The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

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Directed by Tobe Hooper.

Starring Marilyn Burns, Allen Danziger, Teri McMinn, Paul A. Partain, William Vail.

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Tobe Hooper's influential cult classic continues the subgenre of horror films based on the life and "career" of Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein, which began with Alfred Hitchcock's own influential cult classic Psycho. When Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) hears that the Texas cemetery where her grandfather is buried has been vandalized, she gathers her wheelchair-bound brother Franklin (Paul A. Partain) and several other friends together to see if grandpa's remains are still in one piece. While in the area, Sally and her friends decide to visit grandfather's old farmhouse. Unfortunately, a family of homicidal slaughterhouse workers who take their job home with them have taken over the house next door. Included amongst the brood is Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen), a chainsaw-wielding human horror show who wears a face mask made out of human skin. Sally's friends are rapidly exterminated one-by-one by the next-door neighbors, leaving only Sally left to fight off Leatherface and his clan. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

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Reviews and discussions

Re:Ask the Doctor...
by Dr_Gor in HORROR MOVIES 101

loved it.

"Rizzo, are you saying that you thought The Exorcist was TOO scary? ... I happen to agree with you. When I first saw this movie in the theaters during it's initial release, I was TERRORIZED out of my wits and mentally scarred forever. The first time I saw this in the theater I was 13 years old and I can remember curling up into a fetal position and wishing I wasn't there. But I kept my eyes open and watched the whole thing and I did not sleep at all that night... I was afraid my bed would start shaking... A couple of other movies that might be too scary for their own good are The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Night Of The Living Dead and Psycho ... < GOR > " [More]

Which Ones Scare Me
by El_Aaron in Real Horror

loved it.

"First of all, I wanna say sorry for my freakin' long absence but I'm back now! Now onto the big stuff. I think what scares me about horror movies is when you have an extremely suspensful scene, like in I Am Legend. Also, I get scared when a particular scene makes me jump out of my seat, and I got a few of those in Salem's Lot. Lastly, I think the most important scare copmes from the villiian of the tale. I think the scariest are from Halloween, Hellraiser, Manhunter, Silence Of The Lambs, The Hills Have Eyes, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Anyone agree? " [More]

Re:H. H. Holmes and serial killers
by Dr_Gor in HORROR MOVIES 101

loved it.

"Ok. Where to begin... Obviously, Psycho , The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Silence of the Lambs ('Buffalo Bill') were all loosely based on the infamous Wisconson madman Ed Gein. But there have been some movies that deal more directly with this insaniac, including Deranged and Ed Gein and the recently released Ed Gein: The Butcher Of Plainfield starring Kane 'Jason' Hodder. Henry Lee Lucas has been the subject of more than a couple movies including Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and Diary of a Serial Killer . Obviously, Jack The Ripper has been the subject of MANY movies... I won't even begin to list them all here. The Town That Dreaded Sundown is based on the infamous 'Green River Killer' ... And perhaps my favorite, few people know that the original Dirty Harry was, in fact, based on the notorious 'Zodiac Killer' ... There have been multiple movies made about 'The Son Of Sam' , 'John Wayne Gac ... " [More]

Re:H. H. Holmes and serial killers
by Dr_Gor in HORROR MOVIES 101

loved it.

" " [More]

Re:How Have Horror Movies Affec ...
by Dr_Gor in HORROR MOVIES 101

loved it.

"I would just like to say a few words about Friday the 13th, Part 2 ... This is one of the most UNDER-RATED and BEST horror films ever made! Remember, this is the movie that introduced us to 'Jason' ! In part 1, 'Jason' didn't exist (except as a corpse) and it was 'Mrs. Voorhees' who was the killer! ... In part 2, it is 'Jason' who is seeking revenge... dressed identical as the killer in The Town That Dreaded Sundown (!) Which, in turn, was based on the 'true-story' of the 'Green River Killer'...(!) Anyhow, it was not until 'Part 3-In 3-D' that Jason gained his infamous hockey-mask... " [More]

Zombie
by Dr_Gor in Dr_Gor Blog

loved it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"I was 19 years old during the period of late '79- early 1980. And it is during that time that I wandered into a seedy, downtown Denver 'movie-house'. The only thing I knew about the movie I was about to see was the name on the marquee... "ZOMBIE"... I was STUNNED! This Movie Was PHENOMENAL! Up to this point, the 'goriest' movies I had ever seen would be "Night Of The Living Dead" and "The Exorcist" ... (I had not yet seen "Dawn Of The Dead" which was released the year before...) ... and some B-movie Drive-In fare like "Last House On The Left" and "The Toolbox Murders" and "Driller Killer" and "The Drive-In Massacre" and, of course, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" ... This movie (for me, at the time) outdid them ALL! From the FANTASTIC 'comic book' story line to the AMAZING, 'in your face'', "GORE FX"! ( "excuse me, Miss.. ... " [More]

Re:Re:Re:top five movies that s ...
by Dr_Gor in Top 5

loved it.

"And I didn't even mention The Godfather , Deliverance , Mandingo , The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or The Haunting ... (5 more...) " [More]

Top 5 Horror Movies
by Dr_Gor in Top 5

loved it.

"I recently encouraged the members of my 'Horror Movies 101' group to come up with their own 'top 10' lists with some, um, interesting results! So here is my list of the top 5 Horror Movies of all time... note: this list will differ slightly from my list in 'Horror Movies 101' in that I am limiting myself to strictly pure Horror... not horror/comedy or any borderline stuff that spills over into other genres... 1. The Exorcist ; STILL the scariest movie ever made and also very well crafted with excellent acting,directing and, for it's time, state-of-the-art special effects. Face it, if your daughter starts levitating and spinning her head around 360 degrees and spewing split-pea soup all over everybody, it's time to call in a profesional. 2. Frankenstein ; This seminal classic was dark and terrifying and highly contraversial and extremely entertaining! This one also introduced the world to the greatest horror star of all time... Willi ... " [More]

Re:'Tis the season...
by Risselada in HORROR MOVIES 101

liked it.

"Well Doctor, I'm fairly sure I haven't seen even 10% of the horror movies you have, but I will make a list anyhow.I know we have had many discussion in the past about what constitutes a horror movie. But for purposes of this list, I will try to limit myself to more strictly defined horror. In other words, I will only include movies that I think there would be a decent chance that you could find them in the "horror" section of your video rental store. It's still hard to differentiate though because some movies might be more thriller than horror, or more sci-fi than horror, or more action than horror, or more comedy than horror.1. The Shining2. Ravenous3. Cube4. The Thing (1982)5. Night of the Living Dead 6. Psycho7. Alien8. American Psycho9. The Blair Witch Project10. Sleepy Hollow11. Jaws12. From Dusk Till Dawn13. Funny Games14. Ringu15. Jurassic Park Here are some more that I think are pretty close to horror that I love but might be more thrillers.Th ... " [More]

'Tis the season...
by Dr_Gor in HORROR MOVIES 101

loved it.

"Yes, boys and ghouls, it's that magical time of the year again, when ghosts and goblins and monsters and madmen roam the earth in search of 'sweets'! That's right! It's Thanksgiving! ... Oops! My bad! I had my calender on the wrong page! To make a long story short, I just purchased a 'restored/remastered' DVD of Halloween and I watched this movie again for about the 30th time and IT JUST DOESN'T GET OLD! There is a story behind this one, but basically, there are actually some movies that I don't mind seeing over and over again! What a phenomena ! Anyhow, AOL has compiled (yet another) list of the all time best Horror Movies! You can check it out here... Best Horror Movies of All Time: 31 Days of Horror - Moviefone. If I were to have to pick my Top Ten all-time favorite Horror Movies, I think that list would change... day to day... depending a lot upon my mood... At THIS moment in my life, my top-ten list would look s ... " [More]

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Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

liked it.

Fans of today's gore-and-guts shockers may be surprised to learn that this notorious shocker is among the least bloody of modern horror films. But looks can be deceiving. It still packs quite a punch, and may well be the scariest film ever made. Director Tobe Hooper adopts a documentary-like style using static set-pieces, grainy film and a no-nonsense technique. This method was necessitated by budget, of course -- the film was made for next-to-nothing, using drama students from the University of Texas -- but for some odd reason, it works. It's not really a movie. As it unfolds, it comes across as a filmed nightmare, and it gets under the viewer's skin like no horror movie before or since. The scene in which Marilyn Burns is held captive at the cannibal family's dinner-table is almost surrealistic in its relentless depiction of insanity and horror. By the time they wheel down Grandpa (John Dugan), it's nearly unbearable. Suffice it to say that fans of relentless horror should make this film their first priority. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

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