The
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Who will survive and what will be left of them
Director
- Tobe Hooper
Writers - Kim Henkel & Tobe Hooper
Starring - Marilyn Burns, William Vail, Allen Danziger, Teri
McMinn, Paul A Partain
Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, Gunnar Hansen, John Dugan, Robert
Courtin, William Creamer , John Henry Faulk, Jerry Green,
Ed Guinn, Joe Bill Hogan
Review by Noel Baily
A classic? Of innovation perhaps...not substance!
Having seen this flick on its release, at roughly
four-year intervals, and again last night on a supposedly
"uncut" dvd, my view of the thing remains unchanged.
A legend in its own mind! There is nothing even remotely "classic"
about this film. Having much the same problem as CABIN FEVER
- totally dull and charismatic less individuals whose sole
purpose is to die at some stage. In terms of blood and guts,
you see far more in the re-make, which is a vastly more professional
offering and STILL way shy of greatness.
Hooper's
TCM is just plain dull for the most part. What killings there
are, are merely glimpsed or suggested, rather than in your
face. Even the famed meat-hook scene is far better handled
in the remake. Hooper blew his creative wad on the solar flares
imagery, which might be seen as a catalyst for the madness,
but hell, these inbreeds have been at it for generations.
TCM, like Craven's LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT is more an exercise
in tasteless filmmaking than an authentic recreation of an
actual event which my friends, this is NOT. It is very loosely
based on a case-file. One that did NOT include "Leatherface,"
or his absurdly fanciful grandpa, appears to have wandered
straight off the set of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.
The
film remains however, a tribute to Marilyn Burns tonsils,
which are put to high-decibel use during the concluding 20
minutes. TCM is exactly what it looks - low budget, low relevance
horror...sorry, screaming!
Review by Theo Robertson
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
It`s Not A Video Nasty - It`s A Black Comedy,
THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE is one of the most infamous films ever made, a film that is often mentioned by people who scapegoat video nasties for much of the world’s problems. This is laughable. And nor does TCM deserve to be lumped together with garbage like I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE and NIGHT OF THE DEMON or all those other video nasties because despite the low budget and technical flaws this is a relatively good film story wise. In fact it’s not really a horror film let alone a video nasty. Okay it follows the same structure as any cheap horror film of having a bunch of teenagers stalked in some dark woods but that’s where the similarity ends. TCM is more similar in tone to DELIVERANCE in having a bunch of city dwellers fight for their lives against rural folk. In fact you could describe it as " Scooby Doo on acid “! Seriously, think about it, a bunch of pesky kids get mixed up in grave robbing and weird backwoods communities. All it really needs is a great dane and an unshaven youth saying " Yoikes “, in which case the film would have ended with someone pulling off Leatherface`s mask to reveal the sheriff saying " If it wasn’t for those pesky kids ...."
So why is TCM so infamous? It’s because it’s funny. So the humour is in very bad taste, but come on admit it, you laughed when the lad in a wheelchair fell down the hill, you laughed when the hitchhiker started doing his bizarre routine in the van, and you laughed at the end when the truck driver left the rig with that terrified look on his face. You may have felt self-disgust for doing so but that’s the whole point about TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE - It’s not a horror film, it’s a black comedy
|
