The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Photos
Movie Info
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Cast
as Leatherface
as Sally
as Jerry
as Pam
as Kirk
as Franklin
as Hitchhiker
as Bearded Man
as Old Man
as Grandfather
as Storyteller
as Pickup Driver
as Narrator
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Critic Reviews for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
All Critics (57) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (50) | Rotten (7) | DVD (7)
This abattoir of a movie boasts sledgehammers, meathooks and chainsaws, and the result, though not especially visceral, is noisy, relentless, and about as subtle as having your leg sawed off without anaesthetic.
The picture gets to you more through its intensity than its craft, but Hooper does have a talent.
Despite the heavy doses of gore in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Tobe Hooper's pic is well-made for an exploiter of its type.
The movie is some kind of weird, off-the-wall achievement. I can't imagine why anyone would want to make a movie like this, and yet it's well-made, well-acted, and all too effective.
Along with Night of the Living Dead and The Last House on the Left, it ushered in the modern age of horror in the 1970s. It is one of the great transgressive American horrors and is still the film upon which Hooper's reputation is built.
My personal philosophy remains unmoved by skill and prowess when it comes to an idea this drastic. A chainsaw is a cheater's instrument, a device that disrupts all threads of rhythm and psychology.
Audience Reviews for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Unlikable characters and amateur acting makes it hard to get into this. But once the really horrible slaughtering starts you can't help but shift uncomfortably in your seat. Especially the last twenty minutes are really creepy, albeit unintentionally funny at times. But you can imagine what an impact the film must have had in its time.
Super Reviewer
Tobe Hooper's controversial classic is a landmark stamp in the genre of horror and a step towards the slasher sub genre. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a rare low-budget overnight sensation that produced hysteria and is still a disturbingly entertaining film for audiences then and now. 4/5
Super Reviewer
While groundbreaking for its time and responsible for establishing many elements of B movie horror, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre doesn't hold up as well as I had hoped. The acting is over the top and as bad as can possible be expected, but it doesn't really hurt the film that much. The camerawork is unique and adds a nice change of direction for the film. The story itself is unpredictable and suspenseful for about half the movie, but as soon as people start getting killed off it degenerates into typical horror fashion until a few twists are presented towards the end. This is actually a pretty tame film by today's standards (it cuts away from any kills when they are happening so you don't see guts and gore), but the way it is presented still makes it seem depraved. The fact that this film was banned back in the 70's is kind of funny. You could say the story is somewhat exploitive, especially towards the end, but nothing made my stomach turn. Overall, it was a solid low budget horror film that is respected due to its influence on the genre and for that I recommend it. Just don't expect it to live up to other classics like Psycho and Halloween.
Super Reviewer
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Quotes
| Old Man: | Look what your brother did to the door! |
| Sally: | [when they arrive at the old house, upon seeing its condition] Oh, I wish they hadn't let the place fall apart. |
| Jerry: | Now it looks like the birthplace of Bela Lugosi. |
| Narrator: | The film which you are about to see is an account of the tragedy which befell a group of five youths, in particular Sally Hardesty and her invalid brother, Franklin. It is all the more tragic in that they were young. But, had they lived very, very long lives, they could not have expected nor would they have wished to see as much of the mad and macabre as they were to see that day. For them an idyllic summer afternoon drive became a nightmare. The events of that day were to lead to the discovery of one of the most bizarre crimes in the annals of American history, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. |
| Sally: | [to The Cook] You're crazy! Please, you've got to make them stop. |
| Hitchhiker: | [laughing and mocking Sally] He can't stop it. He's just a cook! |
| Old Man: | [to the Hitchhiker] Shut up, you bitch hog! |
| Hitchhiker: | Isn't that right? Me and Leatherface do all the work. You're just the cook. |
| Old Man: | Shut your mouth! I just can't take no pleasure in killing. There's just some things you gotta do. Don't mean you have to like it. |
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