when discussing what my next project for this blog should be, i suggested out idea of working my way through a director. my friend dave suggested tobe hooper. seemed like a good plan but possibly a challenge, since not all of his movies are readily available. first up...
texas chainsaw massacre (1974)
proof that a movie need not be overly compicated or gory to scare the daylights out of you. sally, her wheelchair-bound brother franklin, and their friends travel to a vandalized graveyard to see if their grandfather's remains are intact. en route, they come upon chainsaw-wielding maniac, leatherface.
i forget how much this movie scares me. i'm never sure when its over quite what did it to me. was it the sensory overload of the chainsaw, the bizarre cackling and screams? or was it that we've been driving in rural areas, stopped to take a look around and i could imagine this happening? whatever the case may be, i wanted someone to sing soft kitty to me when it was over, despite knowing exactly what i was in for.
the truly bizarre thing about this movie is that when you pick it apart, it doesn't sound all that good. the plot is unremarkable, the characters, the teenagers at least, are also unremarkable. there is some wicked bad acting, except for marilyn burns (sally) - she seems believably traumatized. but there is also atmosphere, unrelenting terror, and incredible cinematography. and a gruesome scene with a meat hook.
people may try to do better. they just can't.
