Hail the creator of dread
TOBY HOOPER: THE LEGACY OF THE HORROR MASTER WHO KNOWS HOW TO SCARE YOU
Tribute to the man who helped scary movies go mainstream.
It was straight after school on a Friday and I knew I would be home alone for the afternoon. The previous week the same scenario played out and I watched the circa 2000 re-release of The Exorcist in my prime of figuring out where my movie viewing boundaries lie.
Luckily the new version of The Exorcist came with an age-appropriate classification, so when checking it out the tough but fair video store clerk didn’t bat an eyelid. But on that Friday it was different.
With the bravado of a 15-yearold I’ve hidden a VHS copy of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre between a few tamer titles before trying my luck to see if the same clerk would allow me to rent a film I shouldn’t be watching.
Ready for the con, I moved to the counter and handed him my choices hoping he would just scan everything in a mindless haze. Instead, he slowly went through each VHS cover, pausing as soon as the image of a chain saw wielding madman met his eyes. Damn it, I thought. I looked straight into his eyes. One thing I knew: I will watch this movie today. My stare was met with the same intensity before a sort of mind wrestling match ensued. After what felt like hours he rang up the total– and gave me something far greater than money: on that day he allowed me my first true emotional cinematic experience. Many people my age will proclaim the tears they shed during Mufasa’s death in The Lion King was the first time they connected to a story on screen in an emotional manner – something powerful cinema will always do, my university professors often said. While I might have shed a tear when Simba found Mufasa’s carcass, that Friday The Texas Chainsaw Massacre opened a different sort of emotive realm. I had my induction into true dread, fear and the exhilaration only excellent filmmaking can give you.
Read any Best Movies Ever list and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre will pop up. You will read how it was made on a shoestring budget and made an enormous profit. You will read about its cultural impact; how it inspired onscreen killers like Mike Meyers, Chucky and Jason Voorhees.
You will also read about the cult classic’s director Tobe Hooper, who became a master of horror, creating impactful films which are borrowed from to this day.
This past week, Hooper died; the man who introduced many to the impact of cinema; the man who gave me a love and appreciation of cinema.
Hooper, 74, was a college professor and documentary producer before branching out in 1974 to direct The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. With it he created the kind of film that pushes boundaries, jumbling what we thought were classic cinematic narratives.
He gave us jump scares and fear that was almost torturous. Hooper created something that unearthed so many feelings; feelings we don’t encounter in our daily existence (unless you live in a haunted house) because we so seldom face horror in such a demented and artistic way.
Hooper’s death comes during an interesting time, because horror films have finally broken through to become more mainstream than ever. A few weeks ago Annabelle: Creation topped the American box office, and the film which forms part of The Conjuring franchise ensured the series it’s first billion.
This is the first horror franchise in the history of cinema to reach this milestone. It also comes during the highly anticipated big screen adaption of Stephen King’s IT (releasing in two weeks). Three months ago the teaser for IT generated 197 million views globally within 24 hours of its release on YouTube – smashing the record set up by The Fast and the Furious.
Many children grew up with the horrifying TV series of a clown tormenting a group of children – forcing them to face their fears in small town America – but who would have expected a horror film to soar to these heights?
The success of all these new horror films can be attributed to one man. With his beard, oval glasses and gentle smile, Hooper did not appear to be the kind of person to strike fear into anybody, but his films certainly did – and his films have become classics of the genre.
He went for a very realistic cinematic approach, with the attention to detail as important as the violence on screen and the chilling soundtrack.
The name The Texas Chainsaw Massacre told cinemagoers what they could expect, a technique repeated throughout Hooper’s filmography, which also includes titles like Spontaneous Combustion, The Mangler and Crocodile. All these films have helped to build a healthy horror genre.
Thank you, Toby – because of you we still get good scares.