Product: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Original Uncut) [Region 2] (1974)
Rating: 5.0
One of the most bizarre crimes in the annals of American history.
PLOT: The film begins on August 18, 1973. A series of bizarre grave robbings have occurred in a small Texas town. Some of the corpses have even been arranged into macabre works of art. A group of college age friends take a drive to the cemetary. They are Sally (Marilyn Burns), Jerry (Allen Danziger), Franklin (Paul A. Partain), Kirk (William Vail), and Pam (Teri McMinn). Sally and Franklin are siblings; Franklin is wheelchair-bound. The group wants to make sure that Sally and Franklin's grandfather has not been dug up and stolen from his gravesite. After leaving the cemetary, the group notices a horrible stench on the road. Franklin explains that the smell is coming from the nearby slaughterhouse and he also tells the group what goes on there. The group then stops to pick up a hitchhiker (Edwin Neal). The hitchhiker says that he's a slaughterhouse worker and he seems to be a bit crazy. He self-mutilates himself with Franklin's pocket knife right before everyone's eyes. Then he cuts Franklin's arm with a straight razor, so the group kicks him out of the van and speeds away. Next they stop at a gas station, but the old man working the place (Jim Siedow) says that the tanks are empty and that they may be out until the following morning. The group buy some barbeque and take off. Since they don't have much gas, they stop at Sally and Franklin's gradfather's old house. The place is neglected and in disrepair, but the group doesn't really have anything better to do for now. Kirk and Pam decide to go swimming in the swimming hole out back, but it's all dried up. Kirk hears the sound of a motor running at a nearby house, which could mean that they have gasoline. Kirk and Pam go to the house which is surrounded by all kinds of junk and abandoned cars. Kirk knocks on the door but nobody answers. Kirk makes Pam wait outside as he goes to knock on the door one last time. He hears a strange noise coming from a hallway inside. He goes inside and finds himself face to face with some sort of deranged butcher wearing a human-skin mask. The "Leatherface" man (Gunnar Hansen) kills Kirk by bashing him on the head with a sledgehammer. He then drags his carcass downstairs and slams the big metal door in front of the entrance. Things only get much worse from here.COMMENTS: This is one of the scariest films ever released. I personally saw the film for the first time when I was 18, and it scared the hell out of me. Tobe Hooper's direction and story are brilliant. The film was filmed using a very low-budget, gritty camera. That along with the cast of unknown actors makes the film seem like a bizarre documentary; that's what makes it so scary. Other films that borrowed this technique were "The Blair Witch Project" (1999) and "Open Water" (2003). Despite its grisly and unsettling subject matter, Hooper also uses pacing, suspense, the deserted location and dramatic tension to frighten the audience. He also experimented with boiling hot daylight in the film. Hooper also provided the eerie score, which is really just a collection of bizarre percussive noises, like the ones that an animal would hear in a slaughterhouse. The film has a prologue at the beginning claiming that the "following story is true." This is just a scare tactic. The film is actually inspired by (not based on) the true story of serial killer Ed Gein. Ed Gein was a man who went on a murder spree in 1950s Wisconsin. When police entered his house they discovered corpses and furniture made from human remains. Out of all of the remain's found in Gein's house, he only claimed to have murdered two people and said that the rest were corpses that he robbed from graves. Gein was a transvestite, but instead of wearing women's clothing he wore their skin. He had a woman suit complete with breasts and a vagina. The film's story happens nothing like it did in real life. There was no 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre", but there was a "Leatherface". Gein also inspired the characters Norman Bates from "Psycho" (1960) and Buffalo Bill from "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991). This film went on to become a cult classic. Leatherface is considered to be one of most famous villains in cinema history. This film is very disturbing and not recommended for kids or the faint. Tobe Hooper later went on to direct "Salem's Lot" (1979), "The Funhouse" (1981), and "Poltergeist" (1982). He also followed up this film with "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2" (1986). Hooper had the cannibalistic family members reprise their roles and the film also featured excellent make-up special effects from horror EFX wizard Tom Savini. Unfortunately the film was ultimately considered to be one of the worst sequels of all time due to Hooper's decision to stylistically depart the documentary-style feel of the first film to a campy black humor feel. The film has a small cult following of viewer's who feel that it is a parody of the first film. Two more sequels (not directed by Hooper) were released: "Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III" (1990) and "Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation" (1994). The original film was remade in 2003. The remake has a few differences and was ultimately considered inferior to the original cult classic. A prequel to the remake, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning", is set for an October 2006 release. It takes place 4 years before the remake. This DVD edition contains the film presented in the original theatrical widescreen ratio. It also features deleted scenes, alternate footage, blooper reel, trailers, still photos, and a commentary with director Tobe Hooper, director of photography Daniel Pearl, and Gunnar Hansen.