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In 1974—the year Richard Nixon resigned in the wake of Watergate, and just one year after the United States withdrew from the Vietnam War, having wasted 19 years, five months, four weeks, one day, and nearly 60,000 American lives—confidence in and trust of the United States government was in a shambles.

Fifty-one years ago, director Tobe Hooper and his cast and crew spent a blisteringly hot Texas summer working to bring us one of the greatest horror films ever made, the 1974 classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (watch it Here)… and to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the release of the film, Neca is releasing new action figures of the Leatherface and Hitchhiker characters! These action figures won’t actually make their way onto collectors’ shelves until May 2025, but they’re available for pre-order through Entertainment Earth and Big Bad Toy Store.

Directed by Hooper from a script he wrote with Kim Henkel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre has the following synopsis: When Sally hears that her grandfather’s grave may have been vandalized, she and her paraplegic brother, Franklin, set out with their friends to investigate. After a detour to their family’s old farmhouse, they discover a group of crazed, murderous outcasts living next door.

Horror and comedy and more similar than people realize, as they both revolve around timing and violating norms. My favorite performance in a horror movie is Jack Nicholson’s scary-funny turn in The Shining. While many fans just see Nicholson’s Jack Torrance as terrifying, I think the character has comedic overtones that helped make the movie a classic.

My favorite horror movie performance is as surreal as can be

Horror isn’t always the most critically acclaimed genre, but it has given us some superb performances. Anthony Perkins in Psycho, Marilyn Burns in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs are all electrifying. However, Nicholson stands out — even among those luminaries.

In The Shining, Nicholson overacts to the point where some of his acting choices are downright surreal. That fits well with the tone of the movie, which becomes progressively more off-kilter as it goes on.

Slaughterhouse Rules.

Back in mid-September, we began a themed collection of episodes featuring Gay Icons and Anniversaries. Trace and I kicked off the series with a revisit of Jennifer’s Body (listen) before delving into Jonathan Glazer’s controversial Birth (listen), and David Fincher’s Gone Girl (listen) for its 10th anniversary.

Now it’s time to tackle the 50th anniversary of Tobe Hooper‘s classic text, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. It’s a film that hardly needs an introduction, but in case folks have never seen it, the film follows a van full of teenagers travelling through Texas to ensure the resting site of a relative hasn’t been disturbed by a recent wave of grave robberies.

Of course what they do is run afoul of a family of men who have resorted to murder and cannibalism following the closure of the slaughterhouse. With masked killer Leatherface doing most of the heavy lifting,...

When we think about iconic final girls, it’s usually Laurie Strode, Nancy Thompson, and Sidney Prescott who come to mind. These fantastic female characters have become horror movie legends, celebrated for their strength and resilience while inspiring a generation of girls to take back their power. Horror historians will also note the flawless Jess Bradford (Olivia Hussey) from Bob Clark’s Black Christmas while sci-fi fans will suggest Ellen Ripley. But before them all was Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns). The star and sole survivor of Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre burst onto the scene in October of 1974 and forever changed the way we view women in film. On a road trip through Texas, Sally crosses paths with some of the most depraved villains in the history of horror and manages to live through a night of sheer hell. Though Hooper’s gritty masterpiece has stood the test of time,...

Note: This article was originally published in October 2020, and has been updated to include Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022).

With Run The Series, The A.V. Club examines film franchises, studying how they change and evolve with each new installment.

A truly successful horror movie will take an ordinary object or everyday activity...

(Welcome to Tales from the Box Office, our column that examines box office miracles, disasters, and everything in between, as well as what we can learn from them.)

"I remember the screams in the theater. People walked out. But the audience that stayed was hooked." Those are the words of Gunnar Hansen, the man behind Leatherface, writing in his book "Chain Saw Confidential" about how audiences reacted to director Tobe Hooper's "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" in 1974. Hooper, for his part, had become bored with the horror genre and " set out as a fan of the genre to do something that gave you [...] your money's worth," as he put it in an interview with NPR in 2017. Safe to say, mission accomplished.

50 years later, Hooper's feature directorial debut is one of the most celebrated horror films in cinema history. It's also one of the movies that indie filmmakers look to...

The Final Girl trope defined characteristics of the last character left alive to confront the killer in horror films, particularly in slasher films. The rise of feminism in the 1970s became a milestone in the genre as the damsel in distress did not need a man to rescue her anymore. Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) in the Alien franchise and Jess Bradford (Olivia Hussey) from Black Christmas all portrayed strong female characters who all fought back against their assailant.

Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is one of the most famous final girls in the Halloween franchise that was first released in 1978 and deemed Laurie as the victim of her brother Michael Myers. As the final girl characteristics have developed, like the franchise, she no longer waits around for Michael instead is ready to fight him and is no longer a target.

A restored 4k version of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre hits theaters today from MPI Media Group/Dark Sky Films on the 50th anniversary of the iconic indie scarefest by the late Tobe Hooper. It’s booked in 900 theaters with Regal, Cinemark, Cineplex, Marcus, Harkins and all Alamo Drafthouse locations.

Other venues include the Music Box Theatre’s 700-seat auditorium. The run starts today – the same day the original was released in 1974 — goes through Halloween and into the first week of November.

MPI is taking a flexible approach with theaters and exhibitors have been adding shows on solid pre-sales.

The film stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, and Gunnar Hanssen as Leatherface and follows five youths on a weekend getaway who fall victim to a butcher in a mask made of human skin and his family of cannibals. Violent and confrontational, it faced a storm of...

Fifty-one years ago, director Tobe Hooper and his cast and crew spent a blisteringly hot Texas summer working to bring us one of the greatest horror films ever made, the 1974 classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (watch it Here)… and to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the release of the film, Dark Sky Films is bringing it back to theatres this October! The fiftieth anniversary re-release trailer, which was created by Mark Woollen, can be seen in the embed above. To find out if The Texas Chainsaw Massacre will be showing near you, and to secure tickets to showings, head over to the Dark Sky website.

Update: The 50th anniversary of the film is also being celebrated in Austin, Texas, with the city’s Mayor, Kirk Watson, issuing a proclamation that has declared October 11th to be Texas Chainsaw Massacre Day! A press release invites fans to “join actors from the...

"You can make him stop!" "No we can't..." Dark Sky Films has revealed a new trailer celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1974 horror classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre directed by Tobe Hooper. The film was also digitally restored & re-released in 2014 for its 40th anniversary. But now it's the big 50! Ttcm will be re-released in theaters again in October this year - check your local listings. Five friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw. With Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, and Gunnar Hansen. "Facing a storm of controversy, censorship, and outcry throughout its troubled release, this masterpiece of horror has stood the test of time to become a landmark motion picture and cultural milestone." Here's a...

Damien Leone’s Terrifier 3 had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest last night, leaving viewers in shock and awe. The first reactions promise sickening gore, laude the performances by David Howard Thornton and Lauren Lavera, praise Damien Leone’s direction, and tease Art the Clown’s expanded lore.

“Terrifier 3 just might be the goriest movie to ever grace a multiplex screen,” raves Fangoria editor-in-chief Phil Nobile Jr. “David Howard Thornton having a blast, funniest he’s ever been as Art; Lauren Lavera put through the wringer. Possibly the most physically put-upon final girl since Marilyn Burns.”

“Terrifier 3 blew the damn roof off,” asserts Cob. “Gonzo slasher horror cranked up to 11. Bursting with some of the most fantastically diabolical kills ever put to screen (holy shit). Shower scene will go down in history. We have a new contender for best horror movie of the year.”

“Well, holy fuck,...

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Tobe Hooper’s horror classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and Dark Sky Films is celebrating with a massive new physical media set.

Now available for pre-order, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: 50th Anniversary Chainsaw Edition includes the 4K Uhd edition of the feature film, Blu-ray edition of the feature film, Blu-ray bonus disc, and an exclusive VHS release featuring original VHS release artwork!

Dark Sky further previews, “All are housed in a replica of the iconic chain saw from the film, which comes in a special 50th Anniversary numbered box. Opening the chainsaw triggers the sound of Leatherface wielding the chainsaw in the film.”

This limited edition also features a newly designed 50th Anniversary O-card and brand-new bonus content, including The Merchandise of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Restoration of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Here’s everything you need to know…...

50th Anniversary Chain Saw Box of Texas Chain Saw Massacre Arrives This October: "Dark Sky Selects proudly presents The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 50th Anniversary Chainsaw Edition. This multi-disc set will include the new 4K Uhd edition of the film, a Blu-ray bonus disc containing new extra features, and an exclusive VHS release of the movie. The special edition collector’s set will be housed in a custom created box, which is a replica of the iconic chain saw from the film. Opening the chainsaw triggers the sound of Leatherface wielding the chainsaw in the film. Each box set will be numbered and only 5000 have been created.

This limited edition also features a newly designed 50th Anniversary O-card and brand-new bonus content, including The Merchandise of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Restoration of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 50th Anniversary Chainsaw Edition will...

Presented by Paramount Scares, Friday the 13th Week sees Bloody Disgusting heading to Camp Crystal Lake for a series of features that celebrate the Voorhees family and their influence. Yesterday, Luiz H.C. took inventory of all the horror movie fans in horror similar to franchise hero Tommy Jarvis. Today, Jenn Adams celebrates the franchise’s final girls.

As long as there have been slashers, there’ve been final girls; the lone–traditionally female–survivor at the end of the film. Fans of the lovably formulaic sub-genre have strong opinions about which character originated the trope. From Lila and Jess to Sally and Laurie, we each have our favorites and will defend them tooth and nail.

Most slasher franchises become known for specific final girls who appear alongside iconic villains in multiple films, but Friday the 13th is the rare exception that proves the rule. Known for killing off heroines early in subsequent films,...

“The film which you are about to see is an account of the tragedy which befell a group of five youths, in particular Sally Hardesty and her invalid brother, Franklin. It is all the more tragic in that they were young. But, had they lived very, very long lives, they could not have expected, nor would they have wished to see as much of the mad and macabre as they were to see that day. For them an idyllic summer afternoon drive became a nightmare. The events of that day were to lead to the discovery of one of the most bizarre crimes in the annals of American history, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.” When I joke about movies being very loosely based on a true story, that opening dialogue from John Larroquette and the wild popularity is what I’m referring to. While it may not be the first...

Major spoilers for "Strange Darling" follow.

Director J.T. Mollner's indie horror flick "Strange Darling" has finally opened in U.S. theaters with the wind of good publicity at its back. In a fascinating career pivot, "Strange Darling" was shot on 35mm film by actor Giovanni Ribisi making his debut as a cinematographer. Then, there's the promise of a twist in both the film's marketing and reviews.

"Go in blind" is easy criticism when a film anchors itself with a twist but "Strange Darling" earns that rave. The film is introduced as a story told in six chapters, but those chapters are presented out of order. Mollner banks on his audience's genre and gendered expectations as he assembles the movie's puzzle pieces together before their eyes.

So, what does "Strange Darling" appear to be about? A young woman, "The Lady," (Willa Fitzgerald) is fleeing a man, "The Demon" (Kyle Gallner...

Bloody Disgusting has teamed up with Lionsgate to release seven modern horror favorites on Blu-ray + Digital in limited edition SteelBook packaging, available exclusively at Walmart today.

The line includes Wolf Creek, Hannibal Rising, I Spit on Your Grave, You’re Next, Sinister, Texas Chainsaw, and Leatherface.

Priced at $22.96, each title features brand new artwork by Bond.

Wolf Creek is written and directed by Greg McLean. John Jarratt, Nathan Phillips, Cassandra Magrath, and Kestie Morassi star.

In the 2005 film, a trio of stranded backpackers in remote Australia fall prey to a psychopathic local, who takes them captive and tortures them.

Wolf Creek special features:

Unrated Cut of the Film Audio Commentary by Director Greg McLean, Executive Producer Matt Hearn, and Actors Cassandra Magrath and Kestie Morassi The Making Of Wolf Creek Deleted Scene Theatrical Trailer

Hannibal Rising is directed by Peter Webber and written by Thomas Harris, based on his own novel.

Despite being banned from theaters at its initial 1974 release for its shocking violence, Tobe Hooper’s “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” remains among the most influential horror films in history — and one that’s inspired countless remakes, sequels, spinoffs, and imitators.

Hooper, who would later direct the cult series “Salem’s Lot” (1979) and the ’80s phenomenon “Poltergeist” (1982), was a documentary cinematographer and an assistant film director at the University of Texas-Austin in the early ’70s. Co-written by Kim Henkel, “Texas Chain Saw” was remarkably only his sophomore feature following his 1969 psychedelic debut “Eggshells,” which Henkel also co-wrote and starred in.

In “Texas Chain Saw,” Sally (Marilyn Burns), her brother Franklin (Paul A. Partain), and their friends go on a doomed road trip in Texas County. On their way to Sally and Franklin’s family slaughterhouse, the journey goes off course when a hitchhiker splatters blood on their Rv, and masked serial...

Things that go bump in the night, fears of the dark, nights of things like The Demon, The Living Dead, The Hunter and… err… The Lepus (big rabbits), are mainstays in horror. Something half glimpsed in the gloom when everything is quiet and people are sleeping is innately creepy. So it can sometimes be extra special when a horror movie manages to scare the bejesus out of us despite being set in the cold light of day. Or indeed, as is the case with many of the following movies because they are set in broad daylight.

So let the sun warm your skin while our favorite daytime horrors chill your heart!

Midsommar

This is an obvious first pick because part of the gimmick (and we mean that with affection) of the movie is that it’s set in Sweden during a commune’s Midsummer festival where the nights are very...

Fifty-one years ago, director Tobe Hooper and his cast and crew spent a blisteringly hot Texas summer working to bring us one of the greatest horror films ever made, the 1974 classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (watch it Here)… and to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the release of the film, Dark Sky Films has unveiled a new poster, along with a line of hats and shirts! You can see images of these items at the bottom of this article, and can make a purchase at This Link.

It should be noted that if you want a copy of the poster, you’ll need to grab it fast. It’s a very limited edition, with only 200 being printed. The poster is going for the price of $35, while the hats and shirts are $30 each.

Directed by Hooper from a script he wrote with Kim Henkel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre has the following...

Midsommar (A24), Nope (Universal Pictures), Texas Chain Saw Massacre’s Hewitt house (Shutterstock), Pearl (A24)Graphic: The A.V. Club

There’s an old adage in horror: The less you show a monster, the scarier it is. Horror filmmakers are, by necessity, skilled at using darkness and shadows to creep out audiences.

Fifty-one years ago, director Tobe Hooper and his cast and crew spent a blisteringly hot Texas summer working to bring us one of the greatest horror films ever made, the 1974 classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (watch it Here)… and to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the release of the film, legendary drive-in critic and movie host Joe Bob Briggs is writing a book about the making of it!

During an interview on the Mistress Harley podcast (note: that link is for adults only), Joe Bob revealed, “I have just signed a contract with Dark Horse, which is mostly known for their comics, but they also do books. (With Dark Horse) I’m gonna do two books: we’re gonna reprint Joe Bob Goes to the Drive-In, which is my original reviews … and then we’re gonna do a 50th anniversary book that’s the entire back story of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

Back in August, we got a new The Texas Chainsaw Massacre video game from Gun Interactive and Sumo Nottingham – and while that game is available to play on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One, the folks at Spooky Pinball LLC have announced that they’re making their own game inspired by Tobe Hooper’s 1974 classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (watch it Here), as they’re building a Texas Chainsaw Massacre pinball machine! A promo video for the pinball machine can be seen in the embed above.

More information on the pinball machine can be found in the image at the bottom of this article, including the reveal that only 888 units are going to be made! Pre-orders are going to launch on SpookyPinball.com at 10am Central time tomorrow, December 8th.

Directed by Tobe Hooper from a script he wrote with Kim Henkel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre...

(Welcome to Tales from the Box Office, our column that examines box office miracles, disasters, and everything in between, as well as what we can learn from them.)

Director Tobe Hooper's 1974 low-budget feature "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" is not just loved by those who embrace the horror genre; it's one of the most cherished examples of truly independent cinema ever produced. Made for just tens of thousands of dollars, Hooper's film birthed a horror legend for the ages in Leatherface, as well as a franchise that is actually still going to this day. That franchise would hit its apex in 2003 with a gritty, bigger-budget remake of Hooper's iconic classic.

Oddly enough, it was "Armageddon" and "Bad Boys" director Michael Bay who got the ball rolling on "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" remake, a movie that might have seemed like sacrilege for those who cherished the original. But...

“My family’s always been in meat.”

Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre introduces a sadistic clan living in a rural pocket of Texas left behind by industrialization. As The Hitchhiker (Edwin Neal) explains to Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) and her friends, his family’s business has always been in slaughter. However, technological advances left their practices obsolete, forcing them to turn to more extreme measures, replacing animal meat with human flesh. Sally doesn’t know it yet, but the Hitchhiker marks her group as his family’s next meal.

Though the family members change throughout the franchise, meat remains as integral to Leatherface’s family as the ‘saw itself, whether it’s The Cook’s (Jim Siedow) prized chili or good old-fashioned Texas barbecue. That extends beyond celluloid, too; many of the original filming locations from the franchise are now working establishments that frequently serve, well, meat.

Quentin Tarantino is one of the most influential and distinctive filmmakers of our time. His movies are known for their stylish violence, witty dialogue, eclectic soundtracks, and homages to various genres and eras of cinema. He has also been vocal about his admiration for other filmmakers and their works, often citing them as inspirations or influences for his own projects.

In a recent interview, Tarantino revealed his list of seven perfect movies that he considers flawless and masterful in every aspect. He said that these movies are “the ones that I go, ‘Ok, this is as good as a movie can get.’ And I don’t think I can do any better than that.”

CineArticles decided to rank these seven perfect movies according to their own criteria and preferences. Here is their list, from the least to the most perfect movie picked by Tarantino:

7. The Wild Bunch (1969) The Wild Bunch...

It may be apocryphal, but apparently when he attended a cinema club screening of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, then director of the BBFC James Ferman said something along the lines of “It’s all right for you middle-class cineastes to see this film, but what would happen if a factory worker in Manchester happened to see it?” This snobbery, and Ferman’s insistence that it wasn’t any one image that kept him from granting the film an X (later 18) certificate but ‘an atmosphere of madness, threat and impeding violence’ kept The Texas Chain Saw Massacre from the eyes of the great unwashed until Ferman’s retirement in 1999.

Since then, Tobe Hooper’s magnum opus has had more releases in the UK than I can count. This latest one, the first UK release on 4K disc is the fourth format I’ve owned the film on, but The Texas Chain Saw Massacre...

Neve Campbell (right) in Scream (Dimension Films); Mia Goth in X (A24) Graphic: AVClub If you and your buddies were being hunted down by a psychopathic serial killer, who do you think would be most likely to survive? Is it the physically imposing jock who’s always in a fight,...

Tobe Hooper's 1974 horror film "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," just by its very aesthetic, is one of the grimier, more disgusting movies ever made. Shot on 16mm film, every frame looks stressed and overexposed, as if the film stock itself had been stored in a slaughterhouse. It's a film that looks like it was made by the killers who live inside of it. 

The mythology of "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" is well-known to all horror aficionados, and has inspired a massive subgenre of feckless city dopes who get lost in the impoverished backwoods of America only to be slaughtered by the mutated locals. The film stands as a commentary on the great forgotten swaths of the United States, shoved aside by economic hardship and a lack of resources. In most cases, the forgotten people turn to cannibalism to survive. The poor feed on the well-to-do. 

The film itself...

We have a very eclectic mix of Blu-rays for you in this latest Blu-ray column. In fact, I can't remember a time when I've rounded up such an odd assortment of films. Not only do we have the new 4K release of "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," but we also have the animated "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish," the beautiful drama "The Remains of the Day," and Dario Argento's "Phenomena" just to cap things off. Like I said: eclectic.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 4K

Often copied, never duplicated, there will never be anything like "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" again. Even after all these years, Tobe Hooper's tale of some travelers who run afoul of a cannibal family is terrifying. Why? Because it feels like something we shouldn't be seeing. The rough, raw style makes the entire movie feel like a documentary; like someone created a...

I thought I was done buying The Texas Chain Saw Massacre after upgrading to the 40th anniversary edition Blu-ray in 2014. Between the crisp presentation and the copious extras, I was certain it was the definitive version of Tobe Hooper‘s 1974 masterpiece. Yet here I am, nearly a decade later, ready to sing the praises of Dark Sky Films‘ 4K Ultra HD edition.

Long before “gritty” was an industry buzzword, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre epitomized the term. As such, one might be wary that a 4K restoration could hinder the viewing experience, but that is not at all the case. Utilizing the 4K scan from the aforementioned Blu-ray, which was approved by Hooper, and now with a wider color gamut courtesy of Hdr, the picture is presented in staggering clarity while maintaining the 16mm film grain. The oppressive heat is virtually palpable.

Co-written by Hooper and Kim Henkel, the plot...

Traditional fairy tales almost always have important lessons to teach. Goldilocks educates us on why you probably shouldn't just wander into a stranger's house one day and make yourself at home. Red Riding Hood alerts us to the perils of talking to suspicious strangers, even if they are wearing your grandmother's clothes. And Hansel and Gretel expand upon the "strangers are bad" lesson by teaching us that just because a house is made of candy, that doesn't mean you should necessarily start gorging on it.

Because all of these fairytales have a creepy bend to them, many, if not all, have been turned into horror films over the years. Sometimes the movies are obvious retellings of classic tales like 2020's "Gretel & Hansel" or 2011's "Red Riding Hood." Other times though, the fairytale source material is a bit harder to put your finger on.

Tobe Hooper's remarkable 1974 horror classic "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,...

A couple months ago, we heard that Dark Sky Films will be giving the 1974 classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (watch it Here) a 4K Uhd release in February – and you can find out all about that release at This Link. Two months after Dark Sky Films brings The Texas Chainsaw Massacre to 4K, the UK-based company Second Sight Films will be putting out their own 4K release of the film. The street date for the Second Sight Films release is April 10th, and copies can be pre-ordered Here!

Directed by Tobe Hooper from a script he wrote with Kim Henkel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre has the following synopsis: When Sally hears that her grandfather’s grave may have been vandalized, she and her paraplegic brother, Franklin, set out with their friends to investigate. After a detour to their family’s old farmhouse, they discover a group of crazed, murderous outcasts living next door.

(Welcome to Scariest Scene Ever, a column dedicated to the most pulse-pounding moments in horror with your tour guides, horror experts Chris Evangelista and Matt Donato. In this edition, Matt gets back to the basics of fear in "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.")

Since I picked "The Bear" last time and got cheeky with "Scariest Scene Ever," this week I return to more traditional roots. A finger-lickin' American horror classic. Tobe Hooper's "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" introduced Leatherface to the masses, and kickstarted one of the genre's most erratic slasher franchises. There are a few sequences that horror fans might choose as the scariest from the film, but one too iconic not to honor. We'll get there shortly.

There's little else to say about "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" that hasn't been analyzed to death over the internet, in barrooms, or through academia. Leatherface is on the horror genre's Mount Rushmore equivalent,...

About a year and a half ago, Texas Chainsaw 3D (watch it Here) star Alexandra Daddario gave an interview where she had some interesting things to say about her time working on the film (which just celebrated its 10th anniversary earlier this month). Daddario revealed that she had tried to get the “Do you thing, cuz!” line cut, and that she is very grateful to have been in the movie. Not just because she was having trouble getting work at the time, but also because there were severe issues to overcome during the production and it taught her “what happens when things go wrong, what happens when things go right, why did they go wrong, why shouldn’t they have happened, how does the studio get involved when something goes wrong, how studios interact with projects.” Now, during a new interview on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Daddario seems to have...

Dark Sky Films has announced that they will be giving the 1974 classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (watch it Here) a 4K Uhd release on February 28, 2023! There will be two versions of the director-approved 4K restoration available, a regular edition and a steelbook edition, and you can take a look at the artwork at the bottom of this article.

Directed by Tobe Hooper from a script he wrote with Kim Henkel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre has the following synopsis: When Sally hears that her grandfather’s grave may have been vandalized, she and her paraplegic brother, Franklin, set out with their friends to investigate. After a detour to their family’s old farmhouse, they discover a group of crazed, murderous outcasts living next door. As the group is attacked one by one by the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface, who wears a mask of human skin, the survivors must do everything they can to escape.

Originally teased on Halloween, Dark Sky Films is bringing Tobe Hooper‘s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre to 4K Ultra HD on February 28, 2023, Bd has learned this morning!

The film will arrive in the 4K restored version, complemented by a frightening array of bonus materials. Read on for everything you need to know about the horror classic’s 4K debut.

“Violent, confrontational, and shockingly realistic, director Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre terrified audiences in a way never thought possible when it was unleashed on a politically and socially tumultuous America in 1974. Facing a storm of controversy, censorship and outcry throughout its troubled release, this masterpiece of horror has stood the test of time to become a landmark motion picture and cultural milestone.

“Now, for the first time, Dark Sky Films proudly presents its director-approved 4K restoration of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre on Uhd, bringing all the...

The house from director Tobe Hooper’s 1974 classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (watch it Here) – which was moved from the filming location in the ’90s and turned into the Grand Central Cafe and Club Car Bar, which sits on the grounds of the Antlers Hotel in Kingsland, Texas – was recently purchased by new owners. During an interview with Daily Trib, the new owners promised they would “preserve and protect the history and integrity” of both the Grand Central Cafe and the Antlers Hotel. On the cafe’s Facebook page, they even said they would be “going deeper into the world of Mr. Hooper.” And they have quickly proven their dedication to honoring the house’s history. They’ve even gone so far as to rename the restaurant in the house Hooper’s!

Here’s the official announcement: “The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie set located at 1010 King Court in Kingsland,...

We’ve been following the progress of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre video game that’s being developed by Gun Interactive and Sumo Nottingham for several months now, but that’s not the only Texas Chainsaw Massacre game we have to look forward to. Trick or Treat Studios has also created a board game that’s inspired by the original Chainsaw film (watch it Here) – and that board game is now available for pre-order at This Link! The board game goes for the price of 59.95, and pre-orders are estimated to ship out around March 31, 2023.

Designed by Scott Rogers and featuring illustrations by Terry Wolfinger, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre board game has the following description:

The players’ van has run out of gas, leaving them stranded and at the mercy of the Slaughter family! Work together and push your luck to escape. In this cooperative game, all players win or lose as a group.

Last month, we heard that the house from director Tobe Hooper’s 1974 classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (watch it Here) – which was moved from the filming location in the ’90s and is now the Grand Central Cafe and Club Car Bar, which sits on the grounds of the Antlers Hotel in Kingsland, Texas – had been purchased by new owners. There was some concern the new owners wouldn’t be respectful of the house’s history… but in an article at Daily Trib, it has been said that they will “preserve and protect the history and integrity” of both the Grand Central Cafe and the Antlers Hotel.

The new owners of the cafe and hotel are Courtney Rhodes, Mike Rhodes, Simon Madera, and Hobie Sasser. Some renovations are planned, including upgrades to the hotel, and a community space will be added to the property to host concerts, Christmas celebrations, and market days.

Officially teased for Halloween yesterday, Dark Sky Films is bringing Tobe Hooper‘s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre to 4K Ultra HD with a brand new upcoming release.

All we know at this time is that it’s coming next year. Stay tuned.

Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was a game-changer for the horror genre back in 1974, shocking the world with its real world American terror and suggested violence.

In the horror classic, “Five friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.”

The late Marilyn Burns starred in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre alongside Edwin Neal, Gunnar Hansen, Jim Siedow, Allen Danziger, Paul A. Partain, Teri McMinn, and William Vail.

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2023

Happy Halloween from @darkskyfilms! pic.twitter.com/V...

For years, the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre house set on the same plot of land it was located on when director Tobe Hooper and his cast and crew filmed the movie there in 1973. The road running past it was closed off, but civilization was closing in on it. The land where the house used to be is now taken up by a mixed-use development called La Frontera – but back in the ’90s, the house was sold and moved approximately sixty miles from Round Rock, Texas to Kingsland, Texas… where it was turned into the Grand Central Cafe and Club Car Bar, which sits on the grounds of the Antlers Hotel. Many Texas Chainsaw Massacre fan events have been held at the house over the years. But unfortunately, it has now been sold again and its future is uncertain.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre cast member Allen Danziger took to Instagram to...

Almost 50 years on, there are few films that immerse the viewer so viscerally in terror as effectively as "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre." It's not so much what Tobe Hooper shows, because the film is nowhere near as gory as its title or reputation suggests. It is more the sweltering atmosphere of all-encompassing insanity that frays the nerves.

Loosely based on the ghoulish crimes of murderer and graverobber Ed Gein, the film hit theaters in the wake of the Watergate scandal and the disastrous U.S. involvement in Vietnam. In response to the grim political landscape at the time, Hooper wanted his film to reflect the general cynicism many people felt. Unlike the vampires and ancient mummies of the Hammer horror movies he loved in his youth, he realized that man was the real monster. In the hulking figure of Leatherface, all Hooper had to do was give his villain...

In the 1974 groundbreaking horror film "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns), her wheelchair-bound brother, Franklin (Paul A. Partain) and friends visit the fictional town of Newt, Texas to check the grave of the Hardesty's grandfather amid reports of body snacthing happening in the area. Things turn deadly after they pick up a sick and twisted hitchhiker (Edwin Neal) who, along with the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen ), is a part of a cannibalistic family. This gruesomeness that unfolds is foreshadowed by the film's opening images: badly decomposed corpses burning under the sun in a cemetery and roadkill. 

You can almost smell the death through the screen. This was a strategic move made by the film's co-writer, director, and producer, the late Tobe Hooper, who prepped for making "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" by studying psychology and horror classics. He explained in an interview with The Flashback Files:

"One...

The horror genre is packed with great heroines that have been brought to the screen by actresses who have earned legions of fans through their awesome performances. So to celebrate the fact that one of the genre’s most famous heroines / scream queens is back on the screen in this weekend’s release Halloween Ends, we here at Arrow in the Head have compiled a list of some of the Best Scream Queens. To see who made the list, keep scrolling! Then let us know who you think the greatest scream queens of all time are by leaving a comment below.

Jamie Lee Curtis

Her work in the Halloween franchise alone would be enough to earn Jamie Lee Curtis a spot on this list. She has gone up against Michael Myers in seven different films over the decades. She has (appeared to have) killed him, she has been killed by him – and like him,...

Few movies, if any at all, are more gruesome than 1974's "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre." The groundbreaking slasher flick follows Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns), her paraplegic brother, Franklin (Paul A. Partain), and their friends as they roll into the fictional town of Newt, Texas in a green camper van. Their purpose is to check the burial site of the Hardestys' grandfather amid reports of grave robbings happening in the area, but the trip takes a deadly turn when the crew picks up — and quickly kicks out — a demented hitchhiker (Edwin Neal) and makes a pitstop at the nearby old Hardesty family homestead.

It turns out that the hitchhiker is a part of a sadistic, cannibalistic family. His chainsaw-slinging brother, Leatherface (played by a masked Gunnar Hansen), brutally kills Franklin and the other friends one by one until Sally is the final girl to hunt. Here is where the "The...

"The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" has become a multi-million dollar franchise, but the low-budget set of the original film was a total horror show. Some parts of the set were just as gory in real life as they were on screen. Cutting financial corners led the art department to make some crazy creative decisions, including using animal cadavers and real human bones.

The 1974 film was the slasher that started it all. The series now relies on digital effects and intricate prosthetics to achieve maximum gore, but the original movie was made in the days of practical effects. Moreover, the film was made with very little funds. "Texas Chain Saw" would change cinema forever, but it operated on a measly budget of 60,000, per Texas Monthly.

The production had a small budget, but the crew refused to sacrifice the quality of their props. Rather than use poor-quality plastic replicas that would read as false on screen,...

Earlier this week, we learned that one of the many movies that will be premiering at this year’s edition of Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas will be director Phillip Escott‘s documentary The Legacy of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which “presents a journey into The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, exploring the elements that garnered the film its cult status.” With Fantastic Fest set to run from September 22nd through the 29th, the premiere of The Legacy of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is just over a month away at this point – and a trailer has arrived online to give a preview of what Escott has in store for viewers! You can check it out in the embed above.

The original Texas Chain Saw Massacre was set on August 18, 1973, so today is the perfect day to share this trailer.

The trailer reveals that The Legacy of The Texas Chain...

Any horror fan knows Leatherface, and the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” movies are some of the most iconic in the genre.

The original movie, released in 1974, tells the story of a group of friends who end up stranded in rural Texas, where they’re picked off one by one by a family of cannibals. The movie was a huge success, spawning multiple sequels. The franchise is still strong today, with the latest film released in Feb 2022.

Whether you like the original film or the more recent entries in the franchise, there’s no denying that the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” franchise is some of the most iconic horror films ever made.

If you’re a fan of horror movie series, then the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” series is worth checking out.

This post will list all the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” movies in chronological order, so you can watch them all and experience the series in its entirety.