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Arguably the best title given to a horror film, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is the movie that broke the rules of horror in its time and succeeded greatly. Tobe Hooper is a genre mastermind. It surely won't scare the modern audience as much as it scared its audience of the 70's, but it's a classic so watch it anyway. Just imagine your reading a history book about horror films.
I know people call Halloween as the most infuencial horror film of all time, but based on the horror films that I have seen, the premise of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is more used today than any other classic horror movie. The remake was pretty good, but after watching this, the remake felt unnecessary.
the greatest exploitation film ever made.
terryfing in its own little way.
second scariest film i have ever seen.
leatherface creeps the shit out of me.
the chainsaw gave me nightmares.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (controversial when it was first released) is one of the greatest movies ever made.
A good start in a good series. But i didnt care for the family in this one. The hitchhiker is too wierd and the i didnt care for the scene with grandpa. But im being picky. I like the warning in the beginning, gets you scared before you even watch it. Endings good too.
What do the words “Crushing Disappointment” mean to you personally? Think about that one for a second. Certainly in your long list of disappointments, there is bound to be a new release film you saw that didn’t fit the awesome-amazing-godly vision you anticipated in your head. However, reading reviews of older films, I rarely see this term used. If someone dislikes an older film, they say something like: “It’s just the most overrated movie of all time.” But very rarely do I ever see anyone have the audacity to say an older film is completely worthless, then give an intelligent reasoning for their opinion, even if they were completely disappointed with the older film. Maybe this is because we as a society have some sort of ludicrous respect for older films, even when they don’t deserve it. Though I was not completely disappointed with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre—far from it—I will give intelligent reasoning as to why those blind-eyed by nostalgia need to realize this film has not aged in golden perfection. Also, I’ll try to help those who were completely disappointed with this film to understand why it isn’t total trash.
Because I lived in a semi-sheltered household, I didn’t grow up on horror movies. In my recent years, I count this as a blessing, because I can review films without any nostalgic bias whatsoever. Nostalgia is the problem with so many reviews I read of this movie. Someone who saw The Texas Chain Saw Mass cure at the age of 5 and went in their pants is going to grow up proclaiming to the masses that it is “THE scariest movie of all time!” While, in opposite, a 20-year-old man viewing the film for the first time is going to say that “Hostel was more terrifying than this cheesy crap!” because Hostel is more modern and he can relate to it more. It’s all a matter of perspective. Personally, I didn’t see anything scary about this movie whatsoever. I can, however, see how someone would think that. Just because something is old and was effective to an older audience does not mean it’s effective to a modern audience. If you want to live in absurd denial that The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is the scariest movie of all time, no exceptions, then may I ask who is being more immature: you, or the “kids” you claim no nothing about horror?
In the opposite spectrum, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is in the top 5 most important horror films of all time, like it or not. That isn’t an opinion. In its time, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was a purely original idea, and to this day there has never been a film like it. While some will argue that it’s far “inferior” to the “superior” remakes, they fail to see that the original was far more groundbreaking. The remakes strayed from the original plot and pumped it full of clichés. The original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre gave built a far more complete atmosphere and refused to explain any of the events that transpired in the film, except in the opening monologue. This is a far more original form of storytelling, and, to me, and most other people, is far more effective. It is inarguably more realistic.
But what The Texas Chain Saw Massacre doesn’t have is flawless production value. Compared to movies today, this is almost like watching an indie YouTube video. The production value has aged, and it’s important to understand that. Hooper’s directing is still very technical and well-done, but that just can’t blot out the deeply aged edge. For example, it’s very obvious that Hooper was trying to shoot for a PG-rating initially. The lack of on-screen gore is very annoying at times, because by today’s standards, it’s incredibly tame, even if it was on-screen. Also, the acting from the secondary characters is very unbelievable, even laughable, at points. I personally can appreciate all this lack of polish, because it’s far more unsealing than the clean-cut politically-correct remakes.
Overall, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre may not hold up to the blockbuster status, but it doesn’t have to. It wasn’t meant to. It was one of the first examples of pure, raw, anti-stylistic intensity captured on film. That’s what its legacy is built around. That’s why The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was so important in its time.
Like it or not, find it cheesy or unnerving, find it scary or laughable, you can’t deny that the film still has something that very few other movies—modern or not—don’t have. Intensity. Uncertainty. Confusion. Originality. Even if you find the film purely disappointing, can you name a whole lot of other horror movies that have these characteristics? I can count them on one hand. And The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is the granddaddy of them all.
Posted By: metlhead63 at 10:11pm, February 19, 2009
I don't think any single horror movie scene (and I've seen a lot of them), has disturbed me more than when he hung that chick on the meathook. Fuckin' intense. I've seen a lot more violence and a lot more gore, but that really freaked me. Ditto all the other great reviews. Great movie.
Great movie. Stark atmosphere and soundtrack (or lack thereof) really make the movie, in my opinion. Effective and brutal without relying on excessive or graphic gore. Deservedly classic.
I hate when people say halloween started the slasher genre when it didnt THIS and BLACK CHRISTMAS did it and more times better. I liked his movie alot but i dont know why i think the remake was more intense and scary(please no rude comments)but this was one was also that(but a bit less)and it had atmosphere, horror, leatherface for the first time, suspense, you care for the characters(except for the annoying guy in the wheelchair) and the ending is quite interesting so for the halloween fans am sorry to tell that your favorite is just a big copy-cat.
This is it! The king of all horror movies. Why do I say that? Let's take a closer look at this masterpiece. First off, there is absolutely no commercial value here, no target audience, no comic relief, and no happy ending. This movie had only one thing on it's mind - scare the people who watch it as much as possible! It's the kind of movie that says "I'm not going to pretty myself up for you - you're going to have to deal with I'm showing you." Add to that, there is hardly any gore in this very gritty flick. Most people swear there is but when you go back and watch it you will see that there isn't that much. It's atmosphere is so effective and ugly that it will make your mind see the worst case scenario. Plus it has the coolest title ever for a horror movie. Priceless.
This was the best horror movie evr. do think halloween got more appreciation when this was much more terrifying. Leatherface is a relentless running killer you have to force urself to get vaway from. you csn judt jog away from michael myers. This is one of the best movies ever made. in my opinion the best classi there is.
This movie is amazing. The 2nd is just... stupid. The 3rd is good. The Next Generation is also... stupid. This is one of the greatest movies ever made.
My favourite TCM film-while the 2nd & 3rd are very good,they are not a patch on this one in superiority. From the fantastic performances of Jim Siedow,Ed Neal,Paul Partain & Marilyn Burns to Gunnar's stark portrayal of the dumb cannibalistic killer who you never quite know what he's thinking or feeling-this is a pure horror masterpiece! It shows that a minimal budget does not mean minimal shocks. After all these years the buzz remains strong,severe & still has the capacity to send shivers through me. The sound score &luna/solar visuals are very intensely strong too. I am not easily impressed so Tobe Hooper must have done something right.
'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' is THE watershed horror film. Everything from the documentary feel to the claustrophobia created inside the crazed family's farmhouse, this film fires on all horrifying cylinders relentlessly until the credits roll. Director Tobe Hooper created a cinematic masterpiece, and Gunnar Hansen created a horror icon unmatched by any other actor to try and don the persona of Leatherface. This film makes all of the subsequent 'Chainsaw' movies pale and whither up in comparison. One of my favorite movies of all-time.
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