He is not seriously hurt, as it turns out, but the incident does help to establish a sense of danger, yet not without a dose of comedy.Īs the group drives on, Pam informs them all that astrological signs are suggesting that cosmic evil is afoot, again adding to the air of menace, an air that approaches the apocalyptic. Then, just after we hear a radio report about violent battles over oil reserves in South America, a large truck speeds by and sends Franklin careening down an embankment, in what looks like a possible disaster. The five young people at the center of the film then stop their van by the roadside so that Franklin can relieve himself into a coffee can after his wheelchair is rolled into the weeds. The first shot after the credits shows the body of a dead armadillo lying on its back, a particularly Texan form of roadkill. These events include such things as an industrial accident, a cholera outbreak, a suicide, a deadly building collapse, and a gruesome murder/mutilation. These reports are relayed via a radio news report, accompanied by fleeting shots of parts of decomposing bodies that flash on the screen between periods of blackness (presumably because they are being photographed in darkness by crime-scene photographers using flash bulbs), creating a disorienting and ominous effect.Īs if this report were not enough, the film proceeds as further news reports play over the opening credits on the screen, reporting a series of grim events occurring around the U.S., especially in Texas. Partain), who have traveled to the area with three of their friends-Jerry (Allen Danziger), Kirk (William Vail), and Pam (Teri McMinn)-to check on the gravesite of the grandfather of the Hardesties, given reports of recent grave-robbings in the area, just outside the small Texas community of Newt. Central among these are Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) and her wheel-chair-bound brother Franklin (Paul A. As the film begins, on-screen text (read by a narrator, future sitcom star John Larroquette) warns us that bizarre and macabre events are about to be depicted, involving five young people in Texas. For example, the film expends considerable effort in building an air of tension and expectation before the truly gruesome action begins. The Texas Chain Saw massacre is not a subtle film, and it’s a bit rough-hewn, but it is not without artistry. All of these subsequent films have sought to improve on the production quality of the low-budget original, yet that rough-hewn original remains, nearly half a century later, the most effective of them all. The original Chain Saw also became the founding text in its own media franchise, which has by now come to include a total of eight films, involving sequels, prequels, remakes, and reboots. In this, it exercised a considerable influence on the films that came after it, becoming one of the crucial influences on both the slasher subgenre and the subgenre that has sometimes come to be known as “hillbilly horror.” Moreover, the considerable commercial success of that first Chain Saw film (more than $30 million in box-office receipts against a production budget of around $130,000) was an important milestone that encouraged the development of additional low-budget independent horror films. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is one of the most notorious horror films ever made, a film known for breaking new ground in the representation of graphic violence and lurid subject matter.
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