "Fashions in Pornography" for Harper's Magazine, Stephen Koch denounced the film as "a vile piece of crap", describing it as 'pornography of gore' and compared its level of violence to a snuff film. The Province's Michael Walsh opined the film as "extremely gruesome and disgusting", Daily News called it "a violent piece of junk" and the entire production "inept". The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting's Catholic Film Newsletter wrote that the film was "a stream of unrelieved and explicit gore". The publication also decried it and those who enjoyed the film as "sick". Writing on the film's 1976 Canadian release, Frank Daley said the film's only purpose was to "explore new depths of sadism and blood-letting".

Some critics praised the film, highlighting its raw emotional power and intensity, in addition to Hooper's direction. One of Chain Saw's earliest advocates, the critic Rex Reed called it "the most terrifying film I have ever seen". In his review, Reed praised the film's relentless ability to "drive you out of your mind", while cautioning that it was not for the weak-hearted. The Cincinnati Enquirer's Donald B. Berrigan echoed Reed's sentiment, writing that its depiction of horror was "highly convincing" and "soul-crushing". Writing for the New Jersey newspaper The Record, John Crittenden called the film "a masterpiece", highlighting its 'nightmare inducing' intensity. As Crittenden argues, like Night of the Living Dead, the film "offer[s] intense experiences every bit as magnificent as the ones we get in movies that are generally considered good." For Castle of Frankenstein writer Paul Roen, Chain Saw extended the boundaries of what horror films can achieve. Roen argues that the film was not "gratuitously gory" as some have claimed, but insightful in conveying the horrors it portrays. John McCarty of Cinefantastique highlighted the tension, atmosphere, and thrills as "extremely powerful".

Audience reaction

Audience members walked out of theaters in disgust during a sneak preview in San Francisco. Cinema-goers had purchased tickets to a Disney film and were, instead, shown the film. Many of them purportedly demanded their money back. Despite its mixed critical reviews, controversies over its content, and viewer reaction, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was an unexpected hit, with some theatres screening it to packed viewership.

Reports of strong audience reactions were widespread. Many viewers vomited during screenings, while others were reported to have cheered during the kill scenes.

Studies have been made on the psychological effects of the film over the years. In 1984, Journal of Communication published a study by media and psychology professors, documenting the psychological effects on a group of men viewing five films depicting differing levels of violence against women. On first viewing The Texas Chain Saw Massacre they experienced symptoms of depression and anxiety; however, upon subsequent viewing, they found the violence against women less offensive and more enjoyable. The scientific journal Sex Roles published a study which investigated the gender-specific perceptions of slasher films, involving 30 male and 30 female university students. One male participant was quoted saying the film was "intensely unpleasant". In their documented response, the viewer described being drained after viewing the film, and particularly disturbed by the screaming and torment depicted in the film. They went on to state that their perception of the gore and graphic violence "made me feel awful—almost guilty—for watching it." According to Jesse Stommel of Bright Lights Film Journal, the lack of explicit violence in the film forces viewers to question their fascination with violence that they play a central role in imagining. Nonetheless—citing its feverish camera moves, repeated bursts of light, and auditory pandemonium—Stommel asserts that the film involved the audience primarily on a sensory rather than an intellectual level.

Accolades

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was selected for the 1975 Cannes Film Festival Directors' Fortnight and London Film Festival. In 1976, it won the Special Jury Prize at the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival in France.

Post-release

Litigation

Main article: Bryanston Distributing Company

At the time of Bryanston's acquisition of film distribution rights to Chain Saw, rumors were circulating on the Peraino's purported connection to the Colombo crime family. Later court documents revealed that former Colombo family associate and mobster Sonny Franzese was a known investor of the film. Years later, Bozman stated, "We made a deal with the devil, [sigh], and I guess that, in a way, we got what we deserved."

Lawsuits against Bryanston over Chain Saw's profits began after the film's release and continued into the 21st century. In 1976, Chain Saw's producers sued Bryanston for failing to pay them their full percentage of the box office profits. A court judgment instructed Bryanston to pay the filmmakers $500,000 (about $3,100,000 inflation-adjusted), but by then the company had declared bankruptcy.

• https://books.google.com/books?id=gPs3AAAAIAAJ&q=John+%22Sonny%22+Franzese+Texas+Chain&dq=John+%22Sonny%22+Franzese+Texas+Chain&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj2kaer7qyIAxWILzQIHbciNXAQ6AF6BAgFEAI

Home media

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has appeared on various home video formats. In the United States, it was first released on VHS and Capacitance Electronic Disc (CED) in the early 1980s by Wizard Video, and Vestron Video. The release was among the most popular video rentals at the time according to some news outlets. Releases of the film on VHS and CED expanded significantly in the late 1980s and 1990s, both in the United States and overseas. It was briefly released on VHS in the United Kingdom in the 1980s by Iver Film Services, including cut and uncut versions until its ban by the BBFC.

Chain Saw was released on LaserDisc by MPI Home Video in the United States in November 1993, followed by its DVD debut on October 6, 1998, distributed by Geneon USA. In the United Kingdom, Blue Dolphin released on DVD in May 2000, following the end of its almost 25-year ban in the UK. In 2005, it received a 2K scan and full restoration from the original 16mm A/B rolls, which was released on DVD and Blu-ray the following year. The release featured additional content, including Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Shocking Truth and Flesh Wounds – detailed documentaries on the production, deleted and alternate scenes, outtakes, and commentary by the cast and crew. In 2014, a more extensive 4K restoration, supervised by Hooper, using the original 16mm A/B reversal rolls, was carried out. After a screening in the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, this version was released on DVD and Blu-ray worldwide. Dark Sky Films 40th Anniversary Edition was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States.

Video game

Main article: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1983 video game)

A video game based on the film developed by VSS, Inc. and published by Wizard Video Games. It was released in 1983 for the Atari 2600, as an action-based platformer. In the game, the player assumes the role of Leatherface and attempts to murder trespassers while avoiding obstacles such as fences and cow skulls. Critical reviews for the game were largely negative. As one of the first horror-themed video games, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre caused controversy when it was first released due to its violent nature; it sold poorly as a result, as many game stores refused to stock it.

Legacy

Retrospective reassessment

• https://variety.com/lists/best-movies-of-all-time/

In the years following its release, critics and historians have reevaluated The Texas Chain Saw Massacre as one of the greatest—and most controversial—horror films ever made. Reviewing the film in 1998, The Austin Chronicle's Mike Emery wrote: "Hooper's vision is horrid yet engrossing. His subtle touches... and grotesque characterizations make rural Texas seem like a hellish place where only the strong survive. But the worst part about this vision is that despite its sensational aspects, it never seems too far from what could be the truth". Empire said "Tobe Hooper's sick, inventive little film remains as disturbing, suspenseful and shattering as the day it first saw the light of a drive-in screen." Peter Bradshaw Sophie Morris

• Bruce Westbrook of the Houston Chronicle:
• TV Guide:
• Kim Newman Empire:https://web.archive.org/web/20120324020824/https://www.empireonline.com/reviews/review.asp?FID=3841
• Eric Henderson of Slant Magazine:https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-texas-chainsaw-massacre/
• Alan Jones of Radio Times:https://web.archive.org/web/20151005070618/https://www.radiotimes.com/film/cnkc6/URL
• https://variety.com/2017/film/columns/a-tribute-to-tobe-hooper-texas-chain-saw-massacre-1202539952/

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is considered a landmark horror film, and a classic. It has appeared in several publications as one of the best horror films of all time. In 2005 British film magazine Total Film ranked it at number 1 in their list of the greatest horror films ever made, and in 2010 it was voted into first place in an additional Total Film poll of leading directors and stars of horror films. In a 2010 Total Film poll, it was again selected as the greatest horror film; the judging panel included veteran horror directors such as John Carpenter, Wes Craven, and George A. Romero. Other media publications, such as Thrillist (2016), Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, which has compiled old and contemporary reviews, reports that 89% of 73 critics provided positive reviews for the film, with an average rating of 8.00/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Thanks to a smart script and documentary-style camerawork, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre achieves start-to-finish suspense, making it a classic in low-budget exploitation cinema." On Metacritic, a similar website that aggregates both past and present reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 91 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

The Village Voice ranked the film in its Top 250 "Best Films of the Century" list in 1999, based on a poll of critics. In 2008 the film ranked number 199 on Empire magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time". It has been ranked at number one in similar lists, such as MovieWeb (2022), Entertainment Weekly ranked the film sixth on its 2003 list of "The Top 50 Cult Films".

• https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-stand-up-desk/texas-chainsaw-massacre-behind-the-story/
• https://www.rogerebert.com/features/you-like-this-face-jumping-into-the-void-with-the-40th-anniversary-of-the-texas-chainsaw-massacre
• https://ew.com/article/2003/05/20/why-texas-chainsaw-massacre-one-top-10-cult-movies/
• https://web.archive.org/web/20170827115755/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/aug/27/tobe-hooper-appreciation-texas-chainsaw-massacre-american-family

• https://collider.com/best-horror-movies/
• https://www.timeout.com/film/best-horror-films
• https://movieweb.com/scariest-important-horror-movies/#the-exorcist-1973

Indie Film

• https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-lists/declaration-of-independents-the-30-greatest-american-indie-films-19373/
• https://www.gamesradar.com/50-best-indie-films/

The year of its release, the film was selected by New York City's Museum of Modern Art for its permanent collection, and was inducted into the Horror Hall of Fame in 1990, with director Hooper accepting the award. The Academy Film Archive houses the Texas Chain Saw Massacre Collection, which contains over fifty items, including many original elements of the film.

In later years, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has made regular appearances in film festivals.

• The 1998 BFI London Film Festival (https://www.bbfc.co.uk/education/case-studies/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre)
• The Toronto International Film Festival (https://tiff.net/events/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-with-alexandra-west)

Cultural impact

See also: Cultural impact of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

• https://books.google.com/books?id=Qlo6l0VGJNAC&pg=PA167&dq=%22Paul+Partain%22&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiK_beipr2EAxXjHjQIHax0Dy04ChDoAXoECAsQAg#v=onepage&q=%22Paul%20Partain%22&f=false

The film has had a significant impact on the horror genre and popular culture, noted as one of the first feature films from Austin to gain significant critical and commercial attention. By 1975, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was already considered a cult film, gaining a large following among horror fans. In 1999, Richard Zoglin of Time wrote that it had "set a new standard for slasher films". It is listed in the film reference book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre set the template for subsequent horror films, with deranged and often cannibalistic country folk terrorizing groups of teenagers and young adults becoming a staple of the genre. Many films have attempted to capitalize on its popularity through the 1970s and 1980s, by featuring the word "Massacre" in their titles, examples include Meatcleaver Massacre, The Slumber Party Massacre, Microwave Massacre, Zombie Island Massacre, Nail Gun Massacre, and Mountaintop Motel Massacre. According to the Entertainment Weekly writer Rebecca Ascher-Walsh, it laid the foundations for the Halloween, Evil Dead, and Blair Witch horror franchises. Many filmmakers have listed the film as a major influence on their work. Reminiscing about his first viewing of the film, horror director Wes Craven recalled wondering "what kind of Mansonite crazoid" could have created such a thing. Craven later crafted his 1977 film The Hills Have Eyes as an homage to Chain Saw. When filming his 1979 film Alien, Ridley Scott cited Hooper's film as the predominant inspiration. The 1990 splatter film The German Chainsaw Massacre, director Christoph Schlingensief stated that he conceived it after viewing bootleg copies of Chain Saw and its sequel. French director Alexandre Aja credited it as an early influence on his career. Horror filmmaker and heavy metal musician Rob Zombie viewed it as a major influence on his work, including his films House of 1000 Corpses (2003) and The Devil's Rejects (2005). Quentin Tarantino has called it "one of the few perfect movies ever made".

It has been referred to in a variety of media, from television (including The X-Files, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Black Mirror) to games (Resident Evil 7, )

Game

• Dusk (video game)
• Zombies in Resident Evil
• Baker family

Referenced in:

• Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Sprites reference the film.

Parodied in:

• "Saturday Night Live" Candice Bergen/Martha Reeves/The Stylistics (TV Episode 1975)
• Motel Hell (1980)
• Tucker & Dale vs. Evil

Music/Bands: Music artists have made references to the film, with some also citing the film as a major inspiration for their works. The 1984 single "Too Much Blood" written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards from their band The Rolling Stones, was partially influenced by the film. American death metal band Mortician based their 1997 and 1999 songs "Hacked Up for Barbecue", and "Chainsaw Dismemberment" upon the film.

• https://www.stereogum.com/2092075/the-number-ones-michael-sembellos-maniac/columns/the-number-ones/
• Bites (album), Audio samples from the film.
• La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One, Audio samples from the film.
• Rigor Mortis (band), influence on some of the lyrics.
• Who Will Survive, and What Will Be Left of Them?
• Cornbugs
• Love in Slow Motion, "a sort of Texas Chainsaw Massacre meets The Devil's Rejects".
• Butcher Babies
• Carpenter Brut

Filmmakers influenced

Leatherface has gained a reputation as a significant character in the horror genre, responsible for establishing the use of conventional tools as murder weapons, as well as the image of a large, silent, killer devoid of personality. His trademark face mask, and chainsaw have since become instantly recognizable images in popular culture. Don Sumner called The Texas Chain Saw Massacre a classic that not only introduced a new villain to the horror pantheon but also influenced an entire generation of filmmakers.

Franchise

Main article: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (franchise)

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre's commercial success resulted in the production of eight other films to divided critical favor. The franchise itself is known for its inconsistent tone and fractured in-film timeline due to the frequent changes production rights.

Following New Line Cinema's purchase of distribution rights and profitable 1981 theatrical re-release of the first film, Hooper began brainstorming ideas for a sequel. The project did not culminate until 1983, nine years after the release of the first film, when The Hollywood Reporter announced the project in a November 2nd trade advertisement. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 was released in 1986, it was considerably more graphic and violent than the original, with Hooper opting to focus on the dark humor he felt was not picked up on in the first film. The film was not successful and received polarizing critical reviews. A third film, Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III was released in 1990, though Hooper did not return to direct due to scheduling conflicts. The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, starring Renée Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey, was released in 1995. While briefly acknowledging the events of the preceding two sequels, its plot is a virtual remake of the 1974 original.

An official remake was released by Platinum Dunes and New Line Cinema in 2003. It was followed by a prequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, in 2006. A seventh film, Texas Chainsaw 3D, was released on January 4, 2013. It is a direct sequel to the original 1974 film, with no relation to the previous sequels or the 2003 remake. A prequel, titled Leatherface, was released exclusively to DirecTV on September 21, 2017, before receiving a wider release on video on demand and in limited theaters, simultaneously, in North America on October 20, 2017. The latest entry, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, was released exclusively on Netflix on February 18, 2022.

See also

• 1974 in the United States
• List of American films of 1974
• List of horror films of 1974
• List of films considered the best

Works cited

Bibliography

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• Aronzyk, Melissa (October 12, 2003). "A New Texas Chainsaw to Fire Up Blood Lust". Toronto Star. p. 45.*Allon, Yoram; Cullen, Del; Patterson, Hannah (December 25, 2002). Contemporary North American Film Directors: A Wallflower Critical Guide (2nd ed.). Wallflower Press. ISBN 978-1-9033-6452-9.
• Armstrong, Kent (June 14, 2015). Slasher Films: An International Filmography, 1960 through 2001 (illustrated ed.). McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-1-4766-0655-2. Archived from the original on December 14, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
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Media publications

• https://www.rogerebert.com/features/you-like-this-face-jumping-into-the-void-with-the-40th-anniversary-of-the-texas-chainsaw-massacre
• https://www.indiewire.com/features/interviews/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-turns-50-leatherface-1235033174/
• https://www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/movies_tv/article/texas-chainsaw-massacre-venice-film-festival-19739654.php

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External links

• Official Site
• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre at AllMovie
• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre at IMDb
• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre at the TCM Movie Database
• Original 1973 Leatherface script at the Internet Archive