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As all of you know, this past weekend was Thibodaux's beloved Fireman's Fair. This is a fun time for the entire area since it's just about the only fair left around. Unfortunately for me, I was stricken with stomach pains for most of the weekend, so no fair for me. :( To alleviate my boredom, I decided to rent a classic horror film that's been on my "Movies-To-See-Before-I-Die-List" for quite a while. This movie is none other than "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." I will begin the review with this neat little story given at the start of the movie:
"The film which you are about to see is an account of the tragedy which befell a group of five youths, in particular, Sally Hardesty and her invalid brother Franklin. It is all the more tragic in that they were young. But had they lived very, very long lives, they could not have expected nor would they have wished to see as much of the mad and macabre as they were to see that day.. For them an idyllic summer drive became a nightmare. The events that day were to lead to the discovery of one of the most bizarre crimes in the annals of American history. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre."
Now if that isn't a scary way to start a movie, I don't know what is. Strangely enough, the movie begins with two corpses sitting on top of a tombstone. Yes, it seems there's been some grave-robbing in a little Texas town. This brings us to Sally and Franklin. Their grandfather is buried in this cemetery, and they want to make sure he's still in his grave; so they, Sally's boyfriend, and two of their friends make a happy little road trip to Texas. While there, they think it would be groovy to pick up a hitchhiker (NOT COOL). This guy reminds me of the WWF wrestler Bradshaw (for those of you that have never seen wrestling before, Bradshaw is a big Texas redneck with a little brain to match). He tells his stories of working in the "slaughterhouse" killing "cattle," (you'll understand why I put quotes later) and the kids get a little freaked out. After a few more acts of strangeness, the hippies kick him out of their van. After stopping at a gas station, which conveniently doesn't have any gas, the group decides to stay at an old house owned by Sally and Franklin's family. Too bad there's a sadistic family of cannibals that live a little further in the woods. One by one, the kids wander off and meet their demise at the hands of Leatherface, perhaps my favorite slasher figure of all time. It turns out that the hitchhiker and the gas station attendant are members of this sick family, which explains the slaughterhouse analogies by the hitchhiker. What happens next is quite disturbing, and I'll leave that to your imagination ...
This movie has quickly become one of my all-time favorite slashers. The acting--for a cheap slasher--is quite good, and Gunnar Hansen deserves mad props for his performance as Leatherface. The music didn't add much to the atmosphere, so that disappointed me a little. However, the Texas desert is a great and original place to have a movie. The story, even though it is loosely based on serial killer Ed Gein of the 1950s, comes out as very original. If you haven't seen this movie and you're into slashers, then get yourself a copy of this as soon as possible! |
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The Texas Chainsaw Massacre |
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review by Shaun Gravois |
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Tobe Hooper |
