THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (Original) (aka The Texas Chain Saw Massacre)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Movie Review

Sally (Marilyn Burns) and her invalid brother Franklin (Paul A. Partian), along with a few friends, visit an abandoned house they had spent some time in as children--after encountering some strange people along the way, they eventually wander into a nearby house, which is the home of a masked, chainsaw-wielding killer.

THIS leatherfaced killer, to be exact

Director, producer, and co-writer Tobe Hooper made a huge splash with this low-budget 1974 horror film, which is far more suited for a local grindhouse or drive-in of the 1970s than any sort of mainstream theatre, but somehow broke through to a massive audiences and gave us one of the all-time great characters in horror history. Practically everything about this movie is unsettling, from the plot to the way it's shot to the music--everything comes together perfectly to tell a horrific tale. This landmark slasher film, which many consider one of the scariest movies ever made, is all the more impressive in that it manages to terrify the audience without actually showing much blood or violence. The acting is also very impressive here--Burns is really good as Sally, and Edwin Neal does such a good job as The Hitchhiker that you can't imagine him NOT being that insane in real life. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is considered one of the greatest horror movies ever made, a title it very much deserves--there is a lot to like about this movie, its shortcomings are very few, and it is basically a blueprint for tons of movies that would follow it.

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 9

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Movie Trailer