Allen Danziger
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) Review
Good
History, and memory, have been exceptionally kind to the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre (and yep, that's how they spelled "chain saw," as two words).In our collective consciousness, Leatherface and his chainsaw have become as iconic as Freddy and his razors or Jason and his hockey mask. And it's all thanks to a goofy and only occasionally scary low-budget horror vehicle that started it all in 1974 (making Leatherface the ancient grandfather of his contemporaries). The story has been widely copied in the following decades: Hippie teens run out of gas and seek refuge at a backwater gas station; too bad a family of psychos are waiting in store for them. (In the last year alone this premise was copied nearly to the letter in both Wrong Turn and House of 1000 Corpses.) Over the years the film would spawn seven sequels or remakes (to date), including versions starring Dennis Hopper and Renee Zellweger.
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