The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

Starring - Marilyn Burns; Allen Danziger; Paul A. Partain; William Vail & Teri McMinn Director - Tobe Hooper MPAA - Not Rated The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of the original slasher films. Unlike the current crop of slasher films, like Scream, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a little more low-budget. Actually, that is an understatement. Chainsaw Massacre makes the original Halloween look as if it was shot on a budget the size of Titanic. This is one cheesy movie -- complete with cheesy camera shots, cheesy locations and even cheesier acting, if you can even call it acting. Even with that all said, Chainsaw Massacre wasn't as bad as I though it was going to turn out to be. I'm not sure whether it was the fact that I appreciated that it was one of the original classic slasher horror films, or if it was the fact that it was just so bad that it was almost good. Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter. Chainsaw Massacre focuses on a group of teenagers out for a drive who go to explore an abandoned property owned by one of their parents. In the true tradition of horror films, this turns out to be a mistake. It turns out that this old house has some neighbors nearby who aren't that friendly. Among them is a kindly gent named Leatherface who has a tendency to cut people up with a chainsaw -- never an endearing quality in a neighbor. Anyway, you can undoubtedly figure out from the title of the film what good old Leatherface ends up doing to these poor unsuspecting teenagers. As I said, the acting, writing, camera work and just about everything else you can think of is so low budget that a kid with a camcorder could almost have done a better job. But that is sort of the sick charm of this little film. Although, Scream it is not. If you are interested in watching Chainsaw Massacre for nonstop terror, keep right on going past this title in the video store. On the other hand, if you are looking for a few laughs (albeit unintentional) and a kind of historical perspective on the genre, give Chainsaw Massacre a look. At the very least you will appreciate just how far these films have come over the years. 2/10 Reviewed October 04, 1998 by Joe Chamberlain