Product: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Original Uncut) [Region 2] (1974)
Rating: 5.0
Horror at its most horrific
First things first: this is not a true story. There was no cannibalistic serial-killer family in the 1970's Texas, this movie was loosely based on the exploits of Wisconsin murderer Ed Gein and the rest is fantasy.However, what this is is one of the most horrific movies ever made, incredibly visceral and violent even though very little blood is used. The villains range from demented to sadistic, the heroes from sympathetic to annoying. The movie's cheif fault is that its teenagers are, for the most part, very poorly developed. We only get to know two of them, so when they wander into the clutches of Leatherface it's less painful for the audience, if incredibly painful for the characters.However, the movie excels in so many aspects that this minor point is quickly overlooked. The hot, humid texas atmosphere is perfectly filmed, adding a layer of foreboding to the already tense atmosphere. The killings are done in a variety of ways without being far-fetched and ridiculous (interestingly, only one is killed with a chainsaw) and the acting credible, especially Gunnar Hanson as Leatherface.The Best horror movie of the 1970's, and one of the greatest of all time. 9/10