Product: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Original Uncut) [Region 2] (1974)
Rating: 5.0
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
I am going to skip my usual review format, and not review the DVD. I am instead just going to look at the film itself.The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was released in October of 1974, and was an immediate success. All across the nation, people were running out of the theater in shock of what they were seeing. The film cost $100,000 to make, and wound up grossing about $30 million. In other words, 300 times its budget. Not bad for an indie horror flick.Over the years, TCM has garnered a reputation as being extremely gory, perverted, and being a symbol of everything that is wrong in America. The film has been banned in many countries due to its content, and is equally reviled as it is praised.It was with some hesitation that I sat down to watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I had avoided it due entirely to its reputation. But what happened as I was watching it was interesting. For the first time since seeing The Exorcist 4 years earlier, I was completely terrified by a movie. On the edge of my seat, squirming, heart racingly TERRIFIED.To start off, there is hardly any blood at all in the movie. Yes, people get butchered by Leatherface, and there is the girl on the meathook, but its all done with sound effects and imaginative camera angles. There's literally only about 2 ounces of blood seen in the entire movie. Secondly, you don't even really see what's happening when the people are slaughtered. Your imagination is forced to take over, which is even scarier than all the blood and guts in the world.Is the movie any good? Yes! The reason I praise The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is its unparallelled ability to horrify the viewer. This film comes as close to a living nightmare as any film could possibly come. This film is absolutely ruthless in its attempt to drive you right out of your mind. The infamous dinner scene is one such example. For 10 solid minutes there's nothing but yelling and screaming and all-out craziness going on. The fantastic camera angles and Marilyn Burns' terrifying screaming is enough to drive anyone mad. You are pulled into whats happening on screen, and you are not even given a second to breathe.Marilyn Burns is extraordinary as the film's heroine. As you watch the movie, you cannot even tell she is acting. Also, she is one hell of a screamer! During the dinner scene, you can tell that she is truly terrified, and cannot believe what is happening around her. You feel for her, and cannot belive what is happening to her, which makes the film even more horrifying. Gunnar Hansen is also fantastic as Leatherface. He adds a human quality to this cannibalistic monster that makes the movie even more unsettling.Tobe Hooper's direction is first rate. He decided to shoot the movie like a documentary which makes the film even more horrifying. You think what is happening on screen is actually happening to the people right at that very moment. The graininess of the picture adds even more to the feel of the film.Simply put, this is one of the most horrifying films I have ever seen. Everything is first rate, and I highly suggest that anyone who has an appreciation for true horror see it. It ranks right up there with The Exorcist as one of the scariest films of all time.