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Posted By: gorehound62 at 5:14pm, November 14, 2008
if i were ever asked, What is the definitive horror film, one that will scare the pants off you, and is incredibly made, no thought would be made. The texas chainsaw massacre is so brutal, so real in its depiction, i beleive it to be the best made horror film of all time. from the first encounter with the hitchiker, to the final few seconds, the film is perfection. i personally beleive that the main factor in why the film is so terrifyingly real, is the lack of any soundtrack, an overlooked attribute. the abscense of a score gives the film a realism that has yet to be matched to this day. another quality is that leatherface, whom in my opinion is the greatest horror antagonist of all time, is based on a real person, serial killer ed gein. all around amazing film. a horror gem that has no equal.
Posted By: BK's Finest at 7:50pm, November 13, 2008
I really do not get why this movie is so loved. It probably was scary when it first came out, but, as I say with almost every torture/family of killers movie, I watch it and all I see is a wasted opportunity. The biggest flaw in TCM and movies like it, is that they are done from the victim's perspective. The victims are always stupid as fuck in these films. Stupid characters make for annoying film.
Seriously, who wouldn't want to watch this film from the Family's (i.e. interesting characters') perspective.
I'll give it credit for two incredible scenes though. The sledgehammer scene is one of the most brutal and awesome things ever put to film.
And the post-grandpa introduction parts of the dinner scenes. Grandpa rocks. An extra skull for each of these scenes.
This movie is a acid drenched surreal nightmare, a direct descent in hell !!!! From the twisted fucked up musical score , the crazed characters, the lonely middle of nowhere setting this movie will have you asking yourself, is this real or only a movie? That's how good this true classic is. The violence is brief but intense and the final 30 minutes with Marilyn Burns screaming non stop right until the final frame will have the most hardcore horror fan fucking reeling. This film is truly disturbing beyond belief. I love it!!! Along side Halloween and NOES this is a horror classic that still shreds the nerves raw after all these years. If you have not seen this your not a Horror fan. CLASSIC CLASSIC CLASSIC
Posted By: alienfetus at 12:02am, November 13, 2008
TCM is hands down one of the most disturbing horror films of all time. From the beginning with its opening dialogue to the demented ending, it plays out like a documentary that never was. Leatherface and the rest of the family come off as truly, realistically insane from cross dressing with female skin to a feeble grandpa with a blood lust extending into senility. Even by today's standards, it is unsettling and, for lack of a better word, crazy. That's the beauty of TCM. There's no real story here. There are no plot twists or secret motives that the main characters must figure out. It's just an insidious family tormenting a bunch of teens for the hell of it. It's a random act of senseless violence that isn't played up. It could happen to us. The killers aren't unstoppable or undead. They're not 6ft tall bad asses with axes or mutant rednecks. They're just fucking nuts!
Not only is the movie disturbing, to some it comes off as a little funny. Every time I see the movie I find myself laughing out loud at the outragiousness of it all and at the end of the movie, I find I'm not alone.
This is the best horror movie eva hands down. I just read review by PoisonKeyblade and was shocked, sayung the acting was trash, the acting was perfect. How could the hitchhiker be retarded, he was insane and awsum. This movie is raw and real and could happen to anyone. How would you like to hav run afoul Ed Gein , witch the movie is based on.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is, quite possibly, the most overrated film of all time. I've never been so psyched to see a movie, and the fact that I wasn't allowed to watch until my 13th birthday only made me all the more excited. I have to say that, other than the Pulse remake, the When a Stranger Calls remake, The Fog remake, the original Black Christmas, and Hard Candy, this movie is the biggest horror disappointment of my lifetime.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is directed by the "legendary" Tobe Hooper, but to be completely honest, I've seen few of his films. The only quality movie I've seen this guy direct is the remake of The Toolbox Murders. He does, however, fill this movie with a few interesting camera angles.
Sally (Marilyn Burns), her wheelchair-bound brother, Franklin (Paul A. Partain), and their three friends are on their way to visit their grandfather's grave in Texas. Along the way, they pick up a psychotic hitchhiker (Edwin Neal) on the side of the road who turns out to be more than they were expecting. The five friends soon wind up at a creepy old, seemingly-abandoned house where each of them exhibits a grizzly encounter with a shadowy menace known only as Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen). Sally flees for her life in a desperate attempt to help her friends as the others are killed off one by one at the hands of Leatherface and his sadistically twisted cannibalistic dysfunctional family.
All I knew about this film before watching it was that it was supposedly the 'definitive' horror movie, and it was said to be one of the best of all time. Not only is the remake far better than the overrated original, but the underrated prequel, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning tops even the remake. For one, I really didn't like the overall "feel" of the movie. If this garbage was supposed to be scary, then something is seriously wrong here. I didn't even get chills, and everything scares me! The only scene that I truly found unnerving at best was when Leatherface hit a man on the top of the head with a sledgehammer. I found myself laughing more than screaming in fear. The scariest movie ever? I think not!
The acting was trash, although I did like the lead female and Leatherface. The hitchhiker was retarded and dull, and Sally's wheelchair-bound brother was one of the most annoying characters ever to hit the big screen. The movie is outdated and very ineffective compared to some of today's horror movies. I really don't see what everyone finds so spectacular about this film. The ending is a pathetic cop-out, although Leatherface's chainsaw dance is probably the most memorable thing about a mostly forgettable piece of cinema. The infamous dinner table sequence is also one of the better scenes, although it wasn't really anything special; the prequel did the scene much better. I will admit that some of the camera shots show some skill and are quite intriguing, but as a whole, there is nothing too impressive here. Sure, the movie looks like a documentary, but is that what we're really looking for in a horror movie?
Not everything about the picture is all bad. The tone and atmosphere were perfectly established in a very subtle manner, and the chase scene through the woods is utterly sensational. Skip this original flick in a well-known series; you're not missing much, trust me. Instead, check out the remake, or some of the quality sequels, or even the sensational prequel.
Yesterday I decided to lay down and watch the original and remake of this horror classic ! Having seen the original many years ago and remembering I didnt care much for it, I was expecting to enjoy the remake the most! Boy, was I wrong .. I totally fell for this movie and the whole insanity it portrays - Which is totally lacking in the remake BTW ..
Safe to say the majority in here have seen it or otherwise it's not hard to guess what it's about, but I will not comment on the last 30 minutes of the movie, it has to be seen ! And you can do it over and over again !
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is the most terrifying thing that can happen. We have all seen terrifying horror films that gave us nightmares that it could happen to us. One of the most disgusting horror films that barely showed any blood and gore it just that feeling being in that house the family of cannibals all the dead corpses in the house all skinned and eaten.
The acting wasn't the greatest but the scares definitely were. The chases were all terrifying especially the final one. That cracking noise in the beginning gives you a weird type of feel. The trailer definitely explains the movie stop screaming and start talking about it.
The Hitchhiker is very disturbing. After the film came out people were still terrified when they saw him in person. Tobe Hooper's Classic and definitely one of the scariest films ever.
"The Texas Chain Saw Massacre can, and will, be reinterpreted by critics and theorists for decades to come. It was shot in the summer of 1973, during the aftermath of the Vietnam War and the Munich Olympics massacre, at the height of the Watergate scandal and the legal investigation into the shootings at Kent State. It was an era of plane hijackings, government oppression and dishonesty, racial conflict, terrorism and revolution. As a mirror of a dark period in American history, Chain Saw remains one of the best evocations yet of the era, as a group of young individuals, returning to the nostalgic home of their childhood, stumble into the raw and irrational cruelty of the modern world.
The movie has a weak, though functional storyline, one that has since became the staple for slasher movies; a group of teenagers get lost, stumble across evil and get stalked and killed. But Chain Saw isn't about storyline and plot; it's about creating an experience, a sensory overload. The cast and crew work tirelessly to create scenes and images that are raw and powerful and ultimately, against all expectations, beautiful. Leatherface's travesty of motherly domesticity as he prepares dinner, his child-like dance in the dawn light, the open door at the gas station, the van making it's slow turn off the road towards the derelict and ivy clad Hardesty residence are all images that burn themselves into your consciousness after just a single viewing.
The cinematography is exceptional. Watching the Special Edition, you'd never know that this was shot on 16mm in poor light. The picture quality is outstanding, the colors rich and vibrant, the blacks inky and menacing. The brilliant azure skies, the jade green of the grass, the bright red generator, the searing sunlight and stifling shadows. Every frame seems saturated in nicotine gold. Beautiful.
Though not always likable, the actors are always believable. Performances are universally startling, but special mention has to go to Marilyn Burns. Though she has little more to work with than the clichéd screaming heroine, she works it with remarkable conviction. It was a traumatic shoot, and it shows. Few actresses have so effectively conveyed mind-numbing terror.
The soundtrack is exceptional and deserves more recognition. It is a great testimony to the experimentation and risk taking attitude of the era that all melody is destroyed under an industrial ambient soundscape of metallic clangs, scrapes and screams, evoking the atmosphere of the local slaughterhouse and the Family's state of mind. Terrifying.
Despite the complete lack of gore or extreme physical violence, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre continues to horrify and holds up the countless, shot-on-video, slasher clones of subsequent years for the puerile crap that they truly are. Whether by accident or design, this one is a classic." --Rathko, imdb.com
The best horror from the 1970s with halloween close behind it. not too gory or bloody but absolutely terrifying. Leatherface has 2 be the most terrifying killer 2 ever have been on the big screen.
The ultimate horror film par excellence. None of the sequels matched up to this in superiority. Very strong roles from Ed Neal,Jim Siedow & Paul Partain,Marilyn Burns was also close behind and Gunnar Hansen's leatherface will always be the most frightening & stark. The sound score & solar/lunar effects are awesome. This is one film i'll never tire of. Tobe Hooper hit the spot 100%
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