The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
The original movie poster
Directed by	Tobe Hooper
Written by	Kim Henkel Tobe Hooper
Produced by	Tobe Hooper Lou Peraino
Starring	Marilyn Burns Gunnar Hansen Edwin Neal Allen Danzinger Paul A. Partain Jim Siedow Teri McMinn
Music by	Wayne Bell Tobe Hooper
Distributed by	Bryanston Distributing Company New Line Cinema (1983 Re-release) Blue Dolphin
Release dates	October 1, 1974
Running time	80 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$83,532 (estimated)
Box office	$36,000,000 (US Box Office)

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent horror film written, directed and produced by Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel. The film is the first in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre film series. The film features Marilyn Burns, Gunnar Hansen, Edwin Neal and Paul A. Partain. The plot revolves primarily around a group of friends who embark on a road trip in rural Texas, only to fall victim to a family of cannibals, including the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was strongly criticized at the time of its release for its graphic content by critics, ^[1] which led to the film being banned by various countries. The film has since produced three sequels, and a remake, with its own prequel.

The main cast of the film consisted of:

• Marilyn Burns - Sally Hardesty
• Allen Danziger - Jerry
• Paul A. Partain - Franklin Hardesty
• William Vail - Kirk
• Teri McMinn - Pam
• Edwin Neal - The Hitchhiker
• Gunnar Hansen - Leatherface
• John Dugan - Grandpa

When Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) hears that the Texas cemetery where her grandfather is buried has been vandalized, she gathers her wheelchair-bound brother Franklin (Paul A. Partain) and several other friends together to see if his remains are still in one piece. ^[2] While in the area, Sally and her friends decide to visit grandfather's old farmhouse. It is revealed that a family of homicidal slaughterhouse workers who take their job home with them have taken over the house next door. Included amongst the brood is Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen), a chainsaw-wielding human horror show who wears a face mask made out of human skin. ^[3] Sally's friends are rapidly exterminated one-by-one by the next-door neighbors, leaving only Sally left to fight off Leatherface and his family. ^[4]

The house used for the film's location now suggests no indication there ever was a house there. The actual house itself has been relocated and is currently used as a restaurant in Kingsland, Texas called The Junction House ^[5].

Hooper has said that the idea for featuring a chainsaw in a horror film came to him while in the hardware section of a crowded store, as he imagined a way to get out quickly through the crowd.^[6]The concept for the film arose in the early 1970s while he was a college professor and documentary cameraman in his native Austin, Texas.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was loosely based on the murders committed by 1950s serial killer Ed Gein, who served as the inspiration for two other horror films, Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) and Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs (1991).^[7][6][8]

Scenes were filmed on location in Texas; the gas-station scenes were filmed in the rural town of Bastrop, which is located about thirty miles southeast of Austin, while the cemetery scenes were filmed in Leander. Some scenes were also filmed in Austin.

Special effects were simple and likewise limited by the budget. The blood shown was often real, as the cast members were accidentally harmed during filming. For example, Marilyn Burns index finger was actually cut with a razor because there were difficulties getting the fake blood to come out of the tube behind the blade. Burns' costume was so drenched in fake blood that it was virtually solid on the last day of the shoot.^[9]

Filming took place between July and August of 1973, under the working title Stalking Leatherface, and budget limitations caused the shoot to be in strict chronological order.^[9] The small budget led Hooper to shoot with 16mm Ektachrome.

Many of the cast members had little or no acting credits what so ever prior to being cast. They consisted of actors native to or living in Texas who had previous roles in commercials, television shows and stage, as well as acquaintances of Hooper. Involvement in the film propelled many cast members into the motion picture industry. The lead role of Sally went to the then-unknown Marilyn Burns. Burns previously had appeared on stage, and while attending the University of Texas at Austin, she joined its film commission board. For the role of Leatherface, Icelandic-American actor Gunnar Hansen was cast. In preparation for his role, Hansen decided that Leatherface was mentally retarded and never learned to talk properly, so he went to a school for the mentally challenged and watched how they moved and listened to them talk to get a feel for the character. ^[6]

The film was distributed and produced through Bryanston Distributing Company. Most of the financing for this film came from the profits of the hugely successful Deep Throat (1972), a previous adult film the production company had financed. An estimated $83,532(USD) was raised.^[10] Hooper produced the film on a relatively small budget of $83,532^[11] and grossed $30 million at the box office in the United States — making it one of the most profitable independent films in cinema history.^[12]

Upon the completion of post-production, Bryanston Distributing Company found it difficult to secure a distributor willing to market the film because of its graphic content.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre premiered on October 1, 1974 in Austin, Texas, almost a year after it was actually filmed. Nationally, it was shown as a Saturday afternoon matinée film and attracted an audience consisting of pre-teens and adolescents, but found success with a broader audience after it was falsely marketed as being a "true story".^[13]

• The film opened to a large amount of controversy, but despite this, it became a smash hit in the United States. The film is also considered an innovator of the genre, pre-dating Halloween (1978), Friday the 13th (1980), and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). It has received much praise from critics, mainly because its gritty and unsettling background that made it seem real.^[14]

• The Museum of Modern Art was sent a print of the film for their collection. Because the print was never returned to the sender, the museum cites the work as worthy enough to be among its collection.^[15]

• At Universal Orlando's and Universal Studios Hollywood's Halloween Horror Nights 2007 there were Haunted Houses based on the film included titled The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Flesh Wounds and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Back In Business.^[16]

The film grossed an estimated $30 million in the United States, making it one of the most successful independent films, until being overtaken by John Carpenter's Halloween (1978). It was translated into more than 25 languages and released across Europe, Canada and, because of controversy, not until 1982 in Australia.^[17]

The film earned a major reaction in later weeks by word of mouth. TV Guide called it "An intelligent, absorbing, and deeply disturbing horror film that is nearly bloodless in its depiction of violence" and Empire Magazine called it "The most purely horrifying horror movie ever made".^[18] Mike Emery of the Austin Chronicle called it "Horrifying, yet engrossing... But the worst part about this vision is that despite its sensational aspects, it never seems too far from what could be the truth." and Chicago Reader said "the picture gets to you more through its intensity than its craft, but Hooper does have a talent."^[18] Several reviewers disliked the film's gory special effects. Critic Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times believed that it was well-acted, well-directed and effective; but claimed it became too gratuitously violent and seemed "weird" in parts.^[1] Steve Crum of Dispatch-Tribune Newspapers criticises it as "Cultish trash that set new low standards for brutality" ^[14].

More recently however, critics have called it one of the scariest movies ever made.^[15] Rob Gonsalves of eFilmCritic.com refers to the film as "a masterpiece", and hails it as "The Great American Horror Movie" ^[19]. Noted reviewer Rex Reed called it "The most terrifying motion picture I have ever seen." Horror novelist Stephen King considers it "Cataclysmic terror", and states "I would happily testify to its redeeming social merit in any court in the country." ^[19]

Overall critical opinion of the film is highly favorable, with a rating of 89% on the aggregate movie review website RottenTomatoes.com (a relatively high score, especially for a horror film), and a respectable 7.4/10 at IMDb.com.

Hooper reportedly hoped the complete uncut print of the film would be given a PG rating by the MPAA. It wasn't.^[9] The film was released uncensored by the MPAA film rating system and with an R rating.

The movie was also banned or delayed in many countries, and where it was released, it was frequently edited. It was not released in Australia until the early 1980s, but it was never banned there. It was banned in the United Kingdom largely on the authority of then-BBFC secretary James Ferman, ^[20] but saw a limited cinema release thanks to various city councils. Censors attempted to cut it for the purposes of a wider release in 1977 but were unsuccessful.

It was released on videotape and CED disc in the 1980s by Wizard Video and Vestron Video, but was again banned in the United Kingdom in 1984, during the moral panic surrounding video nasties. In 1999, after the retirement of Ferman, the BBFC passed the movie uncut on cinema and video, with the 18 certificate, almost 25 years after its original release.^[21]

Shortly after The Texas Chain Saw Massacre established itself as a success on home video in 1982, a mass market video game adaptation was released for the Atari 2600 by Wizard Video.^[22] In the game, the player takes on the role of the movie's chainsaw-wielding villain Leatherface and attempts to murder trespassers while avoiding obstacles such as fences and cow skulls.^[23] As one of the first horror-themed video games, Texas Chainsaw Massacre caused a great deal of controversy when it was released, and sold poorly due to many game stores refusing to carry it.^[24] Wizard Video's other commercial release, Halloween, had a similar reception, and the limited number of copies sold have made them both highly valued items amongst Atari collectors.

In addition, several comic books based on the franchise were made in 1991 by Northstar Comics entitled Leatherface. They were licenced the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise to Avatar Press for use in new comic book stories, the first of which was published in 2005. In 2006, Avatar Press lost the license to DC Comics imprint, Wildstorm, who have since begun publishing new stories based on the franchise. The series of comics feature none of the main characters seen in the original film (exempting Topps Comics Jason vs. Leatherface series) with the exception of Leatherface, however the 1991 "Leatherface" miniseries was loosely based on the third Texas Chainsaw Massacre film. Said writer Mort Castle, "The series was very loosely based on Texas Chainsaw Massacre III. I worked from the original script by David Schow and the heavily edited theatrical release of director Jeff Burr, but had more or less free rein to write the story the way it should have been told. The first issue sold 30,000 copies."^[25] Kirk Jarvinen drew the first issue, and Guy Burwell finished the rest of the series. The comics, not having the same restrictions from the MPAA, had much more gore than the finished film. The ending, as well as the fates of several characters, was also altered. An adaptation of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was planned by Northstar Comics, but never pulled through.^[26]

• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre at IMDb
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: A Visit to the Film Locations
• The Junction House - The restaurant now operating in the original house from the film

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