The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Not At All What I Was Expecting

"I just can't take no pleasure in killing. There are just some things you gotta do. Don't mean you have to like it."

I was so unprepared for how disturbing <i>Texas Chain Saw Massacre<i> was. I guess I expected it to be kind of like <i>Scream<i> or <i>A Nightmare on Elm Street<i> which I may not like but they both have a somewhat fun tone but also scary when it needs to be. <i>The Texas Chain Saw Massacre<i> is not at all like that. Once the movie feels disturbing just from the first frame. A lot of that is thanks to director Tobe Hooper. The eerie score (if you can call it that) adds suspense and tension to what's happening on screen. The film's low budget makes the movie feel even rawer. The acting isn't much to hold up, it's serviceable. There isn't much to explore with the characters either.

I think the best part of the movie is how it looks. The direction by Tobe Hooper is fantastic. This movie only cost only $140,000 and you can feel it on screen but I don't think it's ever a weakness. It adds to the brutality of the movie. There are some shots I thought were genuinely great. It goes to show that if you get the right director you can make something great with almost nothing. There isn't a lot of blood in the movie and that adds to the horror of the movie even more in some weird way. It makes me want to see <i>Poltergiest<i> even more after seeing this. I would love to see what he could do with a bigger budget.

Even though this is held up as one of the defining slasher films of all time this movie isn't about one person. It's a family affair. I went in thinking this was going to be about some guy wreaking havoc into some small town in Texas. It's a lot different though with this family being cannibals and eating their victims. It's highly effective and disturbing. The last half of the movie contains some of the most disturbing stuff I've seen in a movie. It's expertly done on Hooper's part. 

There isn't much to explore with the characters of the movie and the acting isn't worth noting. The most interesting characters are the three family members but the victims don't have any meat to them. The ending with one of the characters laughing in the back of a truck is so haunting and a perfect way to the end of the movie. Franklin is also pretty annoying. 

Even though <i>The Texas Chain Saw Massacre<i> isn't going up on the shelf as one of the best horror movies I've seen, it is still an effective movie. Tobe Hooper did such a great job directing this movie and there are some great shots in here. It's highly disturbing, go in cautious, and hopefully, you can respect what this movie does. This is an instant recommend for horror fans and a cautious recommend for passive horror fans just because you may not like it as much. It's also something I would show to film fans, just because of what Hooper does here. 

Solid Recommend

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Original Trailer)