tswanreviews:

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Year: 1974

Director: Tobe Hooper

Pre-1974 the state of Texas was known for two things: The Alamo, and every mans right to marry his horse. Post 1974 cross dressing, skin mask wearing, chainsaw wielding cannibals became a permanent fixture on the list.

Tobe Hooper’s third film was much better received than his first two. His debut feature Eggshells barely registered and his second The Song Is Love fared little better, but any picture titled ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ was bound to grab some attention.

Focusing on the cannibalistic Sawyer clan TCM is best described as a proto slasher. Elements such as the body count and final girl are present, not to mention that all important staple of any self respecting blood and guts fest, a fat guy falling out of his wheelchair and rolling down a hill.

In truth there is very little in the way of gore on display here. The bloodshed is suggested leaving your imagination to conjure up far worse images than the special effects team ever could.

The fear factor stems not from the carnage meted out by main antagonist Leatherface and his family, but from the relentlessness of their pursuit. Lacking the structure of the traditional horror film TCM feels like one long waking nightmare.

The premise is a simple one: five friends on a road trip run low on gas in a desolate part of Texas. Seeking help they happen on a crazed family with a taste for human flesh. Throw in a chainsaw, some furniture crafted from human remains, and a deranged hitchhiker and its easy to understand why this is almost universally regarded as a classic of the genre.

The Sawyers are all unique in their own twisted way, from the cook who ‘just can’t take no pleasure in killing’ to the blood sucking grandpa, each plays their part as foils for lead heroine Sally.

From a technical standpoint film quality is on par with a 1970’s porno and in another parallel the emphasis is on attractive young ladies being split in half with a large tool. The graininess of the film stock coupled with some unorthodox camera angles adds a gritty realism to proceedings taking you beyond the realms of entertainment and placing you shoulder to shoulder with those fighting for their lives.

As opposed to most films of this type much of the running time is spent in broad daylight. By bringing the horror out of the shadows and shattering any kind of safe haven for the viewer a sense of paranoia is forged where you’re unable to let your guard down from one frame to the next.

With the passing of Tobe Hooper in 2017 we can now look back on his career as a whole and see that The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was by far his finest hour (although with classics such as Spontaneous Combustion and Crocodile on his CV the competition wasn’t exactly stiff).

A film like this could so easily have come across as cartoonish or cliché (though Hooper himself always maintained it was a black comedy) but the stars aligned and what resulted was quite possibly the finest pure horror movie ever made. Not bad for a low budget exploitation film with the working title ‘Head Cheese’.

Body Count: 5

Booby Count: 0

Verdict: 5 tumbling fatties out of 5