THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (Tobe Hooper, 1974)

Some musings inspired by the remastered 40th anniversary release of ‘the Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

>some company should make little Texas Chain Saw Massacre cheese cubes, like the Laughing Cow ones (and what is that damn cow so happy about?), but with a nice picture of Leatherface, maybe wearing his “pretty woman” dinner mask with all the lipstick on it. They could call ’em Leatherheadcheeses.

>to a greater degree than in many other horror flicks I’ve seen, the production design and the portrayal of transgressive behaviors in ‘the Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ are well realized and that makes them intense, whereas when the actors open their mouths, that mood, like a thick and dangerous fog, is dispersed. That’s why Leatherface is such a strong and enduring bogeyman: he’s nightmarish, he doesn’t say a word. When he does make mouth noises, it’s creepy gibberish. Really creepy gibberish.

>almost everyone in ‘the Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ committed some sin that was clearly punishable by death: Jerry because he exposed his chest pelt by wearing his shirt half-buttoned, Kirk just for the hippy shirt he chose to wear, Franklin for being such a whiny bastard, and Pam because she would.not.stop.screaming. Sally and her prominently featured nipples were allowed to live as this is only just.

>I got to meet the gentleman who played Leatherface, Gunnar Hansen. Mr. Hansen had a number of cool stories, one being how he performed a certain scene high because the caterer had served brownies made with marijuana and somehow failed to mention that detail to the cast or crew. I also had a ten minute discussion in the lobby during a beer run about our similar opinions on this savage Roman American sport known as the death penalty. Yes, you read that correctly, one of the most celebrated psycho killers in film history is against it. Oh, the irony!

[originally published 7-15-14]