Massacre à la tronçonneuse

To say this movie had an impact on me when I watched it when I was younger would be an understatement. Not as gory as you may imagine and that's the true magic of this film. Its what you imagine. Who's coming around the corner, am I safe and so on.

Hooper does an amazing job of creating tension and tension makes horror, supported by the occasional actual brutality to remind us of the potential consequences.

Sure the gore has aged compared to what is often being produced these days, but the film still holds up really well.

With the recent box-office success achieved by the latest remake of 1974's `The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,' it's worth looking back at Tobe Hooper's original horror classic.

The movie tells a fairly simple tale at heart. A group of five teenagers driving through rural Texas happen upon a deranged, cannibalistic family. Psychological terror and chainsaws ensue.

Yet despite this simplicity, what is it about `The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' that continues to succeed so with its audience? Outside of one memorial scene involving a meet hook; the movie is not particularly gory by today's standards. The film's characters and actual scares are not that remarkable.

The power of `The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' lies in its atmosphere and in what H.P. Lovecraft called `the oldest and strongest kind of fear': the fear of the unknown. The later of these two staples of great horror is often cast aside in modern horror movies-especially in those churned out by the great Hollywood engine. Instead, every mystery must be explained away, every mask ultimately pulled from a monster's face, and not a moment of exposition is spared. It is interesting to note that the filmmakers behind the latest `Chainsaw' film chose to implement all three of these stylistic vices in their remake.

In the original, the feeling of dread and mounting paranoia creeps over the viewer in slow but steady waves. The first scene in the film depicts a desecrated grave with a voiceover of radio newscast, immediately followed by an opening credits sequence set against a backdrop of roaring solar flares. This, along with some idle astrological chatter on the part of one of the teenagers early on, leads to a feeling of cosmic disarray in the lonely Texas hills they traverse.

Questions about the villain's mask or the field of cars under camouflage netting are left for the viewer to answer on his or her own. At worst, in the loss of any acceptable answer, they are forced to ponder that terrible and limitless gulf of the imagination: the unknown.

In it's later stages, the film becomes a cacophonous world of throat-peeling screaming, blood-shot eyes, laughter, and grinding machinery. One is forced to recall the solar flares in the film's opening credits. In the climax of famous dinner scene, there is a feeling of cosmic forces pressing in on reality and warping it into some crude mockery of order, as if the world were but a TV or radio signal distorted into madness by flares on the surface of the sun.

In the 29 years since `The Texas chainsaw Massacre' hit theaters, there have been countless imitators and four additional films in the franchise, three of them remakes. Yet as loved and influential as the original classic has been, many who would seek to emulate its vision seem to overlook its true strengths.

The (original) Texas Chainsaw Massacre, is without a doubt in my mind, the most impressive horror film to date. No other horror film stays with you in the same way. You feel not only fearful for the characters, but at times feel afraid for your own safety. The natural lighting and loose, improvised acting style creates a strong sense of reality that no other horror film can possibly achieve. Under a thin layer of dated aesthetics (1973 style of dress) lies the most dangerous, horrifying and psychotic world ever committed to script or screen. As the first of its kind, this movie set the mold for the modern horror film, though none were ever to realize any comparable distinction. It gave birth to the "slasher" genre (for better or for worse) . It is also one of few timeless films that has managed to combine horror and avant-garde styles, successfully. Unlike its remake, this one is more of an exercise in minimalism and simplicity (think even Dogme). The expert subtlety of the filmmakers; Tobe Hooper (writer/director), Kim Henkel (co-writer) and Daniel Pearl (cinematographer) results more in

psychological terror than in gore. The air-tight script, jarring realism and attention to detail are unparalleled in practically any film, horror or otherwise. And last, but by far not the least Marylin Burns PHENOMENAL performance is the only in cinematic history (a close second by that of Shelly Duvall in The Shining) that evokes such a nature of desperate and primal fear. You truly believe in every single one of her screams that her life is hanging by a single, thin thread.

I first saw this in the late 80s on a vhs n found it to be very very disturbing.

Revisited it recently on a dvd which I own.

This film is very terrifying n intense.

What a terrific achievement inspite of the tiny budget.

It has amazing direction n top not cinematography. The dreadful, creepy n isolated atmosphere added more intensity.

The opening statement and the way it is handled, all gav this movie a documentary feel n made it more terrifying.

The whole film has this dark n isolated look but the best part is nothing is shot in dim light or shaky cam or with flickering lights stuff.

Screaming from Marilyn Burns got on my nerves at times. Her constant jumping from the windows n repeated screaming n the trauma she goes thru made the movie more emotionally scary.

Some may find the dinner scene to b the most iconic n terrifying coz it gives the entire idea but i found the scene wher Leatherface keeps chasing the victim with a chainsaw to be pure nightmare n pure terrifying n intense stuff.

Also the scene wher Leatherface maniacally dances with his chainsaw is downright creepy.

The first kill is the most brutal n shocking. Ther is no gore or violence portrayed but jus the impact of the scene is brutal. The swing of the hammer and the way the victim falls to the ground and starts shaking, is just plain brutal n unbearable to watch.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre tells the story of five friends that are driving across Texas on a road trip. When they stop to visit an old house where two of them, a girl and her brother, grew up, their day goes horribly wrong. All of them are quickly dispatched by a chainsaw wielding maniac, and the last survivor is taken hostage by the maniac's family of cannibals. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a the "classic" that started the slasher genre, but it is overrated.

I have infinite respect for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, because it is a cheesy low budget film that director Tobe Hooper had to struggle to make, dealing with the hot Texas sun and his low budget, and yet he was able to churn out a cult classic that is still loved today. What I like about The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is that it paints a very disturbing picture. It's not the bubblegum horror movie you'd see nowadays. It's psychologically disturbing. It blasts your senses with sights and sounds you'll find very disturbing a graphic. The chilling score is made up of various sounds you'll hear in a slaughter house. The whole movie is very claustrophobic, with the camera getting super close-ups of the victim's eye, and the camera cutting to random, disturbing images in the middle of a scene. The movie is very disturbing that way.

What I don't like is the way the plot pans out. It is far too simplistic. The people who are killed die too soon into the film, and it all happens too fast. The last half hour or so of the movie is the last survivor screaming non-stop, and it gets annoying. I also didn't like how certain scenes are so dark you can't even see them. This may have been done for effect, but it only ruined the experience for me. Obviously the acting isn't even close to good, but what can you expect from a low budget 70's horror.

Overall, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is an okay movie to watch, and it deserves respect, but I just don't think it's the cinematic masterpiece everyone says it is.

6.5/10