Review: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Directed by: Tobe Hooper

Written by: Kim Henkel & Tobe Hooper

Starring: Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, Gunnar Hansen

Rating: [4/5]

Characters in horror films typically don’t make good choices when it comes to electing to survive as they have other interests in mind. Something that makes audience members scream pleading them to not make their upcoming decision. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre presents characters who are not blameless in their actions but find themselves in an unbearably terrifying situation where death serves as a great reprieve from witnessing the reality of this world. 

While on a trip, a group of five individuals run low on gas and split up to find ways in order to get more to complete their trip. While moving out from the gas station, two of them, Kirk (William Vail) and Pam (Teri McMinn) walk into a house where they encounter a strange and murderous man running around with weapons looking to kill them all. This leaves the remaining bunch to try and survive and figure out exactly what’s going on in this strange place. 

Quite the phenomenon upon its release and still containing immense power in the way it creates a truly terrifying situation going deeply beyond simple scares, this feature remains to hold on to its legacy. It manages to give us thrills while further expanding what makes this entire scenario even more horrifying. These characters find themselves in a situation not too different than most slashers where they get stranded in a small town with nothing real around them leaving them to find resources amongst the scarce locations near them. Promiscuity leads to the first death as seen in many of films of this genre but it only continues to get worse as what occurs in the house they run into paints the picture making it even more disconcerting. 

The appearance of this house on the outside serves as quite the juxtaposition to what appears on the inside as we see what looks like a beautiful home on the exterior, but taking one step in the inside shows nothing but a terrible horror house. Yes, and that’s before introducing us to the terrible man with a mask made of human skin running around with a chainsaw. From a room filled with bones of all creatures, including the human and the dreaded dinner table, this feature crafts some unsettling rooms for these characters to experience only further ensuring this feature gets right under your skin, literally. 

Of all the things the feature wants you to fell, a level of dread and hopelessness becomes one of them because seeing Leatherface run around with his chainsaw exists as a novelty, but the feeling when trapped in this house makes for something else. The scene at the dinner table really says it all in crafting a scene so unbearable from all of the screaming going on to what we witness actually goes on within this household. Truly an agonizing scene to watch from the character’s perspective but also the sound design. It becomes one of the prevailing reasons why I do not enjoy the film but it undoubtedly is incredibly effective in its execution. My lack of enjoyment comes from how well everything comes pieced together to make this all something quite horrific purposefully. It made the finale a sweet reprieve from the madness going on in the best of ways. Not many other films have had this level of impact on me, which really speaks to how uncomfortable this film makes you feel. 

While not getting much character work from most of these characters, Sally (Marilyn Burns) serves as our final girl in this feature and she has to endure most of the nonsense in this feature. She gets to learn firsthand the terrors of what transpires in the house, which makes the quick death of some of the other characters receive a merciful act. Painful but then a sweet release from having to endure everything Sally does. If there’s one thing I’ll remember from the performance put on by Burns, it’s her piercing scream at the top of her lungs in her reaction to everything in the house. A shriek combining both fear and agonizing dread. To this day I can still hear her scream ringing in my head and she deserves plenty of continued recognition for it. 

Serving as a Public Service Announcement to not stop in small rural towns in Texas and walking into pretty homes, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre continues to terrify to this day. Very much a uniquely crafted film that stands out from other slashers in the way it crafts this unbearable environment further dragging us into this madness of a situation. What Sally experiences moves beyond the horrors of being cut in half by a chainsaw and really gets at what this feature well and truly wants you to fear. This remains its legacy and why it remains revered and its execution will never make me want to watch it again, which serves as a high compliment.