TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974) .FILMREVIEW

TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE .FILMREVIEW

Contains Spoilers

Torture.

That's what this film is. 

A torture for both the characters and the audiences. 

Tobe Hooper's timeless thriller film, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, is one of the best representation of how gruelling a torture can be. This film immersed you in the simplest of ways, putting the audiences in the shoes of the characters. Its sickening and quite frankly very tiring.

But the form of torture that exist in this film isnt just limited to Leatherface and his family, they also exist in the house and in the blazing summer of the south. Because this film managed to create such an eerie vibe without the help of grand scoring, which is groundbreaking considering the decade this film was released. 

I was motivated to finally watch a film again, and im glad to start it all over again with Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I was also motivated to watch this film after indulging a lot of Puppet Combo's gameplay. Which now i can understand how films like this influenced their games style. From the fixed angles, iconic villains, to dumb desicions made by characters.

Speaking of characters, the desicion to have Sally, a female lead to endure the most torture, might be more than just what sells at the time. Because final girl is an iconic element to the world of horror, and films like this helped to establish their trope, although it has existed for so much earlier. Sally is a primarily "weak" character in the sense of physical. She is being put in a situation where most of her friends are already dead and have to face agaisnt three male.

Not to mention, Sally was chased multiple times and faced abuse. So because she is "weak" physically, it's very fitting to have the audiences put in her shoes. Because then we feel her desperation when the family didnt kill her straightaway. I need to emphasize on FEEL because the amazing cinematography really made my breath short and my mind very nauseous.

And i also need to clarify that i dont support torture. I dont take pleasure in seeing someone being tortured. That's fucking disgusting. And i only write this to appreciate how brilliant it is.

With that said, as terrifying as Leatherface is, i cant help but find the element that interest me the most is the house. Another thing that is very brilliant is maintaining the overall mystery that surround Leatherface and his family, but give enough detail so the audiences can make their own conclussion. The house plays a big part in creating both the eerie vibe and the mystery. 

Its filled with a lot of disgusting and nasty furnitures, notably the leftover bones, but my favorite of the bunch has got to be when Sally entered that one room containing two corpses. I just found it very disturbing and surreal.

But the film wouldnt work without the overall summer vibe to it. I found the characters very relatable through their relationship with the hot weather. I have this fixation with clear blue sky so maybe this is just my thing.