The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

Two siblings and three of their friends en route to visit their grandfather's grave in Texas end up falling victim to a family of cannibalistic psychopaths.

Director:

Tobe Hooper

Writers:

Kim Henkel (screenplay by), Tobe Hooper (screenplay by)

Stars:

Marilyn Burns, Edwin Neal, Allen Danziger

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marilyn Burns	...	Sally
Allen Danziger	...	Jerry
Paul A. Partain	...	Franklin
William Vail	...	Kirk
Teri McMinn	...	Pam
Edwin Neal	...	Hitchhiker
Jim Siedow	...	Old Man
Gunnar Hansen	...	Leatherface
John Dugan	...	Grandfather
Robert Courtin	...	Window Washer
William Creamer	...	Bearded Man
John Henry Faulk	...	Storyteller
Jerry Green	...	Cowboy
Ed Guinn	...	Cattle Truck Driver
Joe Bill Hogan	...	Drunk

Storyline

En route to visit their grandfather's grave (which has apparently been ritualistically desecrated), five teenagers drive past a slaughterhouse, pick up (and quickly drop) a sinister hitch-hiker, eat some delicious home-cured meat at a roadside gas station, before ending up at the old family home... where they're plunged into a never-ending nightmare as they meet a family of cannibals who more than make up in power tools what they lack in social skills...

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Plot Keywords:

chainsaw | leatherface | hitchhiker | cannibal | texas | 

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Taglines:

For them, an Idyllic summer afternoon became their worst nightmare! [Australian, Video]

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 October 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Headcheese

Filming Locations:

1010 King Court, Kingsland, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$300,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$30,859,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Vortex

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min 75 min (new longer Version) 88 min (Unrated Edition)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Leatherface name and gimmick were used by many professional wrestling promotions as a tribute to the film. The character was first used in Memphis and has been done in many promotions by a variety of wrestlers, including Michael Kirchner, Rick Patterson, Brian Harris, Dennis Knight and Ken Raper. Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) in Japan sometimes called the character "Super Leather."

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Goofs

When the van pulls up to the service station and the cook comes out, there is a red 'Open' sign on the door. Later it is gone.

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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, they could not have expected nor would they have wished to see as much of the mad and macabre as they were to see that day. For them an idyllic summer afternoon drive became a nightmare. The events of that day were to lead to ...

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: 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, they could not have expected nor would they have wished to see as much of the mad and macabre as they were to see that day. For them an idyllic summer afternoon drive became a nightmare.

The events of that day were to lead to the discovery of one of the most bizarre crimes in the annals of American history, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

AUGUST 18, 1973

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Alternate Versions

Swedish version removes the scene where Leatherface hangs the woman on a meathook.

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Connections

Referenced in RoboCop: Prime Directives (2001)

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Soundtracks

Glad Hand
Timberline Rose
(Recorded at Hill on the Moon, Austin, Tx., Engineer: Jim Inmon)

User Reviews

The single best and scariest horror film EVER!!!

A group of teenagers on a road trip... OH BOY!!! HERE WE GO AGAIN... the typical horror movie set up. But wait.... something sets this one apart... IT'S SCARY... to be more precise, IT'S TERRIFYING!!! And I'm not just talking about the horrible 70's clothing and hairstyles. This film is one of the very few films I consider scary. Let me list a few reasons:

1) The gritty documentary feel the film has.

2) The excellent performances by Edwin Neil (the Hitch-Hiker), Jim Seidow (The Old Man), and Gunnar Hansen (Leatherface) as the psychos (in a film this low budget and grainy, performances this real feel all the more scary) and Marilyn Burns (Sally) and Paul A. Partain (Franklin) as the victims (we truly believe and feel their fear).

3)The atmosphere (the skeleton bone art... the freaky metal door in the farmhouse... Leatherface's mask and demeanor... even the way the sun sets in this film is spooky along with the sound of the farmhouse generator).

4)Relentless Horror (Leatherface RUNS not speedwalks after his victims with a live chainsaw... there's no time to trip and fall or your booty is chainsaw bait)

5)The ability the film has to scare you with almost a complete lack of gore (the only "gory" scene is when Leatherface accidently cuts his thigh with the chainsaw). The scares lie within the performances and atmosphere and pacing.

In closing... this is truly the greatest horror film (and one of the greatest films period) ever made. 15 out of 10!!!