Reviews: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) Movie Review
Subgenres: Slasher, Cult Classic, Dysfunctional Family, Maniac, Desert, B-Horror
Exploring The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) through our review, we cover its story, scares, and how it fits into the broader horror genre landscape.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) is an American slasher horror movie that was advertised to be based on a true story, although it was mostly fictional. The only realistic part of the film is that serial killer Ed Geins’ murders inspired the character Leatherface and a few details. The movie was released in October of 1974 and was banned soon after in many theaters and countries for its extremely violent content. Nevertheless, it made over $30 million and paved the way for future slasher movies. Director and co-writer Tobe Hooper (Poltergeist (1982), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986), Salem’s Lot (1979)) took a courageous, brave step to make this one of a kind movie in 1974. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre mainly follows a group of friends who are on their way to visit an old homestead but soon are captured by a family of cannibals.
Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns - Helter Skelter (1976), Eaten Alive (1977), Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013)), her brother Franklin (Paul A. Partain - Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013), Race with the Devil (1975), Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994)), and three friends went with Sally and Franklin to visit their grandfather’s grave. They want to see if their grandfather’s grave was harmed after hearing the graves are being robbed and vandalized. The group decided to go to the Hardesty homestead after and made a terrible mistake on their way there. They picked up a Hitchhiker (Edwin Neal - JFK (1991), Power Rangers Turbo (1997), Future-Kill (1985)) who turns out to be a psycho that attacks them, but the group was able to push him out of their vehicle.
Sally, Franklin, who has paraplegia, and the three friends, Jerry (Allen Danziger), Kirk (William Vail), and Pam (Teri McMinn), are about to have an unknown/unforeseen adventurous time. The kiddies went to get gas but were told by a keeper/older man (Jim Siedow - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986), Texas Chainsaw Massacre: A Family Portrait (1988), The Windsplitter (1971)) that the pumps are empty.
The group decides to go to the house and return later when the gas station receives the delivery. Kirk (William Vail - Amish Grace (2010), Too Young to Die? (1990), Buffalo Soldiers (1997)) and Pam (Teri McMinn - Butcher Boys (2012), The Cellar (2009), The Horror Hall of Fame II (1991)) went to a swimming hole that Franklin told them about. The hole was dried up, so they went to a house in the hope of finding gas after they heard a generator noise coming from it. Kirk calls out but receives no answer, so he enters someone’s house without knowing them in an area that he knows no one - not so smart of him!! He was the first one to be killed by Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen - Mosquito (1995), Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers (1988), Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013)) who killed him with a mallet. Pam figure Kirk took too long and entered the house and discovered that all the furniture is made of human bones. She tried to escape, but she was too slow for Leatherface. He impaled her on a meathook and made her watch him take apart Kirk with his chainsaw. All the friends are being killed/tortured one by one. Watch the movie to see this exciting adventure. Will anyone survive Leatherface and his accomplice?
I was shocked to see Leatherface at the dinner table with his new set of clothes on. The movie is superb, and I recommend all horror fans to watch it as soon as possible if you have not already. So you can have a chainsaw marathon one day. The director did a phenomenal job with this classic masterpiece.
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Sources Used to Shape This Review
Insights in this review are drawn from director interviews, fan commentary, production notes, and long-form breakdowns across genre-specific platforms. Content is written uniquely and reviewed for accuracy.
- The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Rating Scores
- Our Score: 8/10
- Overall Score: 8.20/10
- IMDB: 7.4/10
- MetaCritic: 9.1/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 8.4/10
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