The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) starts with a bang and never slows down. Throughout the film, Tobe Hooper’s skills are demonstrated in his artful direction of the cast and writing of the story. After the opening crawl warns the audience of impending events, we are assaulted with flashbulb images of disturbed graves and decomposing flesh posed as a grotesque statue in a cemetery. The tone for the film is set, but we only have a glimpse into the horrors that will be taking place. It is advertised as being based on a “true story” which is a stretch, though inspiration for the film was drawn from real life serial killers Ed Gein and Elmer Wayne Henley. Released in October of 1974, TCM is duly credited as a trendsetting horror movie. TCM is thought of as fully forming the horror movie trope of “the final girl” with main character Sally Hardesty, played by Marilyn Burns, being the only one who survives to the end of the movie. The film Black Christmas (1974) should also be mentioned here as another trendsetter for its final girl character Jess Bradford, played by Olivia Hussey.
Taking us along dusty backroads, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre depicts a time long gone, yet produces a horror that feels fresh each time you watch it. I was lucky enough to catch a 50th year anniversary screening at a local theater and brought along a friend who had never seen the movie before. Though it was yet another rewatch for me, both my friend and I were able to writhe in imagined pain at the violence inflicted upon different characters in the movie, ranking which death was the worst, of course. The film is made with a love for the genre by Tobe Hooper, who would go on to make, among other things, eight more TCM movies. Hooper was a Texas native and this shows in his work, which can be seen as a criticism of negative stereotypes against Southern people in America. The film can be looked at through the lenses of queer, feminist, Marxist, and disability theory, along with many other points of view.Abject horror is found in the brutal killing of our young cast, Pam, Franklin, Jerry and Kirk. The audience roots for Sally as she continues to fight to survive against a twisted family determined to kill her. Three minutes before the movie ends, Sally limps away from a house of horrors in white, blood-stained bell bottoms and a pale purple tank top. She approaches the road near the house, pursued by two murderous men, one slashing at her back with his weapon. The man attacking her is crushed under a semi-truck, but the infamous Leatherface remains alive, chainsaw roaring. The semi driver flees his vehicle and runs away, but Leatherface isn’t interested in him. A pickup truck comes to a stop on the road, and Sally climbs into the back just moments before she would have met her end. As the truck speeds away, Sally looks back at Leatherface and laughs, her blood-soaked, long, blonde hair sticking to her face. Leatherface is left frustrated, swinging his chainsaw in the air around him. Thus concludes The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), a movie with a reputation that precedes it and a legacy that has lasted for 50 years.
Simcha Kobernik-Pollack is an English major and avid horror fan. They love the first Texas Chainsaw movie only a little bit more than they love the second. They can be reached at [email protected].