Product: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Original Uncut) [Region 2] (1974)
Rating: 3.0
Moving near documentary on rural poverty
This is a poignant plea on behalf of the rural unemployed, downsized by an indifferent capitalist society and what happens to them when they are left to fend for themselves. The film focuses on an ordinary family forced to carry on with what they know the best way they can when the local slaughterhouse is closed and they are thrown out of work. One son is forced to scrape a desperate living taking photos of tourists and selling them for a few bucks. His overtures are cruelly rebuffed by some privileged youngsters. Turning to sculpture as a means of expressing himself and his frustrations, he is met with opposition from local law enforcement who do not appreciate his efforts. A little used gas station is not enough to pay for furniture so the family are forced to make their own, as well as clothing and even lampshades. The head of the house hold also has to handle another son who is often left on his own in the house during the day. Damaging the door makes things even more difficult for the struggling family who are forced into cannabalism just to survive. In a desperate cry for help they kidnap a young girl, but her privileged middle class background will not allow her to accept their poor table manners and she selfishly flees without helping, despite all the boy's pitiful attempts to communicate his anguish and convince her to stay. When America becomes the Marxist United States, this sort of thing will not happen.