The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

WOW. I've seen this movie before, everyone has; but this was a completely different experience!The way I first watched it was on a beat up VHS, with all the warps, dirt, darkness and grain that that implies. It still creeped me out, and I had a good time. But now I can say this movie truly, deeply frightened me. The sound mix is so intense, the 4K remaster is so clean and in-your-face, it's like a truck bearing down on you for the entire runtime. I was so wrapped up in this beast that when the credits rolled, I found myself having a panic attack on my own couch! It's that much tension, it's that relentless! Now I fully understand why TCM is legendary; the original audience was just as terrified!Don't settle for anything less than the best, and I tell you right here and now, this one is it.

I can see why so many film makers watch this and say, "I want to make a movie, I want to make a horror movie." It's shocking. It's brutal. It's psychotic. It's SIMPLE. And it has been the inspiration for a thousand horror movies that can't touch it. That's the thing about art like this. It didn't try to be the best horror / slasher film ever made. It just was. And now you can't improve upon it or duplicate it. It has subtle dread pouring from it right from the start and it builds and builds and builds. Then, despite that ever increasing dread- as if you had ignored all warning- the film hits you in the face like a wooden hammer. BAM. What the heck just happened? From that moment on it's pure psychotic mayhem. It doesn't let you catch your breath to wonder why it's happening. It just happens.

As this movie came out several years before I was born and I was a considerable latecomer to it due to that fact plus I came to be familiar with A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Halloween, and Child's play first, when my chance finally arrived to rent this horror classic on VHS earlier this century, I was instantly hooked. Leatherface came to easily be one scary slasher icon to be reckoned with.Even though I was nearly 30 years overdue(at the time) to finally see this movie I found that while not terribly gory, in terms of the characters starting out with a false sense of security that you as the viewer get to partake in, the unsafe and severely isolated area in Texas, the chief characters having no concept as to what they're up against much less why they are the victims, and most of all the lack of predictability when Leatherface and his deeply deranged family will strike.Even without gore I find that if done well the bizarre nature and look of the killer as well as his/her incredible ferociousness and intensity can get the job done just as well. Leatherface carries that with him like a treasured amulet with every intense blow as well as irrepressible move that he strikes with either his chainsaw, meat cleaver, or his big meat tenderizer.There isn't anything to really say about the victims. They are just hapless hippie kids of whom are one-dimensional as the vast majority are there to die.The environment is in the middle of nowhere in some isolated Texas town where there are few gas stations and hardly any police to run to for help.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre was made on a shoestring budget and was meant to be just another grindhouse 1970s film. It had such a lasting impact that it became a franchise. It was also one of the first really big and popular slasher films coming out in 1974 before 1978’s Halloween and 1980’s Friday the 13th.The story is rather typical for serial killer movies. Five friends are driving through Texas, are out of gas and decide to stop at an old abandoned house. They even get warned not to go there but do it anyway. Of course that means they are all going to get chased and killed by the the iconic Leatherface. You’re supposed to suspend your belief and think that going to an empty place would be where people would go when they are out of gas instead of looking for a gas station. Thankfully they don’t spend much time on the mindless 20 somethings and get right down to the business of Leatherface taking care of them.The film does a great job with Leatherface. He’s got a big metal door that protects his lair. He’s got meat hooks for his victims. Of course there’s the iconic chainsaw which leads to the title of the film.The movie is not really scary. It’s not even creepy. It’s just great to see Leatherhead do his thing.C

I couldn't afford the 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition on Blu-Ray and DVD but maybe one these days when I have that one I can blend this blu-ray to that one (if you get my drift.) Tobe Hooper (R.I.P.) was and is the greatest top horror directors with Wes Craven (R.I.P.) and George A. Romero (R.I.P.). Along with other great films he's done. Poltergeist, Eaten Alive, The Funhouse, Invaders From Mars & The Mangler. And definitely this one. And that's why I bought to have treasure within my blu-ray horror collection. The first time I saw this it went out of my mind. I was completely insane. Just Marilyn Burns yelled and screamed like that. But it was great. It made me jump more than a few times. That means I love it. Love the thrill of being scared. And the way Leatherface chases after Marilyn Burns. It was entertaining. I love everything about it. I recommend if you're a Leatherface fan.

Forget about all these 'paranormal/insidious/sinister/conjuring' efforts. You want to watch a REAL horror film? One that absolutely set the standard for scary movies, that has been copied, homaged and ripped-off hundreds, possibly thousands of times? THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE is a film that will stay with you for life. Forget about the sequels and remakes etc.; Tobe Hooper's original is still the best. There is a reason why this film is so respected among horror fans. The cinematography is raw, and the violence is unflinching. And even though it is notorious for being a blood-soaked 'nastie', you will be surprised as to how little blood is actually seen on screen. It is the build up of tension and suspense and the eerie atmosphere created that makes this such a masterpiece(*see also John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN). Great film on a great blu-ray presentation. 5/5

An exhilarating thrilling and heartbreaking film - wonderfully directed in what was Tobe Hooper's standout film and great acting by Marilyn Burns has the final girl who has witnessed the traumatic death of her disabled brother. Very different from the rest of the unpleasant horror genre rooted in misogyny. The film plays out its initial beginning in the daylight and the violence only hinted at and swift and brutal but never over-gory or gratuitous instead relying on atmosphere dread and fear especially at the hands of Sally Hardesty with its wonderfully filmed close-ups of her face and eyes whilst being essentially tortured by Leatherface and the depraved family. The escape at the end is brilliant and for me a cinematic highlight of my life. One of the top ten films of my life - has rooted in our everyday life hopes and dreams and eventual trauma and hell and resilience and escape and very real in its depiction of an actual horrific scene which makes it standout from the rest of the genre.

A very memorable horror film done on a tight budget which delivers a great result.The Blu Ray features some nice enhanced colours and very well captures the sound mix of the film. I bought the 40th anniversary version which has been remastered in 4k. The picture aspect ratio is full screen and the audio is 7.1.The film's direction feels gritty and uncompromising. Killing a disabled person is not usually done in cinema, this film breaks that taboo with no apologies. Though made on a small budget the film feels very inventive, using subtle ways to build the tension and not giving away too much too early. The film has a strong element of realism to it, helped by the realistic sets and locations, the 16mm film it was filmed on giving it a slightly unpolished look and also by the lack of any strong hero type who steps up at the end to fight the monster. In fact there is no monster or supernatural elements at all, just a mad family out to kill.I liked some of the cinematography, the low shots of the girl in the red shorts in the strong sunlight. The landscape is empty and barren and nicely captures the sense of isolation our characters find themselves in.Another element I liked was that the film avoided gratuitous nudity which is often a sleazy element found in horror/slasher films like the Halloween and Friday the 13th franchises.The Blu Ray picture quality is a nice improvement to the DVD while still remaining faithful to the original look of the film, it's not too shinny or digital and keeps that gritty grainy texture the picture always had. The Blu Ray It is also packed full of extras including new audio commentaries, documentaries and interviews.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 1974 is a true classic in horror. I was amazed when I first watched this film back in 1997 on Laserdisc. I now own the new 4K remaster on Blu Ray. I must say the picture quality is more grainy then the previous Blu Ray version I owned, but the colours are more vibrant and detailed that pop on screen. The film comes on two discs and is packed with extra's. I decided to skip the steelbook version in favour of the normal amaray blue case version. The amaray consists of two cover arts, the newly commissioned art and the original art, the latter being the reason I wanted this version. I love the original theatrical poster art on my Blu Ray covers, which gives it that authenticity and nostalgic feel.( TRIVIA )• The chainsaw that ( Leatherface ) uses is real. It was no movie prop.• The titles original name for the film was ( Headcheese ) it later changed to ( Leatherface ) before the eventual title name arrived that we all know today as ( The Texas Chainsaw Massacre )• Gunnar Hansen who played the role as ( Leatherface ) stood at six-foot-four inches tall and weighed 300 pounds.• Tobe Hooper the director wanted a PG rating release. So that the film would reach a wider audience. However there was no PG rating system at the time and was told by the Motion Picture Association of America that he could help his cause if he limited the amount of onscreen blood.'' As you watch the film, notice there's probably about two ounces, '' Hooper later joked.Alas, the film's intensity ultimately meant it earned a R rating. Still, it's probably not as gory as you remember.• The Shoot was Harrowing. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was produced on a budget of $60,000, which meant little pay and long hours for the cast and crew. To make matters worse, the production endured a Texas summer with temperatures in excess of 100 degrees ( including 115-degree heat for the un-air conditioned interior shots) , a single bathroom shared by more then three dozen people, costumes that could not be changed because the actors only had one set of clothes, and the constant presence of the bones and rotting meat used as props. Virtually no member of the cast went uninjured, and the heat and stench got so punishing at one point that the actors would run to the windows of the house where the dinner scene was shot to throw up and breath a little fresh air between takes.Years later, Hooper sarcastically referred to the experience as an '' interesting summer.''• The legendary dinner scene was shot in a single marathon day. In addition to the excessive heat and odour in the dining room during filming, the sequence was given another challenge: It had to be completed in a single day because John Dugan, the actor who played Grandpa, refused to endure the 10-hour process of getting his makeup applied a second time. '' He announced that he was not sitting through it again, '' Hooper said.As a result, the cast and crew worked for 27 straight hours to finish a scene that takes up only a few minutes of the film's runtime.• Leatherface actually wears three different masks in the film. There's The Killing Mask he wears for most of the film, the ''Grandma '' Mask he wears while preparing dinner to show his '' domestic side, '' and the Lady Makeup- covered Mask he wears to sit down to dinner, complete with suit in the southern tradition of dressing up for the evening meal.This is only seven Trivia facts on what happened during the filming of this iconic film, there are many more facts that happened on set.Overall Rating10/10Horror Masterpiece

its still good , only made on budget of less than 300k dollars. It went on to become one of best horror in film history. Less than one n half hour full of ups n downs , I honestly don't think u can get many better slashers than this film. 60s 70s 80s those days were the best days to make these kind of filmsI'm glad I bought Blu ray cos the picture look better and it's got good fews of extras. Deleted scenes and stills gallery made me think alot about the film etc it help me fall in love with the film , classic 70s slasher.It also spurred me onto reading a bit more about the film on wiki , the fact that it's been banned worldwide for so long time and other so much stuff is what made this horror film awesome. It's got special history and u can then connect it to real life murderer Ed Gein . The steelbook looks nice graphically too, and colour ! The cover pic inside is classic that sum it up the whole casePart of rules on halloween day u must have this film ready on ur shelf it's not Halloween if u don't have it. I feel price is justified and speedy delivery. 5 stars from me