Cover Art

Credits

Director: Tobe Hooper Starring: Marilyn Burns, Gunner Hansen, Allen Danziger, Paul A. Partain, William Vail, Teri McMinn, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, John Dugan Screenplay: Kim Henkel, Tobe Hooper Music: Wayne Bell and Tobe Hooper Tagline: Who will survive and what will be left of them? Country: USA

The story is a fairly simple one. A group of friends are travelling down a lonely Texas road when they stop to pick up a hitchhiker, which turns out to be a bad idea, after he cuts himself and wheel-chair-bound Franklin. Escaping the madness, the troop stop at a house for some relaxation. Unfortunately for them, the hitchhiker's bizarre family live close by, including a cross-dressing chainsaw wielding mask wearing maniac simply known as Leatherface. As the kids stumble onto the family's house, Leatherface picks them off in a series of brutal slayings. As the film's tagline suggests, who will survive, and what will be left of them? This is Hooper's grisly classic about a summer drive turned into a nightmare by acts of murder and mayhem.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was the first of its kind to shock an audience with its realistic and ghastly portrayal of what was labeled as a "true story" (although we all know the character Leatherface is loosely based on real life serial killer Ed Gein). Although it contains little to no onscreen blood or gore, the suggested violence and emotional impact presented in the film creates the horror that is felt. The story did not acknowledge itself as fiction, but instead portrayed itself as real, which was the most disturbing value of the film. Unlike many horror films that can be taken light-heartedly due to their fantastic nature, Texas Chainsaw Massacre was presented in a realistic fashion.

My personal opinion of this movie may be weaker than many others, but I still appreciate this film for what it is. It's an old movie, and it certainly shows. The movie is dated, and honestly didn't scare me. It did, however, disturb me and make me feel uncomfortable, which is good, considering it was designed to do so. However because it is dated, the scares just didn't work on me.

Considering this movie's track record for classifications and censorship around the world, it was passed with an R18+ in Australia. It came with a warning that "this movie should not under any circumstances be viewed by children." The movie contains no graphic depictions of violence, but it is still an extremely violent movie. Most violent stuff is suggested, and left to the imagination. That being said, I absolutely love the first kill with the sledgehammer to the head. The swift and brutal actions of Leatherface committing a cold-blooded act, combined with some excellent cinematography and editing make the scene work well.

Being low budget, you wouldn't expect many fancy effects or brilliant cinematography, but actually, the movie was able to utilise its tools and create some stunning shots. The camera work is something to remember, from those long pans to the often odd camera angle. The positioning of the camera really helps depict the madness of this film, and combined with the editing, this movie works well.

Disc Two boasts a collection of great to mediocre features. By far the best is the feature length documentary The Shocking Truth, which contains cast and crew interviews, detailed information about the making of, and even has a brief yet very good look at the film's sequels, including some great behind the scenes footage of part 2 (a deleted gore scene!) and interviews with some of those involved with said sequels. This documentary is an excellent 'making of' and I was personally surprised with how interesting and fascinating it was. Force has done a tremendous job acquiring this documentary for the DVD.

Up next was the not nearly as impressive, yet still interesting The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: A Family Portrait (Revisited), which interviewed Gunner Hansen, Edwin Neal (The Hitchhiker), John Dugan (Grandpa) and Jim Siedow (the Cook). It runs for about an hour, and the movie is discussed with accompanying clips and photos from the film. It can be boring at times, since a lot is already known because of the previous documentary. The production value also seems very cheap, considering Edwin Neal's entire interview is out of focus, which is extremely annoying on the eyes. However, Gunner Hansen and the extremely funny Edwin Neal, who truly is a brilliant performer, save this doco from being a waste of time.

Some deleted scenes, most without sound, can be found on the disc, along with a blooper reel, and some alternative footage and outtakes for Kirk's death scene. All are certainly intriguing to view, but considering most of it is soundless, it loses its novelty fairly quickly.

A short feature on the props and sets of the film can be watched, which takes a camera into the house during the time of filming, and shows the props and sets used. Interesting to see the detail put into the picture, but again, not overly exciting to watch.

Promotional stills and poster gallery help fill up the disc. Some nice pictures and an extensive look at the different poster arts from around the world.

The film's trailer is present, which is in bad shape considering its age, but still just as effective. This is one of my favourite trailers of all time, because it really creeped me out the first time I saw it, and it's very effective. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who quotes, "Once you stop screaming, you'll start talking about it."