Movie Review: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (The Original)

I'm not a brave person by any means. In fact, most would call me a "fraidy pants"... if we were on the elementary school playground. So, I don't know what came over me, but I thought to myself, "I want to watch the Texas Chain Saw Massacre". The original; I'm not a big fan of a crappy remake of anything. I'd never seen it before, so I rented it and just finished watching it, and I must say... I really enjoyed it. This movie did what it was born to do, and that is officially scare the crap out of me! Not only that, but the directing was fantastic! People don't make horror films like this anymore. The camera angles, the music, the narration in the beginning, it was all beautifully done. Although it was incredibly short, it left me with a chill that went down deep to my core. Every time that girl (Sally, I think her name was) screamed at the end, I could feel my heart pound in my chest. And the close-up shots of her eyes were brilliantly horrific!

If I was forced to pick out a problem with this film it would be the main characters. For the first half hour, the van full of teenagers made it feel like I was watching Scooby Doo and the Mystery Gang, with loveable, goofball Franklin as Scooby. I swear there was a point where he even sounded like Scooby Doo (yelling to the other teens when he was left downstairs in the old house). And just like in the show, scaredy-cat Franklin is the one who senses danger first, while the other teens are busy not believing that anything could harm them. Little do they know... Franklin was right to be afraid all along. Good boy Franklin, here's a Scooby snack! And that whole scene with the hitchhiker was hilarious! Franklin's reactions were truly priceless.

Well, all the fun is quickly put to an end when Leatherface is introduced. Man, that guy was incredibly creepy! And while I was at first terrified of this truly terrifying killer, I began to realize that Leatherface was actually a victim in this entire movie. These teenagers, after being thoroughly warned about the dangers of trespassing, were loitering on his property, and just walking into his house! When you do that to anyone, especially in Texas, you can't be that surprised if you get killed. It's just common sense. Also, obviously Leatherface grew up under constant familial pressure and abuse. He's not all there to begin with, and these kids just push him over the edge. That's why I believe the ending, with Leatherface swinging his chainsaw around in maniacal rage, is fitting as his final descent into madness driven by family and trespassers. It's tragic really. What is to become of Leatherface? Or better yet, what the hell happened to that chubby truck driver?

But, seriously, this movie scared the crap out of me.