Some archival features and some brand new. The new 40 th Anniversary release is ripe with special features. While Hooper’s own official 1986 sequel THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 went for more comedy than scares, it’s a shame no one has ever quite got the franchise right except with this original film. The story is rather simplistic and the “dinner” sequence has the kind of gallows’ humor that will make you want to not watch or laugh at its sheer grotesque lunacy. Too bad it’s right next door to a family of cannibals who also happen to make the best meat ever. The story follows a group of friends in a van who decide to take a detour on a Texas backroads to check out one of their (now abandoned) childhood homes. You will never see anything quite like this. And the aftermath even shows Leatherface dealing with the closest thing he has to remorse (or fear for being a bad boy). Rewatch the scene again, it’s actually brilliant and wholly original. What he does to the poor guy who comes into his home is without remorse or malice – it’s just matter-of-fact. And the first time Leatherface appears, is probably the most effective and frightening he has ever been in any film. Sound effects and sound design is used more to complement the film’s uneasy tone. The other thing that stands out is the naturalism. He’s created a rich, spooky atmosphere beginning with the opening frames and concluding with Leatherface spinning around with his saw. Tobe Hooper has had his ups and downs as a filmmaker over the years, but his skills are really on display here. Yet, seeing the film pristine (or as pristine as a 16mm transfer can be) has really upgraded the look and feel. In many ways these unintentional rough edges enhanced the film’s notoriety. In some ways, the grittiness of the film in previous incarnations and 1980s VHS neglect, gave the movie an aura of true, awful looking exploitation. While the film has been remastered in the past, this is probably the best the film has looked. ![]() Like the slasher movies that were inspired by HALLOWEEN, there is something original and inviting about the gruesome origins of this subgenre and with the 40 th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTOR’S EDITION released on Blu-ray, now is the time to revisit this masterpiece with fresh eyes. So many movies have used this template to the point of nauseum – kids take a detour or go somewhere they shouldn’t go and bad things happen to them. ![]() That subgenre of course is the “kids in a van” movie. Not only has there been multiple, inferior sequels and remakes that have tried to supplant it with lesser results, but a whole new subgenre of horror movies was jump started due to this Tobe Hooper classic. Time has been very good to 1974’s THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE. Stars: Marilyn Burns, Edwin Neal, Gunnar Hansen
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