I think I was fifteen the first time I watched “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” (1974), and I did not like it at all.
At this point in my life, I was not a fan of horror movies, so I don’t know what possessed me to watch it in the first place. However, I thought “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” was boring, dragged on for too long, and I wasn’t shocked by the jarring scenes in the movie. Plus, I HATED the ending. If you’ve seen the movie, you know there’s no resolution to it. It’s a hard stop.
I’m now twenty-two and have watched several horror movies since I was fifteen. I even willingly go to theaters and see them on the big screen sometimes. I recently rewatched “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” and I definitely had a different experience with it compared to my first viewing seven years ago.
If you’re not paying attention while watching the movie, the narrative can feel disjointed at times. Especially towards the beginning, before all the massacring happens. However, there’s a significant moment in these beginning scenes that can easily be shrugged off.
As the main crew begins their road trip through central Texas, they note a terrible smell as they pass a large cattle farm. Franklin (Paul Partain) begins recounting his family’s history of working in the slaughterhouse business—how his grandfather had to bash cows in the head with a hammer until they died. Now, he explains, they have a bolt pistol that strikes cows in the head to induce unconsciousness before slaughter.
This moment helps set up the framework for the terror that would ensue later.
The scene that stuck out to me this viewing was when Pam (Teri McMinn) stumbles into what I’m assuming is the living room of the family’s house. She’s fallen into what looks like a huge pile of chicken feathers and bird carcasses as she looks up in terror at bones, full skeletons of hands and feet, hanging from the ceiling. It was the unsanitary nature of the room that got to me, making my skin crawl. If Leatherface didn’t get her, the disease that contaminated the house eventually would.
And yes, I acknowledge that there is just a lot of screaming in the last thirty minutes of the film. But I have to say, I enjoy the scene where Sally (Marilyn Burns) screams at the dinner table and the family screams back. It’s funny, and it’s not at the same time.
“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” is not a perfect movie, but it’s one that makes you think, if you let it work that way. I found myself thinking about familial influences, abuse and eating meat. But your experience is what you make it out to be. “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” gets a four out of five stars from me.
To leave off this review, I’d like to quote what my boyfriend, Quinton, said about this movie, “It’s a weird one.”
