Our ongoing series reviewing the greatest Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror movies. Note that these reviews may contain spoilers.
Directed By: Tobe Hooper
Produced By: Kim Henkel, Tobe Hooper, Jim Parsley, Richard Saenz, Louis Peraino
Written By: Kim Henkel, Tobe Hooper
Starring: Marilyn Burns, Gunnar Hansen, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow
Original Release: 1974
Reviewed By: Aaron Hammonds
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars (Highest Rating)
Synopsis: The film begins with an ominous opening naration warning you that what you are about to see is a depiction of one of the most horrific crimes in history. The film then joins Sally (Marilyn Burns) and her wheelchair-bound brother Franklin (Paul Partain),travelling in a van with three friends (Allen Danziger, William Vail, Teri McMinn) to check on a cemetary containing the grave of their grandfather after they have heard news reports of grave robbing and corpse defilement. After a brief encounter with a bizarre razor-wielding hitchhiker, the group continue on toward the area of the cemetary. Looking for a swimming hole Franklin remembers from his childhood, the group stumbles upon a rundown old house in the woods. One by one, each of the group runs afoul of Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen), a maniac with a chainsaw and a mask made from human skin. Eventually the only one left is Sally, fighting for her life against not only Leatherface but an entire family of cannibals.
Review/Commentary: Starting in the 1960′s, horror film directors began to test the limits of what could be depicted onscreen. The end of the Production Code as well as the general loosening of the rules of so-called polite society led to horror films becoming more and more violent and gory. In the early 1970′s, exploitation films such as The Last House on the Left and Black Christmas were pushing the boundaries of American cinema. Into this new era of cinematic freedom came Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
Many people claim that director Tobe Hooper was inspired to create Chain Saw by accounts he had heard of Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein, the same killer who had been the basis of Norman Bates in Psycho. It is understandable why people came to this conclusion. The interior of Leatherface’s home seems straight out of a news photo of Gein’s old farmhouse: furniture made from human bones, animals in cages awaiting slaughter, the entire home littered with feathers and other animal remains. Hooper, however, denies this; he claims that the storyline was inspired by a trip to the hardware department of his local Sears, where a display of chainsaws gave birth to Leatherface. Hooper also said he was partially inclined to make a horror film due to the major news events of the time and their debilitating effect on the American psyche: Watergate, Vietnam, and the gas shortages.
Chain Saw is an absolutely terrifying film. Watching it almost feels as if someone has reached into your chest and grabbed your heart, refusing to let go until the final frame. Once the murders begin, the movie assaults the viewer’s senses like a sledgehammer, never letting up until the final frame. Chain Saw was also one of the most controversial films of the 1970′s, numerous critics and pundits claiming that it and other films like it could potentially inspire violence against women. Chain Saw was even dragged into the “snuff film” scare of the 1970′s, some investigators convinced that the murderous brutality depicted in the film could not have been staged. The controversy surrounding the film led it to being banned in 47 countries on its initial release.
The use of unknowns definitely added a sense of realism to the film; coupled with the relatively cheap film stock, these element combined to give the work an almost documentary feel. Gunnar Hansen, preparing for the iconic role of Leatherface, envisioned his character as mentally deficient and having never learned to speak properly so he visited a home for the mentally challenged to study the mannerisms of the residents in order to assist his portrayal of the masked killer. The conditions of the production certainly aided in the realistic feel: Hansen said, “It was 95, 100 degrees every day during filming. They wouldn’t wash my costume because they were worried that the laundry might lose it, or that it would change color. They didn’t have enough money for a second costume. So I wore that [mask] 12 to 16 hours a day, seven days a week, for a month.”
Despite the horrific nature of the story (or maybe because of it), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre went on to be one of the most successful, not to mention infamous, independent films of all time, being re-released every year after its initial one until 1984. Anyone interested in an unrelenting cinematic experience, something to absolutely terrify them, needs to watch this film, especially on a quiet, dark night, alone if you can stand it…
Check out Aaron Hammonds’ blog Aaron’s Movie Madness where he reviews his favorite movies.
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