BLOOD WORK: HALLOWEEN HORROR DAYS ~ DAY 22: THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE (1974)

The 1980's may have been the last true horror cinema renaissance but it wouldn't have happened had it not been for the films of the 1970's. Mario Bava's TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE a.k.a. A BAY OF BLOOD, William Friedkin's THE EXORCIST, Wes Craven's THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, and many other films introduced whole new levels of darkness, violence, and onscreen gore never seen before in cinema (and in some cases still yet to be surpassed). The films of this decade set the precedent for the horror films of the 80's and defined modern horror.

Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel's THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE is one of the most important horror films to come from the 1970's. Chainsaw changed the look and sound of horror films and how horror films were made. It has inspired countless filmmakers including Ridley Scott and his work on ALIEN (1979) as well as more modern filmmakers such as Alexandre Aja and Rob Zombie. The most obvious enduring element from the film is the character of LEATHERFACE, now one of the most recognizable horror icons of the last 50 years.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre changed the face of horror forever.

THE PLOT

A mass grave robbing incident spurs a group of friends to pile in a van to see whether or not their relatives' graves were among the desecrated. On their way they decide to stop at an old farmhouse that they had inherited. While there they discover another farmhouse far off the beaten path. Two of the friends approach the farmhouse in hopes of borrowing some gasoline. A massive man in a mask emerges from the house killing them both. As the day wears on the other friends start trickling over to the farmhouse in search of the others, each meeting the same grizzly fate as the first two until only one is left alive. As night falls the lone survivor runs for her life from a crazed killer wielding a chainsaw.

WHAT I LIKED

Raw Authenticity. The film looks terribly rough from start to finish. The movie opens on a black screen with strange sound effects. Then we get a flash of light in the dark and a new jarring sound. This repeats, the flashing of light eventually revealing a number of desiccated corpses. The first fully light shot of the movie is of a bizarre corpse sculpture made of many different bodies, contorted and wrapped around a monolithic headstone. Then the credit roll occurs and we get our first exposure to the disturbing film score (which can barely be classified as music, which makes it all the more unnerving).

Once we finally see the first shots of the cast and the narrative begins moving along the film takes on an unrefined documentary appearance adding an odd dimension of realism to the images and characters on screen, again feeling incredibly raw. All of these elements work to set the audience ill at ease from the start and the uncomfortable feeling only grows as the film progresses. This raw appearance subtly makes the viewer stop thinking they're watching a work of fiction and wonder if the images on screen are actually real. Very few horror films have a overall presentation as potent as this.

The Acting. Continuing the authentic raw feeling of the film is the incredible performances of the cast. The five protagonists look and feel natural. Their reactions are believable and never is there the logicless moments where the characters do something stupid (a classic horror trope). Marilyn Burns has the hardest task of all being the heroine and she nails it. Then there's the Chainsaw Family, Grandpa, Cook, Hitchhiker, and Leatherface. These four deliver genuinely frightening, disturbing, and some of the most convincingly insane performances in cinema history. All these actors kill it (pun intended). Marilyn Burns, Jim Siedow, and Edwin Neal are all deserving of more praise and recognition for their performances.

The Visuals. I talked about the opening sequence with the corpses and graveyard art but there is so much more demented macabre imagery in this film. The set design of the Chainsaw Family's farmhouse is incredible. Dirty, covered in bones and feathers, and terrifying. There are lamps made from human skulls, furniture made of severed human limbs, and so much more. Leatherface's look is shocking and bizarre as well as the Hitchhiker with his strange mannerisms and facial birthmark. And of course the finale at the dinner table is an unparalleled masterpiece of madness and horrifying cinema. Marilyn Burns deserves an Academy Award for that scene.

The cinematography and the music are the wicked and weird icing on this gruesome cake which I cannot speak enough about nor heap enough praise upon.

NITPICKS

I have no complaints about this film whatsoever. I'm even straining my mind to come up with one. To me this is one of the great horror masterpieces of cinema. I have heard that director Tobe Hooper cut as much of the gore as he could in hopes of getting any rating other than an X. I will admit that I deeply wish to see a director's cut of this film with the censored gore restored in its entirety. In all honesty I don't feel the film needs anything else. I just want to see what the director's original vision was like.

THE VERDICT

A true milestone and masterpiece of horror cinema, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre redefined horror movies forever. Every aspect about this film works on its audience, making the viewer uncomfortable and pushing that feeling as far as possible. Leatherface and the Chainsaw Family are the perfect picture of madness. Unparalleled, iconic, and most of all scary. This film works on your senses like no other and shows you what true horror really is.

Overall Ranking: 10 out of 10

Nude-O-Meter: 0 out of 10