Countdown to Halloween: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

It’s Halloween, and Geoff’s getting in the spirit by looking back at the scary movies he grew up on. If you haven’t seen these movies, you should. You really, REALLY should.

Except this movie. Stay as far away from this movie as you can.

DAY 1: The Wolf Man (1941)                               DAY 2: Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn (1987)     

DAY 3: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)    DAY 4: The Birds (1963)                                  

DAY 5: Dawn of the Dead (1978)                                                                                                   

 

DAY 6: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

Dude, seriously, this movie is so terrifying.

What's it about? A group of teenagers decide it would be "fun" to go to Texas. It doesn't turn out to be as fun-filled as they thought.

Not even harmless armadillos are safe in this film.

The Plot: Sally and her friends are on their way to a weekend retreat at a family cabin when they run into a charming young man who treats one of the kids to a home cooked meal, then a romp in the wilderness.

This movie is pretty damn terrifying. The kids (for whatever stupid reason) decide to go to the only town in Texas where everyone is a murdering psychopathic cannibal, and then decide to break into a house for no reason. A house belonging to a man (and I'm not kidding) named LEATHERFACE.

Then they act all surprised when the chainsaw wielding maniac decides to act out a little aggression...

Oh yeah, this is gonna end well.

Leatherface is a portly, chainsaw happy retarded man who doesn't speaks in pig squeals and a high Alvin and the Chipmunky voice. He's also a transvestite and has a habit of cutting people up and making masks out of their faces. You never see his true face, but he does wear different faces for different occasions (including a special face for cooking dinner).

Why I Love It: Actually "love" might be a strong term. I don't "love" this movie, I am honest to God terrified at the thought of this film. I had to re-watch it today in order to write this review and all day at work I kept thinking "What have I gotten myself into!?!"

I vividly remember the first time that I saw this movie. I was a sophomore in high school and was over at my girlfriend's house. It was a sunny afternoon and neither of us knew what we were getting into. 

When it was over I was so terrified I didn't want to drive home. It's, like, sunny and bright outside and I seriously didn't trust leaving the house for fear a chainsaw wielding madman would hack me to bits.

It's not a film for the faint of heart, that's for sure. It's a film that I don't ever want to watch alone. Actually, it's not a film that I generally want to watch. Period.

James Franco. The early years.

Why You Should Love It, Too: What makes this film so terrifying for me is the pure chaos of the thing. The deaths come out of nowhere, there's nothing that prompts them. 

The film is all about creepy. There isn't a single scene in the film that's not meant to be unsettling, from the first few shots of police investigating a recent grave robbery (and the gristly shots of the decomposed bodies) it becomes clear that this isn't gonna be one of those "fun" slasher films like the later Elm Street films. There's nothing good going on here.

Leatherface does have a delightful decor, though.

But what really sells the film for me is the sound. There's practically no music, except for what the characters listen to on the radio (which gives some of the scenes incredibly inappropriate music, which to me just adds to the "there's something wrong here" feel of the film). 

What little score the film does use is sparse, a few off-beat percussion sounds, and strained instrumentals give the score a horrifying and unsettling soundscape. It also uses some sort of motorized sound (maybe even a chainsaw itself?) to further give the film's sound that little something extra. It instills the fear of the chainsaw long before we ever see one.

Of course, when you DO see a chainsaw, it's attached to a dude who wears other people's faces.

The film relies on the atmosphere and the soundscape in order to bring on the terror. 

This film is so powerful, and it does it so simply. There's actually very little blood or gore in the film but you'd never think it. The film is so horrific that your mind plays tricks on you. 

It also uses intense close-ups on the characters in order to really get the feel that we are right there along side Sally and the rest of the guys. It also lingers on some scenes, as if we (like Sally) can't escape what's happening around us.

And when I say "close-up" I mean CLOSE. UP.

In all, this film is horrifying. It's gruesome. It's awful. 

If you're not into that I'd really suggest staying away from this film.

I'm not kidding. This one ain't for everybody.

That's it for this year's countdown, thanks for following along and if you have any suggestions for next year, I'd be happy to watch them!