Horror This is a great horror movie. Very unsettling scenes, i would have given it a 9 but the acting is a bit dodgy. Definetly one of the best classic horror films around.

Jared_Andrews 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' is one of the most famous and influential horror films of all time. Its minimal budget and direction can be seen in some way in nearly all horror movies that followed it for decades. The plot is exceptionally simple, a smart choice and another influential one. Five young adults take a trip to a desolate Texas town to honor the death of a friend's grandfather. On what should have been a wonderful, cathartic adventure, they encounter a family of cannibals who slaughter humans with hammers, and yes, chainsaws. All the actors were unknowns at the time, and they worked little in movies afterwards. I must admit I didn't notice that these were amateurs. After all, they really only needed to scream and run, so hiring no-name actors was a smart cost-saving decision.My initial reaction is that the film is not nearly as gory as people think it is-virtually all the blood and violence is shown off screen or is blocked by some clever camera work. If you dare to keep your eyes fixed to the screen during the killing scenes, you'll be surprised to find how little you actually see.The camera work used throughout the film is inspired and clearly inspiring. Countless horror movies that have come after have copied techniques seen here, not only to save money on necessary prosthetics and makeup, but also to let viewers visualize the gore for themselves. In most cases, what we imagine is far worse than anything a movie could actually show us.For the most part, the movie contains very little score. Sound effects and occasional dialogue make up virtually all the sound we here. During the scariest moments, screams replace the music. Another replacement for the creepy music we would normally hear is the sound of maniacal laughter. The cannibal family's incessant laughter is creepy as hell. 'Halloween' has the famous piano music, and 'Texas Chainsaw' has creepy laughter. The chase scene at the end is incredibly terrifying and brilliantly filmed. Making use of wide shots, we see the girl and the cannibals sprinting towards the camera, as carefully selected angles manipulate the viewers' depth perception, causing the chasing cannibals to appear closer than they really are. Also, there's a giant psychopath wielding a roaring chainsaw as he chases a helpless, shrieking girl. Fancy camerawork isn't exactly required to make this scene terrifying. Nevertheless, the chase sequences in this film are some the best and most inventive ever in horror cinema.When all hope seems lost, the girl with the iron will survives, the only one of her group to do so. This popularized the trope of the lone surviving girl. Watch any horror film-there's almost always at least one girl who fights and survives. That's just one more example of this film's influence.

camzmetz First off.. I purposefully created an account for imdb JUST so I can write this review.. NO JOKE.. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre directed by Tobe Hooper is the scariest horror film I have ever seen in my lifetime. I first saw this recorded on a VHS tape back in 1998 when I was twelve years old from one of my older brothers who was a big film buff. I watched it alone and I heard and saw clips of it growing up earlier but I had not sat down and experienced it from start to finish. After watching it, the film would be forever ingrained in my subconscious going forward and only reinforced my love for filmmaking.In short, five young adults(or teens maybe) go out on an ideal summer day to visit an old family house, only to then find themselves being butchered and tortured to death by a chainsaw wielding, dead skin mask wearing cannibal. Thats it.. Literally.. There is no need to further explain any other details to this horror monolith. But here is why I want to explain to you why I think it's the scariest to me.1. ACTING: It is masterfully acted, the actors are not well knowns. LeatherFace, played by the late Gunnar Hansen, studied at a youths' handicap school(to my limited knowledge) to understand movements and noises by the mentally challenged. He produced an iconic performance that is at the level of movie monsters such as Dracula(1931) and Frankenstein(1932) of their time.2. MUSIC: The scariest if not one of the scariest set of tracks I have heard in other films. 3. UNKNOWN: There is not a reason to why these events transpired and happened to these youths, nor is there a reason to understand the point to it. But that leads us to understand that terrifying and horrifying things can and do happen to us people everyday without explanation. The UNKNOWN.4. MOTIVES: There are none.. There are no motives to what transpires in the film. The youths are not hunted or lured nor trapped and LeatherFace is not actively seeking out to murder and kill. Both parties just stumble upon each-other. THIS IS NOT, NOR EVER WILL BE AN ORDINARY SLASHER FILM.5. CAN'T REPLICATE: This film cannot be replicated, period. There will be sequels, remakes and other similar formulated horror films created in the same realm of it but it will never be nor have the effect of this visual viewing. It is a SUPERNOVA OF THE VISUAL MACABRE.6. SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF: From the first time to repeated viewings of this, it has felt like the actors were ACTUALLY MURDERED on set. It feels and sounds and looks like this horror is real life and we are witnessing an act of cannibalistic mayhem before our eyes. IS THIS REAL?IN CONCLUSION: As this film ages and future generations of people view this experience, I sincerely hope they experience the same that I did. Granted there have been scarier, more disturbing and jump out terror moments in other movies before and there will be in the future. What separates this film from the others is that it never happened.. But events that inspired the birth of this film was true and DID HAPPEN.. Thus taking us at the thin line to the edge of lunacy and terror of unimaginable proportions.

thelastblogontheleft The Texas Chain Saw Massacre — somehow only Tobe Hooper's second feature film ever — is as notorious as it is brilliant. It has been highly influential on a number of other filmmakers — Wes Craven counts it as one of his five favorite movies, Ridley Scott called it one of "only a few really, really great movies", Rob Zombie has sung its praises many times. There's really no other way to say it — it's legendary, and for good reason.It's just one of those movies that could never be truly duplicated — it's a stunning combination of the talent and inspiration of Hooper, the setting, the 1970s aesthetic and film quality, and, in many ways, the circumstances, more bad than good. The iconic dinner table scene, for example, was shot in a marathon 26-hour session, which led to the actors truly — physically and mentally — being on the verge of breaking down.The plot is surprisingly simple. Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) is traveling with her paraplegic brother, Franklin (Paul A. Partain), and three friends, Jerry (Allen Danziger), Kirk (William Vail), and Pam (Teri McMinn), to visit the gravesite of her grandfather to make sure it hasn't been defaced in a recent spate of grave robbings. SPOILERS!It's as politically and socially relevant now as it was in the 70s. Hooper talks about being influenced by how he felt about the world around him -- it was made in the wake of the Vietnam War, amid the investigation surrounding the Kent State shooting, at the height of the Watergate scandal. The opening text claiming that it was based on a true story (it wasn't) wasn't just done as a marketing ploy — Hooper thought of it as a response to "being lied to by the government". The raw, gritty style of the film really makes you believe at times that you're watching IS real. It's visceral. It's unpolished in the best way. You can feel the searing heat, the sharp twigs scratching your face as you run, gasping, through the woods, the chicken feathers brushing against your skin as you lay, horrified and confused, in a room full of animal flesh and dry bones. Leatherface is absolutely terrifying, if for no better reason than he is not some kind of supernatural beast — he's a man. He's strong and powerful and capable of chasing you endlessly while squealing like a stuck pig and wielding a heavy power tool… but he's human. It's filthy and gruesome but, surprisingly, there's a shocking lack of gore. The real fear comes from what is implied, and from the relentless mental torture. This was done intentionally by Hooper, and not for the reasons you might think — he kept the amount of blood down in hopes of getting a PG rating so it could reach a wider audience. But it's one of the reasons this movie stands out so much in my mind — it scares the hell out of you on a much deeper, much less knee-jerk level. On top of that, it has some incredibly well thought out and downright beautiful shots. The colors and contrast are vibrant. The cinematography is powerful. The shot of the open gas station door while Sally waits; Leatherface dancing, almost childlike, in the golden light of the setting sun after Sally escapes; the camera panning low while the house, stark against a stunning blue sky, looms over Pam; Leatherface's first kill, punctuated by the slamming of the sliding metal door; the van initially pulling up to the derelict homestead; even the closeup shots of Sally's bloodshot eyes as she desperately scans the room during the infamous dinner scene, unable to believe what she's seeing. All fantastic.Speaking of the dinner scene, the whole thing is just unreal. Again, there's no need for blood or gore — the psychological torment is palpable, both between the brothers' own family drama and their utter disregard for Sally's life (not to mention Grandpa, for which there is no explanation whatsoever). I can't think of another actress who has so convincingly and chillingly screamed in terror, and you get the sense that every single person at that table is going insane, both in the film and in real life. It is madness.Oh, and a special shoutout for the music, which manages to be disturbing in a way that gets under your skin thanks to an almost industrial sounding, discordant array of clanging and chiming. It's perfect.