IMDb > The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotes
Overview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany credits
Awards & Reviews
user reviewsexternal reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guidemessage board
Plot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsmemorable quotes
Did You Know?
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQ
Other Info
box office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specsliterature listingsNewsDesk
Promotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo gallery
External Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clips

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (See all 16 | slideshow) Videos (see all 2)
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre -- Five friends visiting their grandpa's old house are hunted down and terrorized by a chainsaw wielding killer and his family of grave-robbing cannibals.

Overview

User Rating:
7.5/10   61,725 votes »
Your Rating:
Saving vote...
Deleting vote...
/10   (delete | history)
Sorry, there was a problem
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 17% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Kim Henkel (story) and
Tobe Hooper (story)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
1 October 1974 (USA) See more »
Genre:
Tagline:
The idyllic summer's day that became a nightmare of fear and blood... [UK Video] See more »
Plot:
Five friends visiting their grandpa's old house are hunted down and terrorized by a chainsaw wielding killer and his family of grave-robbing cannibals. Full summary » | Full synopsis »
Awards:
1 win See more »
User Reviews:
All the remakes and imitators are just swimming in its wake... See more (764 total) »

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)
Create a character page for: ?

Directed by
Tobe Hooper 
 
Writing credits
Kim Henkel (story and screenplay) and
Tobe Hooper (story and screenplay)

Produced by
Kim Henkel .... associate producer
Tobe Hooper .... producer
Jay Parsley .... executive producer
Richard Saenz .... associate producer
 
Original Music by
Wayne Bell 
Tobe Hooper 
 
Cinematography by
Daniel Pearl 
 
Film Editing by
J. Larry Carroll  (as Larry Carroll)
Sallye Richardson 
 
Art Direction by
Robert A. Burns 
 
Makeup Department
W.E. Barnes .... makeup artist: grandfather
Dorothy J. Pearl .... makeup artist (as Dorothy Pearl)
 
Production Management
Ronald M. Bozman .... production manager (as Ronald Bozman)
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sallye Richardson .... assistant director
 
Sound Department
Wayne Bell .... boom operator
Wayne Bell .... post-production sound
Jay M. Harding .... dubbing mixer (as Jay Harding)
Paul Harrison .... sound re-recordist
Robert Knudson .... dubbing mixer (as Buzz Knudson)
Ted Nicolaou .... location sound recordist
Patrick Yacono .... sound re-recording mixer (restorated version) (uncredited)
 
Special Effects by
Dean W. Miller .... special effects
 
Stunts
Mary Church .... stunts
Perry Lorenz .... stunt driver
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Tobe Hooper .... additional photographer
Lynn Lockwood .... lighting (as Lynn Lochwood)
J. Michael McClary .... camera assistant (as J. Michael Mcclary)
Lou Perryman .... assistant camera
Rod Ponton .... grip
Lynn Scherwitz .... key grip (as Linn Scherwitz)
 
Other crew
George Baetz .... production assistant
Jerry Bellnoski .... production assistant
Mary Church .... script girl
Jim Crow .... production assistant
Paula Eaton .... production assistant
Tom Foote .... production assistant
Paulette Gochnour .... production assistant
Charlie Loving .... production assistant
Sally Nicolau .... production assistant
N.C. Parsley .... production assistant
Robert Pustejowski .... production assistant (as Robert Pustejovski)
David Spaw .... production assistant
Ray Spaw .... production assistant
 
Crew verified as complete


Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
"The Devil of Punishment" - Japan (English title)
See more »
Runtime:
83 min | Germany:75 min (new longer Version) | 88 min (Unrated Edition)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.78 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Canada:R | Chile:(Banned) (re-rating) (1978) | Chile:18 (original rating) | Denmark:15 (video rating) | France:-16 (re-rating) | France:X (original rating) | Hong Kong:III | Iceland:(Banned) (original rating) | Iceland:16 (re-rating) | Ireland:(Banned) (original rating) | Ireland:18 (re-rating) | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:(Banned) (video rating) | Norway:18 (re-rating) (1997) (uncut) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:(Banned) (1984) | USA:R (Approved No. 24009) | Singapore:(Banned) | West Germany:(Banned) (1985-2011) | New Zealand:R18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) (re-rating: 2004) | Sweden:15 (re-rating: 1994) (cut) (re-rating: 2001) (uncut) | Sweden:15 (re-rating) (2001) (uncut) | UK:18 (re-rating: 1999) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) (original rating: 1974) | UK:R (original rating: 1975) | Finland:(Banned) (1984) | Finland:K-18 (1996) | UK:(Banned) (original rating) | Italy:VM14 (re-release) (uncut) | Italy:VM18 (original rating) | Brazil:(Banned) (original rating) | Brazil:18 (1998) | Australia:(Banned) (original rating) | Belgium:16 (video rating) | West Germany:18 (cut) | New Zealand:R16 (re-rating) (2007) (uncut) | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Italy:VM18 (cut DVD version) | Malaysia:(Banned) | Germany:18 (re-rating) (2011)
Filming Locations:
Company:

Did You Know?

Trivia:
The van the kids drive was owned by location sound recordist Ted Nicolaou.See more »
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: After the crazy man cuts his own hand, he laughs and waves the knife. Watch carefully and you can see the hose behind the blade the blood came through.See more »
Quotes:
[first lines]
Narrator:The film which you are about to see is an account of the tragedy which befell a group of five youths, in particular Sally Hardesty and her invalid brother, Franklin. It is all the more tragic in that they were young. But, had they lived very, very long lives...
See more »
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Midnight (1982)See more »
Soundtrack:
POCO A POCO NOSee more »

FAQ

What kind of film stock was used?
What other movies are the cast in?
What injuries occurred on the set? How many were there?
See more »
125 out of 148 people found the following review useful.
All the remakes and imitators are just swimming in its wake..., 10 November 2003

With the recent box-office success achieved by the latest remake of 1974's `The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,' it's worth looking back at Tobe Hooper's original horror classic.

The movie tells a fairly simple tale at heart. A group of five teenagers driving through rural Texas happen upon a deranged, cannibalistic family. Psychological terror and chainsaws ensue.

Yet despite this simplicity, what is it about `The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' that continues to succeed so with its audience? Outside of one memorial scene involving a meet hook; the movie is not particularly gory by today's standards. The film's characters and actual scares are not that remarkable.

The power of `The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' lies in its atmosphere and in what H.P. Lovecraft called `the oldest and strongest kind of fear': the fear of the unknown. The later of these two staples of great horror is often cast aside in modern horror movies-especially in those churned out by the great Hollywood engine. Instead, every mystery must be explained away, every mask ultimately pulled from a monster's face, and not a moment of exposition is spared. It is interesting to note that the filmmakers behind the latest `Chainsaw' film chose to implement all three of these stylistic vices in their remake.

In the original, the feeling of dread and mounting paranoia creeps over the viewer in slow but steady waves. The first scene in the film depicts a desecrated grave with a voiceover of radio newscast, immediately followed by an opening credits sequence set against a backdrop of roaring solar flares. This, along with some idle astrological chatter on the part of one of the teenagers early on, leads to a feeling of cosmic disarray in the lonely Texas hills they traverse.

Questions about the villain's mask or the field of cars under camouflage netting are left for the viewer to answer on his or her own. At worst, in the loss of any acceptable answer, they are forced to ponder that terrible and limitless gulf of the imagination: the unknown.

In it's later stages, the film becomes a cacophonous world of throat-peeling screaming, blood-shot eyes, laughter, and grinding machinery. One is forced to recall the solar flares in the film's opening credits. In the climax of famous dinner scene, there is a feeling of cosmic forces pressing in on reality and warping it into some crude mockery of order, as if the world were but a TV or radio signal distorted into madness by flares on the surface of the sun.

In the 29 years since `The Texas chainsaw Massacre' hit theaters, there have been countless imitators and four additional films in the franchise, three of them remakes. Yet as loved and influential as the original classic has been, many who would seek to emulate its vision seem to overlook its true strengths.

Was the above review useful to you?
See more (764 total) »

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
the ending is the true genius of the film baconetienne
I feel this is important to talk about misplacedfriday
Grandpa - So many questions. eyewatchmoovees
Marilyn and Gunner were actually half-crazed by the end of the shoot mcilroga
wow. frusciantesguitar
The chase scene johndavis11
See more »

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre House of 1000 Corpses The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III Psycho
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb Horror section IMDb USA section

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Edit page' button will take you through a step-by-step process.