Unfilmable 43: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Added 2022-09-28 21:31:37 +0000 UTCNo one in the world needs to be told that the Texas Chainsaw Massacre is an important movie, but sometimes you need to be reminded that it's a good movie. A van full of teens is on a roadtrip into the vast empty stretches of Texas, and they find themselves wrapped up in the murderous affairs of a family of cannibals... and their mute hatchetman Leatherface. And you'll never guess what weapon he uses.
It was a great deal of fun to look back at an undeniable classic and find that it holds up and is still incredibly spooky. Give it a shot if you haven't already.
Comments
I remember seeing this when I was probably way too young with my dad in the mid 80s. My dad was a huge horror fan and I grew up around the 'video nasties' (the name given by British media to a list of banned horror movies) and was quite a desensitised l'il weirdo. TCM however stuck with me, something about it just hit different even to this day. Maybe was the gritty, low res quality of the footage or the tactile sense of grime and sweat or the generally gross atmosphere of decay but despite the broad daylight and my dad next to me on the couch (as ever, no scary films after dark) I got a weird thrill and just couldn't look away! To this day TCM is one of my favourite movies and it's great to hear you guys discuss it in such fond detail. Love y'all. 🤘🏻💀🤘🏻
Voodoo Jones
2025-04-11 12:03:51 +0000 UTCRelistening to this just to remember the part about shooting that scene being worse than Vietnam
Josh Gutbrod
2023-04-14 03:59:45 +0000 UTCIn 1996, when I was 3 my dad and I watched Jurassic Park and gave me velociraptor nightmares until I was 12. Gremlins scared the shit out of me too.
Jonah Guibbert
2022-10-05 09:17:31 +0000 UTChonestly, chainsaw 3 is not half bad at all. It was unfortunately recut all to hell, but the first half is pretty flawless imo and the wonderful Ken Foree co-stars.
Kyle C.
2022-10-04 20:00:02 +0000 UTCI just recently watched this movie for the first time and I agree, it really holds up. The set and character design and the atmosphere in the final third are absolutely visceral. Other classics, like Halloween or Nightmare on Elm Street, don't get anywhere near that. (Most of that, I think, is that they are built around kill scenes that are just ridiculous nonsense by modern standards) I had no way of watching this when I was younger, but I found that extreme grindcore band called "Mortician" on Napster. They use horror movie audio as intros to some of their songs, and the song "Hacked up for Barbecue" used the first Leatherface encounter with Sally, just her manic screaming and the chainsaw for a couple of minutes. The movie that my teenage mind created around this audio was a lot more gory than the real one.
sicDaniel
2022-10-02 14:23:12 +0000 UTCNp, in the episode Gary mentioned a set of books he found in a thrift shop that gave all sorts of useful information for mystery writers in regards to investigation procedure.
Casey Ryan
2022-10-02 11:41:56 +0000 UTCMore context please.
Duckfeed.tv
2022-10-01 18:55:03 +0000 UTCThe writers reference re: investigation. Sounds very interesting.
Casey Ryan
2022-10-01 02:00:42 +0000 UTCAny chance you could post the title of the book series you mentioned on the show?
Casey Ryan
2022-10-01 02:00:01 +0000 UTCThe best Ending ever. I remember watching it with my Gf we died laughing. It's a must watch for horror fans.
Mcav86
2022-09-30 13:47:11 +0000 UTCWould love if you guys could tackle the sequel . It’s so fucking goofy, I think you’d have a great time with it.
Jonathan Birdsey
2022-09-29 20:03:47 +0000 UTCit’s kinda funny that a movie with that title and legacy isn’t really hyper gory in practice, but something about that understatement also made it way fucking scarier. like the first scenes with Leatherface are genuinely some of the most unsettling shit ive seen in a movie. this and Midsommar are object lessons that you don’t need crazy kills for good horror, you just need to whack a guy over the head with a hammer and display what that would actually look like IRL (i.e., fucking horrible and scary)
sleepysmiles
2022-09-29 19:11:28 +0000 UTCI know it doesn't matter, but my thoughts re: Franklin. He's only with them because his sister is dating one of the dudes. I felt like the first scene of him falling down the hill was to show that they were annoyed by him, he was making things more difficult. Nobody rushed to help or show him too much concern - just perfunctorily nice.
Will Owens
2022-09-29 18:24:21 +0000 UTCOh also the third Texas Chainsaw Massacre film from 1990 is really underrated. Directed by southern horror auteur Jeff Burr who also made "From a Whisper to a Scream"
Mac Taylor
2022-09-29 14:59:46 +0000 UTCThere actually is an older documentary from the 1980's( I think it's called "Texas Chainsaw Massacre: A Family Portrait") that has the guy who played Grandpa in it. He seems very serious, looks a bit like Dustin Hoffman.
Mac Taylor
2022-09-29 14:55:51 +0000 UTCIt’s ok Gary, we all go through a troublesome serial killer phase. Something to look into for a rad Wikipedia read would be the killer Richard Chase. Have fun with that one buddy
The Accident Channel
2022-09-29 14:42:10 +0000 UTCAs someone who's only fairly recently gotten into horror, I watched this for the first time just before last Halloween and absolutely loved it. I'm a sucker for low-budget success stories and TCM has to be one of the all-time exemplars of "doing a lot with a little." Also, the shot from the front door where you see Leatherface bonk Fred-from-Scooby-Doo on the noggin and then slam the sliding door shut is in one of the best shots in all of shots.
Max
2022-09-29 14:13:02 +0000 UTCOn Franklin: As a guy that grew up around red necks, Franklin is a product of that southern bumpkin culture. He’s not at the level of desperation of the Sawyers, but he went to school around these people. Sally was popular and made friends with popular kids. She has to bring her hick brother on this trip with her cool friends. Franklin will engage with the Hitchhiker because he may have gone to school with this weirdo in his shop class. The sonic unpleasantness of this dude is part of what makes this film feel adjacent to documentary.
The Human Tornado
2022-09-29 08:02:39 +0000 UTCI adore creep and have been meaning to rewatch Jacob's Ladder for a couple of weeks now
Fromaginator
2022-09-29 04:28:41 +0000 UTCGreat episode! I continue to love this series! Have you guys considered Slither? It's a fun, silly, Lovecraftian-ish snack! I think the comedy horror would suit this show well
Will Proctor
2022-09-28 23:05:20 +0000 UTCi saw this back to back with blair witch when i was a teen. i bought the hype that bw was one of the scariest movies ever. i liked it, but texas chainsaw massacre scared the absolute fuck out of me. i had nightmares about leatherface for years. turns out he slots in real cleanly with anxiety dreams.
Billiam
2022-09-28 22:25:21 +0000 UTCSo hyped for this one!
Connor Cox
2022-09-28 22:22:36 +0000 UTCWas surprised how great/artsy it was on a revisit. I stand by my Letterboxd exhaustive review: "Franklin got sawed."
Richard Cochnar
2022-09-28 21:36:41 +0000 UTC
