The Texas Chain Saw Massacre | 100 Movies Bucket List

 

I was really looking forward to this one.

Over the years I lose track of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies I've seen, but I'm hoping I've seen them all because I love the franchise, and this is where it all began!

From the very beginning of the film you know exactly what you're in for. The opening images are really powerful and do a good job of putting the viewer on edge. Plus the make-up and prosthetics are really well done.

I love that this film is so undeniably 70s. The music, the style, the way it's shot, it's so much a product of its time, and yet it's a story that has continued to be relevant and create more stories for half a century.

And so many of the stories are the same base with a different background - a group of friends going somewhere they shouldn't and running into Leatherface. Bonus points if they pick up a hitchhiker, or if someone unexpected turns out to be related to the killer. But that's also something I love - when you're watching a Texas Chainsaw movie, you know you're watching a Texas Chainsaw movie.

This film is noted as one of the 'least bloody horror movies of all time', and I think that really adds to the scares. Sure it would have been great to have more kills and overt scares, but with horror, sometimes the things you come up with in your mind are scarier than actually seeing something, so leaving a lot of things up to the viewer's imagination can make things that much more intense and scary.

But in saying that, the film isn't without blood and gore in its entirety. But it's used sparingly, which kind of gives the kills a sense of realism. And speaking of sparingly, it's also really funny how little an actual chainsaw is used in the movie!

The design of Leatherface is a really interesting one that's definitely as iconic as a lot of other horror villains. 

The actors all do a good job, particularly Gunnar Hansen, who was a really great Leatherface.

And then there's the iconic ending, which is one of the first things I think about when I remember any of these movies. Apparently it was improvised too which makes it even better!

So overall this was a very successful re-watch. I didn't remember as much about it as I thought, which was great because I loved seeing it with fresh eyes. It definitely deserves a place on the list of iconic horror movies.