• Release year: 1974
• Director: Tobe Hooper.
• Producer: Tobe Hooper.
• Screenplay by: Kim Henkel and Tobe Hooper.
• Cinematography by: Daniel Pearl.
• Music by: Wayne Bell and Tobe Hooper.

Shotgun Commentary: era-specific story with a timeless message.

Review

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is the OG of countryside slashers. As such, it was about time it made an appearance in this blog. It is not only the first film in cinema history featuring a masked serial killer. It is also the first one to show said character using power tools as weapons. Summarising, you can thank this film for pretty much every other iconic slasher franchise ever made. Still, that’s not all this film has to offer. Let’s delve a little deeper into why this remains a shockingly relevant story.

Elevated horror who?

This feature has been replicated, reimagined, and reconstructed in so many ways that it will hardly feel revolutionary to any horror lover. Not only are there eight more films in the franchise, but it’s also been the blueprint for countless films outside of it. As a result, the events that transpire in the narrative might very likely seem familiar. Nevertheless, the meaning behind them remains relevant as ever. Proof that this horror classic is more than just a meat fest.

During this last decade, there has been a wave of critics and cinephiles who are praising the latest horror productions as “elevated horror”. These people claim that finally there is horror with meaning past the blood and gore, with a message outside the bloodbath.

Now, this critic is here to tell you that this is a completely uneducated claim. Presumably made by people who, very rightfully so, don’t like gore. The thing is, just because you don’t enjoy gore, it doesn’t mean that it is meaningless. This film, along with tons of other horror classics (1960’s Psycho, comes to mind) are proof of this. Don’t be deceived by claims like that. Horror always has a point and a message, and more often than not it is a pretty necessary one.

The meat machine

In The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, the social commentaries are aplenty. In fact, you can read the exact same events in at least three different ways, depending on where your values and priorities are. The most obvious reading would be the commentary against the meat industry.

Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) treats his victims like he would pigs in a slaughterhouse. In case his squealing over the victims’ screaming didn’t make the connection obvious, you are informed that his whole family used to work at a slaughterhouse killing pigs. By putting humans in the position of pigs, the film offers a harsh but accurate perspective on animal suffering. Not to mention the inhumane killing methods of an ever-growing meat industry that could not care less about their products’ suffering.

The murder machine

Diving further, into its messages, the desensitization of individuals would be another huge theme. In a moment in time where the US, and the world in general, had seen uncountable horrors and wars thanks to the evolution of the media, people began experiencing the type of numbness that comes with seeing dreadful tragedies in your TV every day.

The Vietnam War, still going on at the time, was incredibly controversial and brutally public. This made civilians face the horrors of war daily through their TVs. The disassociation that comes with desensitization is taken to the extreme in this slasher. Leatherface’s family has no qualms with hunting and eating people like they were just another animal, which, technically, they are.

There is also another very popular and slightly more poetic reading that also surges from the Vietnam War disenchantment, which is the one that sees Leatherface’s family as the Government, and their victims as the people. This reading was very on-point and the time, and sadly remains relevant as ever.

Given the latest events in the US, modern films like Deformelody: An American Nightmare (2025) are expressing the brutality of the dystopia taking place in the country. However, one can also go back to classics like this one that express the exact same message, revealing a pretty bleak reality: not much has changed.

All in all, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a wonderful horror work, not only because of what it’s meant for the history of horror and slashers in particular, but also due to its powerful message and unashamed discourse. The jarring way in which its narrative is presented is nothing short of faithful to reality, kickstarting our ability to care through fiction even half a century later.

Advice to take from this movie:

• Never pick up hitchhikers.
• If a house looks creepy, DO NOT INVESTIGATE.
• There is nothing crueller than using the sink cloth to gag a person. Eating people? Fine. But THAT? Only real monsters do that.

What’s your take? Have you watched The Texas Chain Saw Massacre? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀