The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - Will's Review

What can I even begin to say about TCM that hasn't already been said?

Unoriginal though this sentiment may be; the first thing I'm going to say is 'if you haven't seen Texas Chain Saw; go watch it'. Although that seems a little redundant; if you like horror movies enough to have found yourself on the corner of the interwebs where people watch one every week, then you have almost certainly seen this one a couple of times already!

With that in mind, I'm not going to be especially mindful of spoilers from here on in.

The thing I think most people find so surprising about this movie is the lack of blood.

The only blood-drawing scenes are 2 smallish knife cuts (one to a hand, one an arm) a pricked finger, and an accidental 3" cut to Leatherface's leg... Only the latter would require stitches!

The second thing that surprises people is that it takes more than one viewing to even realise how little blood there is; the movie is such an assault on the senses that a first viewing is likely to leave you too overloaded to notice specifics. The soundscape especially seems to have been (and I'm sure; was) especially made to fill you with fear, and knock you mentally off balance.

After a nerve jangling opening, the movie quickly settles down into a quite road trip; the visit from a demented hitch-hiker acts as groundwork for what is to follow, but still the tone quietens down as out cast (surprisingly, to a modern audience) arrive at their intended destination.

This quietness though, is what gives the films 3rd act it's power; from the second we enter the Sawer's home, the nerve jangling goes up to 11, and doesn't let up for the rest if the movie.

Really the only problem I have with this film is Grandpa... Until he turns up, the film is squarely in 'it could happen' territory; and suddenly showing a... Whatever grandpa is (a zombie?) really bugs me.

But then without Sawer Snr, we'd miss one of the most horrifying scenes ever commuted to film; The hitchhiker, assisting grandpa in an attempted slaughter of our final girl; it's so drawn out that it's not easy to watch, and by the time she finally loses it and goes hysterical, we completely understand!

It's hard to believe that this was brought to us by the same Tobe Hooper who would go on to bring us "The Mangler" and the "Toolbox Murders" remake...

Fun Facts:

• The Roadkill armadillo from near the beginning of the film did not appear in the script; the crew just found it on location.
• Letherface's self-inflicted chainsaw wound did not use a stuntman, and was achieved by placing a metal plate, and then a steak, on actor Gunnar Hansen's leg under his trousers. Hansen sustained a burn to his leg because of the friction between the chainsaw and the plate.

Texas Chain Saw Massacre - Lisa's Review

*** SPOILERS ***

This week I had the priviledge of watching one of my favourite horrors - Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  Bit of an odd way I first saw this one.  I never fancied it as I've never been a 'Slasher/Gore Fest' fan... that's not to say I don't like a bit of gore, I just like a story with my gore... something to make me think.  I came home one night quite late, switched on the TV and this one was on.  I was completely transfixed and unable to take my eyes off it.  When it finished, I got my hands on a copy so I could watch it in its entirety.

So we've established I love it.  Why should you watch it?  This movie is gorey in places, yes, but not anywhere near as much as you'd expect.  It has an uncomfortable, eerie feel all the way through.

Without going into too much detail, a group of young friends (Sally, Franklin, Pam, Jerry and Kirk)are travelling to visit Sally & Franklins grandfather as there have been reports of vandalism.  During this process, they pick up a derranged hitchhiker who they manage to force out of their van after he slashes Franklin (who happens to be in a wheelchair) and himself.  This is merely an introduction though, as he appears later with greater relevance.

They then stop at a petrol station, but find the pumps empty.  They head onwards towards Sally & Franklins grandfathers home.  Pam and Kirk are out together when they stumble upon a house where they mean to ask about where to get petrol.  We have the old chestnut of the door being open but no-one answering.  Why oh why do people always go inside?

 When Kirk enters, he is intrigued by a red door with animal skulls on it, so he walks into the hallway calling out for any occupants. The star of our movie 'Leatherface' appears and prompty smacks him around the head with a mallet.  This is one of the things I love about this movie.  There is no messing about, people are dispatched with quickly and efficiently when he wants to.  The way he moves abruptly and purposefully is in itself terrifying.  We concentrate here on Kirks spasming body as he dies, there is no real gore worth talking about.  We then see one of my favourite things in the movie for the first time.. Leatherface slams shut the steel front to the door.  I don't know why, but that gives me chills.  The character is the perfect villain.  He makes your skin crawl.  How he moves, how he looks, how he sounds.

When Pam enters the house, I have a cringefest.  She see's the macabre surroundings, including furntiure made from human bones.  Oddly she seems freaked out by a large chicken in a small cage.  She decides to leave and runs for the hall.  Leatherface appears again and grabs her as she just manages to exit the back door.  He carries her back into the room he took Kirks body before impaling her very matter-of-factly on a meathook - Genius!  You see the hooks, you know they'll come in somewhere, but you don't expect it to be so quick and done in such a way that its almost not even thought about.  The direction is fantastic.  We don't concentrate on the entry of the hook into Pams back, but instead on her fear, her reaction, the surroundings - like the bucket beneath her to collect her blood.  A corpse lies in front of her on a table and Leatherface powers up his chainsaw and sets to dismembering it in front of her.  I'm assuming this is Kirk.

Jerry later goes to look for his friends and finds the house.  He discovers Pam in a freezer, but Leatherface comes upon him and kills him with the same mallet that befell Kirk.  He pushes Pam back into the freezer.

The last of our set of friends Sally and Franklin (brother and sister) set out looking for the others.  Leatherface comes across them and kills Franklin with his chainsaw.  Sally manages to get away and runs into the house.  She soon realises all is not well with some sinister discoveries and escapes from Leatherface by jumping out of an upstairs window.  She runs to the petrol station from earlier seeking help, but the owner ties her up and takes her back to the house.  The hitchhiker also makes another appearance.  It turns out, he is Leatherfaces brother!

What follows is probably one of the most famous scenes in the movie and probably the oddest, horrifying scene I have ever seen.  Everything is f*cked up!  Sally is sitting around a table with these warped people, who she knows is going to kill her.  The surroundings are horrid!  There even seems to be a lamp made of the skin from a persons head above the table.  An old man referred to as 'Grandpa' is brought down and the others hold Sallys head over a bucket as he tries to kill her by hitting her head with a hammer.  he is too old and too weak so keeps missing or striking her with half blows.  This would be much more terrifying than being bludgeoned to death, this slow torture.  HORRIBLE!

In a complete turnaround, Sally manages to escape.  The hitchhiker is killed by a truck which hits him as he chases her.  We end the movie with Sally in the back of the pick-up truck covered in blood screaming as Leatherface is yelling in the road swinging his chainsaw above his head.  This scene later became the infamous movie cover.  Awesomeness!!  I LOVE this movie!

Big Fat Recommends going on this one.