The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

(1974) ****


Octopunk beat me to it and already reviewed TCM so I won’t perseverate on his ideas.

Five “teenage” friends en route to visit their grandfather’s grave pick up a deranged hitchhiker and unwittingly set in motion their own demise as they stumble upon a family of cannibals.

Would you pick up this guy?

Loosely, very loosely based on the serial killer Eddie Gein, The Texas Chainsaw massacre is an amazing cinema achievement not only for the punch it packs with its shoestring budget but for its perception of gore in a goreless film. Thematically this is hard “R-rated” stuff, but this film could easily be rated PG-13. There’s no nudity, swearing, or blood. There’s just the suggestion of your worst nightmare. The low budget works in the film’s favor creating a grainy cinema verite, which is probably what freaked out audiences in 1974. Copycat films as well as a string of poor sequels have drained some of it’s power. Still, three decades later TCM will get under your skin. Leatherface, the original title of this film by the way, chasing Sally through the woods is iconic imagery. A friend, who had never seen this movie before, remarked that Sally, compared to most scream queens, genuinely looks terrified, as if she did not realize she was only acting in a movie. The close-ups of her eyes suggest that she was not in on the joke.

My friend, we’ll call her Whirlygirl, also observed that Sally’s jump through a closed window was the best she’s ever seen. It’s true; Sally doesn’t hesitate for one second. A chainsaw wielding maniac is a strong motivator.

As an aside, the Eddie Gein murders have been portrayed many times on film including Psycho and Silence of the Lambs. Go here for the true story: http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/notorious/gein/bill_1.html

The real leatherface