By: Manuel Demegillo ……..
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was a milestone in horror and a pioneer of the slasher subgenre. Key creatives recall the film’s hectic development and their approaches to its controversial concept.
Screenwriter Kim Henkel recalled shooting The Texas Chain Saw Massacre “as if it were almost a reality show,” and the aesthetic is evident in retrospect. The film that established many slasher tropes celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, marked by a reunion of its main creatives. In an interview with IndieWire, Henkel confirmed the 1974 flick was a commentary on the zeitgeist. “We were very much a product of our times, which was the late ’60s, early ’70s, and all of the things that were going on then,” he said. “We were reading Marshall McLuhan and watching films like Blow Up and Medium Cool. Cinema Verite was very much on our minds. It lends itself to horror.”
70s cinema saw a renaissance in horror unmatched by subsequent decades. Cult and mainstream classics like The Hills Have Eyes, The Omen, Carrie, Dawn of the Dead, Halloween, and many others confirmed the genre has returned with a vengeance. Henkel revealed they had to choose between making a science fiction or horror movie, but chose the latter for practical reasons. “…We decided we wanted to make a film that we could actually get into theaters. Given the fact that we had no money, we were completely unknown. We fell away with two options — horror or science fiction — that you could do on a low budget and have just the remotest chance of actually getting distribution. And we felt horror would work better for us.
Director Tobe Hooper produced The Texas Chain Saw Massacre for less than $140,000; despite lukewarm critical reception, the film was a box office hit with $30 million earned domestic in 1974. Its success spawned a franchise that expanded with sequels, prequels, graphic novels and video games. Locations Manager Ron Bozman admitted he came in unaware of the film’s “off-beat material.” “The [script] turned out not to be so bad,” he asserted. “Meat hooks and chainsaws have their place in the universe. It’s an out-there story. I thought this offbeat material would get good. I signed on, and it turned out to be quite interesting, fun and lucrative.”
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre franchise currently consists of nine films, but its influence on pop culture transcends genres. Its serial killer Leatherface ranks high on cinema’s list of supernatural villains like Freddy Krueger, Chucky, Jason Voorhees, and Michael Myers. The film celebrates its 50th anniversary with a 4K Blu-ray release (bundled in a collector’s edition box set). A new installment to the film series is also reportedly in development.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is currently streaming on Peacock. The film also screened at the Museum of Modern Art on Aug. 8 followed by a panel with Henkel, Bozman, cinematographer Daniel Pearl, and actor Teri McMinn, who played Pam in the 1974 original.
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