Product: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Original Uncut) [Region 2] (1974)
Rating: 5.0
THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974)
THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, clearly what is to be the slasher film that started them all, is definitely one the scariest movies in all horror/serial killer slasher films ever to be made, and went on to set the grounds for future slasher films that were eventually to come (i.e. HALLOWEEN, FRIDAY THE 13TH, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, etc.)Bickering siblings, SALLY HARDESTY (played by Marilyn Burns) and wheelchair-bound FRANKLIN HARDESTY (played by Paul A. Partain), visit their grandfather's in a cemetery in rural Texas with their companions JERRY (played byAllen Danziger), KIRK (played by William Vail) and PAM (played by Teri McMinn) after hearing that the graveyard has been vandalized and corpses have been constructed into figures. While driving to the Hardesty's now deserted former house, they encounter a heat-struck, possibly crazy hitchhiker. However, after he torments them and threatens Franklin with violence, they kick him out of the van.Running low on gas, the group pulls over at a gas station/barbaque, where the owner says that they won't have any fuel until the next morning. Upon learning where the teens are going, the owner advises them against going there. The group finally arrives at the Hardesty farm. Following Franklin's directions to a childhood swimming hole, Kirk and Pam set off to find it while the others stay at the old house. Finding the swimming hole dried up, Kirk and Pam hear the sound of a gas-powered generator which attracts them to a farmhouse nearby. While there they encounter a junkyard of vehicles and finally discover the house. Kirk investigates and is eventually attacked by LEATHERFACE (played by Gunnar Hansen) with a sledgehammer while Pam is outside. Pam then enters searching for Kirk, but also falls prey to Leatherface, and is hung onto a meathook.As night approaches, Sally, Franklin and Jerry become restless waiting, so Jerry searches for Pam and Kirk. He also becomes one of Leatherface's victims. As night falls, Leatherface searches for more prey while Sally and Franklin search for the house. Their cries attract Leatherface, who bursts upon them and instantly attacks Franklin with a chainsaw, repeatedly driving it through his body. Sally flees through a forest, cutting herself graphically on branches before finding the house. She enters it, but leaves upon discovering that it belongs to Leatherface. With the maniac relentlessly pursuing her, Sally runs all the way back to the gas station. On arrival, Leatherface apparently disappears while she appeals to the gas station owner for help. Instead, he attacks her with a broom, throws a burlap sack over her and bundles her into his truck. This character, known only as the "Old Man," is now revealed to be Leatherface's father. He takes her straight back to the farmhouse, reaching the driveway at the same time as the hitchhiker, who is also apparently part of the family.Sally is taken into the house and tied to a chair. When they remove the sack, she and the hitchhiker recognise each other, and he immediately taunts her. He and Leatherface then bring down the withered figure of "GRANDPA" (played by John Dugan) from the upstairs bedroom, slicing open Sally's finger so he can suck the blood from it, where she then passes out.Dawn approaches, Sally flees the house, after a gruesome cannabalistic dinner with the three crazed men, and attempts to escape onto the highway. The knife-wielding hitchhiker and the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface give chase. Just as the hitchhiker reaches her and begins slashing at Sally, an eighteen wheeler truck suddenly appears and accidentally runs him down. The truck driver stops and gets out, only to be confronted by Sally being chased at close quarters by Leatherface. As the woman and the driver climb into the truck, the killer attacks the vehicle with the saw. Escaping through the other side of the cab, the driver throws a large wrench at Leatherface which catches him in the head, knocking him down and causing him to cut his right leg. The truck driver flees down the road. As Leatherface rises to his feet and limps after Sally despite his injury, a pickup truck arrives on the scene. Sally finds time to enter the back of the truck, leaving the film to finish with a shot of Leatherface in the middle of the road, wielding the saw above his head in frustration.I've seen plenty of horrifying slasher films in my day, but none of them will ever be as horrifying and morbid as THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. This 2-disc Special Edition will not only give this outstanding film, but a bonus disc with "KILLER" special features to go along with it.