The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
R | 11 October 1974 (USA)
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Trailers

A group of five young friends face a nightmare of torment at the hands of a depraved Texas clan.

Reviews
leonkosc

So the first 30 minutes of this movie is in my opinion so, so. It's a good build up, but the only thing we have are characters, and from the beginig we can predict who's gonna die first, who's gonna be a final girl etc. But no one can predict what happens later! About 30-40 minutes in the movie Leatherface shows up and the first scenes with him, when he kills his first victoms are actually kind of creepy. We don't know anything about him and it's all just weird. In a good way. And the scene where he starts to pray is in my opinion the best example of that. But then the movie suddenly becomes masterpiece. The dinner scene is... Awesome. It's one of the weirdest, funniest and most bizzare things I experienced for a long time. I won't give it away but if you love weird things you won't be disappointed, I can promise you that. Hit her grandpa!!!

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arrgh-46956

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)Details:Genre: Horror. Run time: 83 mins. BBFC certificates: 1974 classification: N/A (film was banned from general public exhibition); 1999 re-rating for video release: 18.Synopsis: A group of teenagers take a day trip, and when their minivan runs out of juice, they trespass on the wrong property.Intro:Hailed by many as one of the most disturbing horror films of all time, this movie was banned from general cinemas in the '74 when it was completed and remained similarly screened from the main public eye (on my side of the pond, at least) for the next twenty-five years. A film was banned for twenty-five years; just take a moment to consider what that really means. That means it was banned for almost five years longer than this reviewer has currently been alive for. Was this down to negligence on the part of the BBFC or was it because the film genuinely is as ultimately frightening as people hype it up to be? I'll be answering that question momentarily.The experience:The film opens with a pre-opening sequence which (curiously enough) half-reassures you. It consists of a monologue by a guy who's the epitome of horror film introduction narrators in terms of his tone of voice (or the inspiration behind the epitomes of horror film narration in terms of tones of voice?), which explains what the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is. Or does it in fact explain that seriously? Too simple? Yes, even I - a true horror fan - missed that this opening is there to lull viewers into a false sense of security by playing with their expectations. Honestly, in terms of plot cohesion, the intro isn't even needed. But equally, to question its ultimate effectiveness, is it needed to make the later scares scarier for the suspense it momentarily diffuses? Well...it's probably too early in the review to answer that question... So, immediately after our intro, we get our first horror sequence... Okay, it's one thing starting the horror early, but it's quite another starting it so early that your audience isn't even left chance to register, and this film has the latter down to a fine art.So, we're now moved to our main characters, who are driving through the farmlands of Texas for their day out. Along the way, they have an explicit chat about the brutal ways in which some farmers used to slaughter their animals, and coincidentally enough, right as this is being discussed, they pass a cattle farm. Really, this is probably the only film ever which makes the sight of cows looking over a fence at you with their cute faces seem scary (was Hooper a veggie, I wonder?)Soon, the kids pick up a seriously wacky-looking hitchhiker, and what follows is a majorly potent sequence of psychological unease and ultimately horror. This scene is so ramped up with utterly visceral mental intensity that non-horror-fans will probably turn the movie off right in the middle of it. So, is that the worst of it over then? No. And to answer more explicitly, if the main scary body of this movie is the football game, said scene hasn't even seen the film start to get its kit on. On top of said scare, the kids' transport breaks down and they're forced to search for a fuel source. When no luck strikes, the kids explore the countryside for a local who might be able to help them with their predicament. Eventually, they find a very weird-looking farmhouse. Strange artefacts surround it, with skewered pocket-watches being just one example. Upon knocking on the front door, a pulled tooth is forcefully thrown through the letterbox onto the front porch. Really, at this stage, you're thinking that anyone with any sense whatsoever would now ask for help elsewhere, but of course, if that had been the case, we wouldn't have a film here. So, this is where the persistent horror starts. The scares at this stage in the film are utterly intense and brutal, and what really makes them pack a punch is how they play expertly with your anticipation. The unknown is scarier than anything else in the world, and this film plays that fact like a piano. The terror now just goes on and on and on, until finally, we arrive at period of calm......Except I'm not here talking about the sort of calm that gets you to sleep at night. I'm talking about the calm that comes before a storm. And this storm is the most ferocious in all the history of horror. Contrary to what you may have been thinking so far, the guy with the chainsaw isn't in fact the biggest maniac of this movie. That title goes to the guy who turns up now, and he makes Hannibal Lecter look like a comic relief character. Cue the final act, which is the real main body of the movie. Yes, the film has taken a whole fifty minutes to finally get its football kit on, and now comes the game. Sure, said game is only half an hour long - only one third the length of an actual football game - but it feels far longer (than an actual football game).The intensity here reaches an apogee. Literally, all of your horror film senses are played with: your fear, your anticipation, your empathy, your pride, your self-awareness - the whole lot are shredded to ribbons of feeble confetti. This is partly down to the terrific acting, but a mention of the set used here is also worth a note. It's surely as good a representation of the fires of Hell itself as any movie has ever given us. When the end of the film finally arrives, you won't be able to get outside into the fresh air quick enough.Post-viewing analysis:Wow... Just...wow... This critic isn't normally rendered speechless, but he has been today. What a relentless ride of terror this is. Honestly, horror is my favourite genre, and I can handle my scares, but even I left this experience feeling physically ill. And yes, that's me saying that I totally agree with the BBFC's decision to refuse the film a rating for a quarter of a century. If the intention of horror films is to scare people, this film succeeds too well...and that's brilliant. The first fifty-or-so minutes feel like the first fifty-or-so minutes, but the final half an hour is so mentally exhausting that it feels like over two-and-a-half hours. I swear I'm not exaggerating. I'll put it another way too: before I saw Texas Chainsaw, I thought that the subheading for Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead, which reads: "The ultimate experience in gruelling horror" was fitting. I now find it to be completely redundant. Some critics say that this film is without an ultimate message, but I've spotted one. The message is, "do not trespass". And boy, is that message drilled in well here. Admittedly though, Texas Chainsaw isn't quite legendary, as some of the character behaviour that ultimately leads to the horror does push the boundaries of credibility, but with such ludicrous thrills as these, who cares?Verdict: 5/5All the disturbingly well-done psychological ploys add up to make this more than just scary. This is a movie which only true horror fans will be able to sit through, and then with difficulty. Basically: good luck, ye who enter here. I mean that very sincerely.

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jscuderijr

Love the scene where Leatherface snatches Pam. She had some sexy legs on her. Too bad they didn't have Leatherface do "more" to her after grabbed her pretty little ass and carried her back inside the house. I really love how she's screaming and struggling her hot legs as she's helpless to escape.

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scaredstifffilms

Great film well shot, great cast, great delivery. A film you can watch over and over and only gain more love for it.

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