Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

The 1970’s had more than its fair share of cannibal themed movies but the one that stands out for me the most is “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”. It’s perfectly creepy with the soundtrack, grainy film quality, and bizarre cast of characters...and I’m talking about the ones you see before you even get to Leatherface. Even though he became a major franchise onto himself, I strongly feel that “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” should have been a single, stand-alone film. It doesn’t need to answer the questions that might linger after the end credits begin rolling. Do you really need to know who Leatherface is or what he looks like under his creepy mask? No. Do you really need to know if the family ever gets caught or how long they’ve been robbing graves? No. Just knowing what you see is enough.

As the opening describes, this is a story about five young adults who get caught up in something gruesome and terrifying. They drive out to check out a graveyard that has been having problems with grave robbers. Two siblings have a grandfather buried there and they want to make sure that his grave wasn’t disturbed. Afterwards they decide to check out an old family house that their father grew up in. On the way to the house they pick up a hitchhiker who quickly runs out his welcome when he begins to start a fire and cutting one of the teens; they kick him out and continue on their way. Once at the house, they begin to split up and eventually find their way to the neighbors’ house. No one seems to be home but they go in anyway only to be killed off by Leatherface. When Sally and her brother go looking for the other three in the evening, they are attacked Sally’s brother is killed. She is runs throughout the house being chased by Leatherface, finally making it to a gas station where she is tied up by another member of Leatherface’s family (brother or dad). Sally wakes up and finds that she is surrounded by Leatherface, the gas station guy, the hitchhiker, and Grandpa. They try having Grandpa kill her but she manages to get away and after an almost comical chase, Sally rides away in the back of a pickup truck and Leatherface revs his chainsaw in the soft sunlight of the morning.

Favorite moment – I honestly love the moment when Leatherface hits Kirk in the back of the head with a mallet, drags his body into the alcove, and slams the metal shutters closed. What the hell kind of noise was he making???