The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Rating:
Summary: SCARY!!
Review: I rented this movie because I read all the good reviews posted. Man was this a scary movie! When Marilyn Burns was running through the woods with Leatherface chasing her I was terrified! Man I thought she was gonna die in some parts but she lived! This is a very scary movie and I reccomend it to any horror fan!( I'm really 14!)

Rating:
Summary: The GREATEST Horror Movie!
Review: I remember I first watched this movie about a year ago and was totally scared. Now, first I must tell you that I am a huge fan of the Horror genre and was a bit sceptical about watching a movie that was made in the 70s. But boy was I ever wrong. For the first time I was actually scared watching a movie, I've never been scared like this before. Contrary to what other people think, i though the acting was great. Marilyn Burns gives, what I think, the best performance ever in a horror movie. So, if you are a die-hard Horror fan, you can't call yourself one until you see The Texas Chainsaw Massacre!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!
Review: This is it. This is the big one. The horror classic that gave birth to a genre (the slasher flick) and remains one of the most unsettling pieces of work ever filmed. The quasi-documentary style of TCM makes it chillingly real, and while some of the acting is a bit meek, the haunting performances of the maniacal family will leave you wondering if the actors weren't a bit "touched" themselves. This film left me sweating and feeling a tad nauseous, and it did this without being overtly gory. That in itself is a great accomplishment... Modern horror directors should watch this one and take notes.

Rating:
Summary: Terrifying
Review: One day I was watching a retrospective on horror movies and one of the films discussed was the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. One of the people interviewed for this segment (it may have been Tobe Hooper) noted that the film has the reputation of being one of the goriest ever made, but other than a couple of short scenes, there actually isn't much gore. I was shocked. I had watched it several years before and recalled being completely grossed out by its graphic scenes. But when I went to rewatch it, it turned out he was correct! This wasn't the effect of the climate in which the film was released (I had already seen movies that were far more gory in actuality before I saw it for the first time). The movie was so effective and I got so caught up in it that I had actually remembered seeing graphic details that did not actually exist! This is one of the highest compliments that can be paid to the director (who went on to such films as Poltergiest).

Some movie-goers who are short on imagination and rely on having everything stuck right in front of their faces might consider the movie's relative lack of gore a deficit, but I consider the effect the movie has despite this one of its greatest strengths. The movie itself (like Hitchcock/Bloch's Psycho and the Buffalo Bill character in Silence of the Lambs) is inspired by the true story of Ed Gein who would dress in the skins of his female victims in an attempt to become his mother, and use the rest of each body for food, bowls, musical intruments, etc. This film is an attempt by its creators to exorcise themselves of their feelings after hearing the true accounts of Gein's acts. However, like all such movies, this one strays from the true story, reducing the main character (Leatherface's) use of skin to a mask and adding a whole family of cannibals.

Filled with exceptionally moody photography and excellent sets, this film is at turns disturbing and entertaining as towards the end when the family is used to great, dark comedic effect. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: the most over rated movie ever
Review: I thought that being a film , which hasn't been released on video / DVD format for so long . And the fact the it was said to be one of the most shocking and brutal to be released on video . What a load of rubbish !!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Movie. Excellent DVD. Excellent Special Features.
Review: First, the movie. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is probably one of the scariest movies ever made. It was unique for its time, and there's still nothing quite like it today. The plot doesn't sound like much- 2 women and 3 men make a drive to rural Texas to check out a graveyard that has been 'defiled', and to also relax and enjoy themselves. This last part of their vacation plan doesn't go real smoothly, as they make the mistake of wandering into an area where an insane, backwoods, inbred, cannibalistic sociopathic family live. Things get more and more horrifying from there.

I've heard people complain this movie isn't scary and not gory enough. As far as the gore, it is fairly low-key by today's standards (though I'm sure my mother wouldn't want to watch it, and it couldn't be shown un-cut on regular network TV). There's not a lot of blood till the end of the movie, but the acting is so good, and the screams of the victims so wrenching, your imagination fills in the rest and it actually is painful to watch. I will agree that the movie is kind of slow to get started- I admit the first time I saw it as a teenager I was getting impatient for some action. However, the last half of the movie more than makes up for it.

But if you think this movie isn't scary, I seriously doubt you've watched alone, at home, at night, with all the lights off. The first time I saw it was in the daytime, and it still made my hair stand on end. When I got the Special Edition DVD I unwisely watched it after midnight with the lights off. I couldn't sleep until the sun came up. The opening scene of the rotting corpse in the cemetery wired to a headstone alone made my skin crawl. The scene where Pam first discovers Leatherface's room, with the furniture made of bones and the chickens in bird-cages, gets scarier each time I see it. The last 20 minutes, at the dinner table, has to be one of the most grueling and realistic scenes to sit through ever made. The final few images--well, over 10 years went by between the last time I saw the movie and the time I watched it on DVD a few weeks ago, and I *still* could remember those shots so vividly it was like I saw it yesterday.

The DVD is incredible-the transfer is so crisp that it seems like the movie was filmed last year instead of in the early 70's. Since I'd only seen it on "pan & scan" VHS, I never really appreciated how beautiful some shots of the rural setting are, and also how well-thought out and carefully put together most of the cinematography is. Breathtaking, actually. Until the commentary pointed it out, I never realized how perfect and effective the long, continuous shot of Pam hesitantly getting up off the porch swing and slowly walking to the screen door is. This movie does not look at all amateurish, even though it was made on an extremely low budget.

The DVD is packed with cool and interesting special features. First, the commentary by Tobe Hooper, Gunnar Hansen aka Leatherface, and director of photography Daniel Pearl is fascinating. There's lots of subtle but powerful elements in the movie I missed till now-for instance, the lack of almost any score or soundtrack that gives it a documentary feel, making it that much more disturbing. Hardcore fans of this movie know already this was NOT an easy shoot by any standards, but their accounts of how much energy and work it took to get certain things right, not to mention the really tortuous things many of the actors went through...well, if any actor deserves to be paid millions for a movie, this cast certainly earned it. The dinner scene was the most horrendous- they could only do one take, it went on for 20+ hours, and this was in 110 degree heat with no air conditioning. Gunnar Hansen said that by the end, he was so out of it he started to think he wasn't acting. Kind of gives the tag line "Who will survive and what will be left of them?" a whole new meaning.

There's also some deleted and alternate scenes, including some "lost footage" never available before. With many of them, you can read the script excerpt of the scene first. There's a hilarious blooper reel-the quality isn't that great, but you'll laugh your butt off. There's lots of production notes and stills, along with shots of rare publicity material. A couple scenes are broken down shot by shot, with Hooper explaining why he made the directing and editing choices he did. There's even more, I just don't have room for it all. The menu is also pretty great. I highly recommend the Special Edition to anyone who is a fan of TCM. You'll be able to spend hours enjoying it, and they couldn't have done a better job. My recommendation (for what it's worth) is to get this one fast, because it would be a shame if it went out of print and so many people missed this wonderful collector's edition.

Rating:
Summary: Great Film, Lackluster DVD
Review: "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is one of the most horrifying horror movies ever made. As others have mentioned, it has a documentary feel to it, and as you watch you feel as if you are watching the lives of real people. The sound effects [which consist of random drumming on pots and pans] are brilliant, and they truly create a spooky atmosphere for the film. The first thing that the viewer will notice is the lack of actual gore; the film spends much more time creating a truly creepy atmosphere, which I believe is much more important than gore. The film also lacks an easily definable plot, but this only serves to reinforce its stark realism. Oh, and I forgot to mention the attractive girls in this movie. All in all, it was a satisfying horror film.

As for the DVD itself. The DVD comes with quite a few extras such as outtakes, blooper reel, commentaries, etc. I felt that there still wasn't quite enough of the extras. What was truly disappointing about the DVD itself was that it is rather dark, and sometimes it was hard to see what was going on. I checked out a VHS version of the film, and I noticed that the VHS is much brighter, allowing you to easily see all of the action. Other than that, it's a good buy.

Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest horror films of all time comes to Dvd
Review: This great thriller is finally on Dvd. Heres why u should buy this dvd 1.)This movie is great, a classic horror movie saw as one of the greatest horror films of all time. 2.)The special features on this dvd make the movie 1,000 times better. The alternate scenes are pretty cool and its always good to see some bloopers. Its also very cool to hear the commentary, what it was like to make the film and other interesting stuff. 3.) I met Gunnar Hanson (Leatherface) and he is a great guy, buy the movie to get him some royalties ;-)

Rating:
Summary: THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE
Review: THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE is definitly gritty and intense for a horror movie; the way it was filmed almost makes it seem as if it is a documentary of a true story. The film follows five friends on a summer afternoon drive who have the misfortune of running into a backwoods family of flesh eating cannibals led by the skin-mask wearing Leatherface. The Special Edition DVD is a must for any fan of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE because it contains all kinds of goodies; out-takes, theatrical trailers, TV spots, and much more.

Rating:
Summary: MOST ELECTRIFYING MOVIE OF ALL TIME!
Review: I've been waiting to see this movie for 2 weeks. I finally saw today and it was well worth seeing. This movie and the second TCM were the best. TCM next generation was horrible. But if you like terror, see this movie. LEATHERFACE all the way! You can not use a chainsaw wothout thinking of Leatherface. A true classic.