THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974)
Directed by Tobe Hooper
Truth is stranger than fiction...and it's a hell of a lot scarier, too. Based (like much of Psycho) on the horrific ritual murders committed by Ed Gein, Chainsaw looks, feels, and smells so much like a grainy, low-budget documentary that it borders on snuff. It opens with a sober-voiced narrator (a young John Larroquette) detailing a heinous killing spree. Then we see the split-second flashbulb pops of crime-scene carnage before finally meeting Leatherface — a homicidal lunatic wearing a butcher's apron and a mask stitched out of human skin. Hooper says that when he settled on the film's title, ''I lost several friends. But I thought, they're putting so much energy into hating the title, maybe there's something there.'' Indeed there is; a copy of Chainsaw resides in the Museum of Modern Art.
Next Item in this Gallery
