The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

It is a performances centric movie

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

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!!!

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.

I am on the autism spectrum and make mistakes when I do chores. But if someone where chasing me with a chainsaw, I would be smarter than this girl! The main character runs, which is smart, but makes many mistakes. One I clearly recall is that some men capture her and place her in a chair. They don't even strap her down! But that's not good enough for the girl, apparently, as she screams "LET ME GO! AHHHHHHHH! LET ME GO! AHHHHHH!" forever. Out loud, I said, "Woman, you are not tied up! Get up, and run to the window in front of you! I know the glass will break your skin, but it is your only way out! Now break the glass before you break my ears!" Which she did 5 minutes later. What is up with horror films and lack of logic? If you ask me, the best horror movie ever made is Salo, or The 120 Days of Sodom. They are really trapped in that world! As gross as it is, that is 1,000 times better if you ask me!

At six-years-old, I watched "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and I'm still allured back into watching this film every once in a while.Sally with three of her friends, and her wheelchair bound brother Franklin, travel to her grandfather's grave, but along the way they meet an insane hitchhiker. Problems continue to surmount.This influential film takes no prisoners; it's a sweat-inducing, relentless scream fest that leaves the gruesomeness up to the viewer. It's influences are unmistakeable. The concept (five or more regular individuals get mass murdered by a lethal killer) continues to inspire the horror genre especially slasher movies. "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" introduces the audience to the first unstoppable masked killer Leatherface. The opening sound effect is truly spine-tingling (I believe it's the sound of a flash bulb from a camera). Additionally, the scenes inside the farmhouse, where Leatherface and his family lives, are masterpieces of terror and dread. Even though this film is effectively made for a movie in the 1970s, it's still an extreme oddity.An oddity because it's a low quality cult movie that resembles a snuff film. By snuff film, the movie requires a woman to run around screaming her head off for the final third act of the movie. There's minimal characterization, plot and no context. Although "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" suffers by focusing on grisly violence (mostly left up to the viewer's imagination), the film manages to convey palpable terror.