Product: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Original Uncut) [Region 2] (1974)
Rating: 5.0
Human monsters
This original 1974 film is a remarkable horror movie. It's dated, sure, but only in the incidentals, and director Tobe Hooper's raw vision cuts right through. Although the cinematography is virtually non-existent and it's obviously a cast of amateurs, Hooper crafted an intense and creepy piece of cinema. From the opening image (unsettling enough as to be perfect) to the last unforgettable shot of Leatherface randomly swinging his saw in rageful dance, this is powerful work, and it goes to show one doesn't need buckets of gore to scare the hell out of people. The direction is skillful enough to evoke horror through simple intimation--like the scene where one of the characters watches agitating masses of daddy longlegs on a wall, or when the first girl falls into the Sawyers's living room and stares in horror as she (and we) notice what the furniture is actually made of, with the air filled with chicken feathers...It's too bad Tobe Hooper's original scenario, based loosely on Ed Gein, got drawn out into the Hollywood sequel mill. It's probably the best slasher flick ever made.