THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE
Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner
RELEASED OUT NOW! 1974 | 18 | Blu-ray (4K/standard) Director Tobe Hooper Cast Marilyn Burns, Allen Danziger, Paul Partain, William Vail
If you’re of the generation who, thanks to BBFC director James Ferman’s patrician attitudes, first saw The Texas Chain Saw Massacre on thirdgeneration VHS, you might be startled by how beautiful this 4K restoration can be, with its blue-skied Texan landscapes. Once its four young victims enter the domain of the insane, cannibalistic Sawyer clan – a modern-day analogue of the witch’s house in Hansel And Gretel – it’s a different matter, however.
The lack of gore may surprise newbies. We only see one living person chainsawed by Leatherface, director Tobe Hooper’s unknowable, skinmasked freak. And there’s barely any blood. The film is disturbing due to its conceptual grimness, nihilistic tone and realisation of a nightmarish hinterland.
Gruesome effects can be dismissed by those aware of the craft involved. It’s harder to shrug off well-acted depictions of leering sadism and hyperventilating terror – or remain unmoved by a score whose insidious industrial rumblings make you feel trapped in a slaughterhouse, waiting for the sledgehammer to fall. A chest-tightening, flinch-inducing X-rated fairy tale.
Extras There are three new bonuses. Feature-length doc The Legacy Of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (83 minutes) rapidly intercuts critical comments from 16 different talking heads. It’s an understandable approach, since the production is already very well-documented, and the interviewee list (which includes the creatives behind various Chainsaw sequels) is impressive, but the appeal of hearing multiple people making similar (if valid) points does eventually pall.
Amanda Reyes and Bill Ackerman’s new commentary is terrific. Scrupulously prepared, it offers interesting theories and odd tangents, with the motor-mouthed Reyes (who, being Austin-based, could access Hooper’s paperwork) rattling off minutiae on, say, the history of Texan barbecue. Finally, there’s some pseudo-intellectual waffle about masks (nine minutes) which might as well be a supercut of Charlie Brown’s teacher.
Many hours of bonuses from Second Sight’s 2014 Blu-ray are also carried over, the highlight being The Shocking Truth (73 minutes, 2000), an excellent Making Of doc with plenty of anecdotes about the gruelling nature of the shoot. They also include interviews, a locations tour, deleted scenes, and four old cast/crew commentaries. The Limited Edition 4K & Blu-ray set comes with a 190-page hardback book and six art cards. Ian Berriman
The real-life Sawyer house is now a restaurant named Hooper’s. Cocktails on the menu include a “Bloody Marilyn”!