Product: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Original Uncut) [Region 2] (1974)
Rating: 5.0
Not a gorefest, but a real celluloid nightmare...
This is as terrifying as you've heard. Whether you saw it on an old, faded VHS copy, or you saw it in the theater when it came out, or on a later, remasted edition, it is so relentless and claustrophobic that it is impossible to shed from your mind. The thing about this film that despite its reputation, it has hardly any gore in it. It is not a gorehound film, not even close. It runs along the lines of Night of the Living Dead, an independent horror film that is truly scary and disturbing. It's not a film in which you get a few scares and then some comic relief. It's a plain nightmare of a film, and even in the end when one of the captives escape, you're still scared like hell. It burns into your subconscious like only a handful of films do (Cannibal Holocaust, Night of the Living Dead, and Salo for example). It's a testament to the filmmaker, Tobe Hooper, for making such a great film that still can scare people today. Forget the sequels or the remakes: this is the only one you need to see.