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{{About|the 1974 film|  subsequent films |The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (franchise)}}


{{Use American English|date=June 2024}}


{{Infobox film
| name           = The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
| image          = TheTexasChainSawMassacre-poster.jpg
| alt            = A white film poster of a man holding a large chainsaw, with a screaming woman fastened to a wall behind him. The writing on the poster says, "Who will survive and what will be left of them?"; "America's most bizarre and brutal crimes!"; "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"; "What happened is true. Now the motion picture that's just as real."
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Tobe Hooper]]
| writer         = {{unbulleted list|[[Kim Henkel]]|Tobe Hooper}}
| producer       = Tobe Hooper
| starring       = {{unbulleted list|[[Marilyn Burns]]|[[Paul A. Partain]]|[[Edwin Neal]]|[[Jim Siedow]]|[[Gunnar Hansen]]}}
| narrator       = [[John Larroquette]]
| cinematography = [[Daniel Pearl (cinematographer)|Daniel Pearl]]
| editing        = {{unbulleted list|Sallye Richardson|Larry Carroll}}
| music          = {{unbulleted list|Tobe Hooper|Wayne Bell}}
| studio         = Vortex Inc.
| distributor    = [[Bryanston Distributing Company]]
| released       = {{Film date|1974|10|11}}
| runtime        = 83 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 83:19--><ref>{{cite web|url=https://bbfc.co.uk/releases/texas-chain-saw-massacre-film|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618132340/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/texas-chain-saw-massacre-film|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 18, 2015|title=''THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE'' (18)|website=[[British Board of Film Classification]]|access-date=July 10, 2018}}</ref>
| country        = United States
| budget         = $80,000–140,000<ref>{{cite news|last1=David|first1=Colker|title=Marilyn Burns dies at 65; starred in 'Texas Chain Saw Massacre'|url=https://latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-marilyn-burns-20140807-story.html|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=August 8, 2014|access-date=July 18, 2018}}</ref><ref name=numbers>{{cite web|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Texas-Chainsaw-Massacre-The#tab=summary|title=The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)|website=[[The Numbers (website)|The Numbers]]|access-date=July 10, 2018}}</ref>
| gross          = $30.9 million<ref name="The Texas Chain Saw Massacre">{{Cite web |title=The Texas Chain Saw Massacre |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0072271/ |access-date=2024-06-27 |website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref>
| language       = English
}}

'''''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'''''{{refn|While the original theatrical release poster and many references to the film render its title as ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'', the official spelling is ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'', per the film's opening credits. This is also the title under which the film is registered with the [[U.S. Copyright Office]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=1&ti=1,1&Search%5FArg=Texas%20Chain%20Saw%20Massacre&Search%5FCode=TALL&CNT=25&PID=8PmUHaYeqahcKgw5jcKVRvta&SEQ=20120823094537&SID=1 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120708125242/http://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?Search_Arg=Texas+Chain+Saw+Massacre&Search_Code=TALL&PID=8fJTXP-dMYjBELL0mmShHbJHu8dw&SEQ=20101024200943&CNT=25&HIST=1 |archive-date=July 8, 2012 |title=The Texas chain saw massacre : prev. entitled Headcheese & Leatherface |publisher=[[United States Copyright Office]] |access-date=August 22, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |group=note}} is a 1974 American [[Independent film|independent]] [[horror film]]  produced, co-composed, and directed by [[Tobe Hooper]], who co-wrote it with [[Kim Henkel]]. The film stars [[Marilyn Burns]], [[Paul A. Partain]], [[Edwin Neal]], [[Jim Siedow]], and [[Gunnar Hansen]]. The plot follows a group of friends who fall victim to a family of [[human cannibalism|cannibals]] while on their way to visit an old homestead. The film was marketed as being based on true events to attract a wider audience and to act as a subtle commentary on the era's political climate. Although the character of [[Leatherface]] and minor story details were inspired by the crimes of murderer [[Ed Gein]], its plot is largely fictional.

Hooper produced the film for less than $140,000 (${{inflation|US-GDP|140,000|1974|fmt=c|r=-5}} adjusted for inflation)<ref name=numbers/> and used a cast of relatively unknown actors drawn mainly from central Texas, where the film was shot. Due to the film's violent content, Hooper struggled to find a distributor, but it was eventually acquired by the [[Bryanston Distributing Company]]. Hooper limited the quantity of onscreen gore in hopes of securing a PG [[Motion Picture Association film rating system|rating]], but the [[Motion Picture Association|Motion Picture Association of America]] (MPAA) rated it [[Motion Picture Association film rating system|R]]. The film faced similar difficulties internationally, being banned in several countries, and numerous theaters stopped showing the film in response to complaints about its violence.

''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' was released in the United States on October 11, 1974.  While the film initially received mixed reception from critics, it was highly profitable, grossing over $30 million at the domestic box office, equivalent with roughly over $150.8 million as of 2019, selling over 16.5 million tickets in 1974. It has since become widely regarded as [[List of horror films voted the best|one of the best and most influential horror films]]. It is credited with originating several elements common in the [[Slasher film|slasher]] genre, including the use of power tools as murder weapons; the characterization of the killer as a large, hulking, masked figure; and the [[final girl]]. It led to [[The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (franchise)|a franchise]] that continued the story of Leatherface and his family through sequels, prequels, a remake, comic books, and video games. In 2024, the film was selected for preservation in the United States [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref name="2024NFR">{{cite web|title=25 Films Added to National Film Registry for Preservation|url= https://newsroom.loc.gov/news/25-films-named-to-national-film-registry-for-preservation/s/55d5285d-916f-4105-b7d4-7fc3ba8664e3|date=December 17, 2024|access-date=December 17, 2024}}</ref>

==Plot==
<!-- Per WP:FILMPLOT, the plot summary should be 400-700 words. -->
In the early hours of August 18, 1973, a [[Grave robbery|grave robber]] steals several corpses from a cemetery near Newt, Muerto County, Texas. The robber ties a rotting corpse and other body parts onto a monument, creating a grisly display that is discovered by a local resident as the sun rises.

Driving in a van, five teenagers take a road trip through the area: [[Sally Hardesty]], Jerry, Pam, Kirk, and Sally's [[Paraplegia|paraplegic]] brother Franklin. They stop at the cemetery to check on the grave of Sally and Franklin's grandfather, which appears undisturbed. As the group drives past a [[slaughterhouse]], Franklin recounts the Hardesty family's history with [[animal slaughter]]. They soon pick up a [[hitchhiker]], who talks about his family who worked at the old slaughterhouse. He borrows Franklin's [[Pocketknife|pocket knife]] and cuts himself, then takes a single [[Polaroid camera|Polaroid]] picture of the group, for which he demands money. When they refuse to pay, he burns the photo and attacks Franklin with a [[straight razor]]. The group forces him out of the van, where he smears blood on the side as they drive off. Low on gas, the group stops at a gas station but its [[Filling station attendant|proprietor]] says that fuel is unavailable. The group explores a nearby abandoned house, owned by the Hardesty family.

Kirk and Pam leave the others behind, planning to visit a nearby [[swimming hole]] mentioned by Franklin. On their way there, they discover another house, surrounded by run-down cars, and run by gas-powered generators. Hoping to barter for gas, Kirk enters the house through the unlocked door, while Pam waits outside. As he searches the house, a large man wearing a mask made of skin appears and murders Kirk with a hammer. When Pam enters the house, she stumbles into a room strewn with decaying remains and furniture made from human and animal bones. She attempts to flee but is caught by the man and impaled on a [[meat hook]]. The man then starts up a [[chainsaw]], dismembering Kirk as Pam watches. In the evening, Jerry searches for Pam and Kirk. When he enters the other house, he finds Pam's nearly-dead, spasming body in a chest freezer and is killed by the masked man.

With darkness falling, Sally and Franklin set out to find their friends. En route, the masked man ambushes them, killing Franklin with the chainsaw. The man chases Sally into the house, where she finds a very old, seemingly dead man and a woman's rotting corpse. She escapes from the man by jumping through a second-floor window, and she flees to the gas station. With the man in pursuit, Sally arrives at the gas station when he seems to disappear. The station's proprietor comforts Sally with the offer of help, after which he beats and subdues her, loading her into his pickup truck. The proprietor drives to the other house, and the hitchhiker appears. The proprietor scolds him for his actions at the cemetery, identifying the hitchhiker as the grave robber. As they enter the house, the masked man reappears, [[Transvestism|dressed in women's clothing]]. The proprietor identifies the masked man and the hitchhiker as brothers, and the hitchhiker refers to the masked man as "[[Leatherface]]". The two brothers bring the old man—"Grandpa"—down the stairs and cut Sally's finger so that Grandpa can suck her blood, Sally then faints from the ordeal.

The next morning, Sally regains consciousness. The men taunt her and bicker with each other, resolving to kill her with a hammer. They try to include Grandpa in the activity, but Grandpa is too weak. Sally breaks free and runs onto a road in front of the house, pursued by the brothers. An oncoming truck accidentally runs over the hitchhiker, killing him. The truck driver attacks Leatherface with a large wrench, causing him to fall and injure his leg with the chainsaw. The truck driver flees  while Sally, covered in blood, flags down a passing pickup truck and climbs into the bed, narrowly escaping Leatherface. As the pickup drives away, Sally laughs hysterically while an enraged Leatherface swings his chainsaw in the road as the sun rises.

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
*[[Marilyn Burns]] as [[Sally Hardesty]]
*[[Allen Danziger]] as Jerry
*[[Paul A. Partain]] as Franklin Hardesty
*William Vail as Kirk
*Teri McMinn as Pam
*[[Edwin Neal]] as [[Nubbins Sawyer|The Hitchhiker]]
*[[Jim Siedow]] as [[Drayton Sawyer]]
*[[Gunnar Hansen]] as [[Leatherface]]
*[[John Dugan (actor)|John Dugan]] as [[Grandpa Sawyer]]
*Robert Courtin as window washer
*William Creamer as bearded man
*[[John Henry Faulk]] as storyteller
*Jerry Green as cowboy
*Ed Guinn as cattle truck driver
*Joe Bill Hogan as drunk
*Perry Lorenz as pick up driver
*[[John Larroquette]] as narrator
}}

==Production==
===Development===
The concept for ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' arose in the early 1970s while [[Tobe Hooper]] was working as an assistant film director at the [[University of Texas at Austin]] and as a documentary cameraman.<ref name=":0">[[#Allon02|Allon 2002, p. 246]]</ref> He had already developed a story involving the elements of isolation, the woods, and darkness.<ref name="AustinChronicle">{{cite news|first=Marjorie|last=Baumgarten|url=http://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/2000-10-27/79177/ |title=Tobe Hooper Remembers ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' |newspaper=[[The Austin Chronicle]] |publisher=Austin Chronicle Corp.|location=Austin, Texas|date=October 27, 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605111113/http://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/2000-10-27/79177/ |archive-date=June 5, 2011 |access-date=June 10, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He credited the graphic coverage of violence by [[San Antonio]] news outlets as one inspiration for the film<ref name="HooperInterview">{{cite video |people= Hooper, Tobe |date=2008 |title= Tobe Hooper Interview |medium=DVD |publisher=Dark Sky Films |time=00:00:58–00:01:14; 00:01:38–00:02:00}}</ref> and based elements of the plot on murderer [[Ed Gein]], who committed his crimes in 1950s [[Wisconsin]];<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/crime/caseclosed/gein.shtml|title=BBC Crime Case Closed – Ed Gein |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040204231159/http://www.bbc.co.uk/crime/caseclosed/gein.shtml|archive-date=February 4, 2004|last=Summers|first=Chris|year=2003|publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=October 16, 2009}}</ref> Gein inspired other horror films such as ''[[Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho]]'' (1960) and ''[[The Silence of the Lambs (film)|The Silence of the Lambs]]'' (1991).<ref>[[#Allon02|Allon 2002, p. 248]]</ref><ref name="Bowen 2004, p. 17">[[#Bowen04|Bowen 2004, p. 17]]</ref><ref name="theshockingtruth">{{cite video|people=Gregory, David (Director and Writer)|date=2000|title=Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Shocking Truth|medium=Documentary|publisher=Blue Underground}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Joseph W.|title=The Psycho File: A Comprehensive Guide to Hitchcock's classic shocker|year=2009|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|isbn=978-0-7864-4487-8|page=12}}</ref> During development, several names for the film were considered, including ''Saturn in Retrograde'', ''Head Cheese'', ''Stalking Leatherface'', and ''Leatherface''.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Man Hollywood Trusts|magazine=[[Texas Monthly]]|volume=17|issue=9|page=185|publisher= Genesis Park, LP|location=Austin, Texas|date=September 1989|issn=0148-7736}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Herrera Farías |first=José Andrés |date=10 October 2024 |title=The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: A Horror Classic |url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-1974 |website=Handbook of Texas Online |publisher=[[Texas State Historical Association]]}}</ref>

{{Quote box
|quote = I definitely studied Gein&nbsp;... but I also noticed a murder case in [[Houston]] at the time, a serial murderer you probably remember named [[Elmer Wayne Henley]]. He was a young man who recruited victims for [[Dean Corll|an older homosexual man]]. I saw some news report where Elmer Wayne&nbsp;... said, "I did these crimes, and I'm gonna stand up and take it like a man." Well, that struck me as interesting, that he had this conventional morality at that point. He wanted it known that, now that he was caught, he would do the right thing. So this kind of moral schizophrenia is something I tried to build into the characters.
|source = — [[Kim Henkel]]<ref>[[#Bloom04|Bloom 2004, p. 2]]</ref><ref name="HenkelInterview">{{cite video |people= Henkel, Kim (Writer) |date=2008 |title= Kim Henkel Interview |medium=DVD |time=00:01:16–00:03:19|publisher=Dark Sky Films}}</ref>|bgcolor=#e6f6df|align = left|width = 35%
}}
Hooper has cited changes in the cultural and political landscape as central influences on the film. His intentional misinformation, that the "film you are about to see is true", was a response to being "lied to by the government about things that were going on all over the world".<ref name="HooperInterview" /> It reflected the skepticism against the [[Richard Nixon]] administration in the wake of the [[Watergate scandal|Watergate]], the [[1973 oil crisis]], the [[1973–1975 recession|1973 economic recession]], and "the [[War crimes during the Vietnam War|massacres and atrocities in the Vietnam War]]".<ref name="HooperInterview"/><ref name=":2" /> The "lack of sentimentality and the brutality of things" that Hooper noticed while watching the local news, whose graphic coverage was epitomized by "showing brains spilled all over the road", led to his belief that "man was the real monster here, just wearing a different face, so I put a literal mask on the monster in my film".<ref name="Bowen 2004, p. 17"/> The idea of using a chainsaw as the murder weapon came to Hooper while he was in the hardware section of a busy store, contemplating how to speed his way through the crowd.<ref name="theshockingtruth"/>

Hooper and Kim Henkel cowrote the screenplay and formed Vortex, Inc.<ref>{{cite book|last=Armstrong|first=Kent Byron|title=Slasher Films: An International Filmography, 1960 through 2001|year=2003|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|page=316|isbn=978-0-7864-1462-8}}</ref> with Henkel as president and Hooper as vice president.<ref name="Cinefastique">{{Cite magazine|first1=Ellen|last1=Farley|first2=William Jr.|last2=Knoedelseder|title=The Chainsaw Massacres|magazine=[[Cinefantastique]]|publisher=Fourth Castle Micromedia|location=New York City|pages=28–44|volume=16|issue=4/5|date=October 1986}}</ref> They asked Bill Parsley, a friend of Hooper, to provide funding. Parsley formed a company named MAB, Inc. through which he invested $60,000 in the production. In return, MAB owned 50% of the film and its profits.<ref name="Bloom3">[[#Bloom04|Bloom 2004, p. 3]]</ref> [[Unit production manager|Production manager]] Ron Bozman told most of the cast and crew that he would have to defer part of their salaries until after it was sold to a distributor. Vortex made the idea more attractive by awarding them a share of its potential profits, ranging from 0.25 to 6%, similar to [[Point (mortgage)|mortgage points]]. The cast and crew were not informed that Vortex owned only 50%, which meant their points were worth half of the assumed value.<ref name="Cinefastique"/><ref name="Hansen">{{cite magazine|first=Gunnar|last=Hansen|author-link=Gunnar Hansen|date=May 1985|title=A Date with Leatherface|magazine=[[Texas Monthly]]|url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/a-date-with-leatherface/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240114171141/https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/a-date-with-leatherface/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2024-01-14|publisher= Genesis Park, LP|location=Austin, Texas|volume=13|issue=5|pages=163–4, 206|issn=0148-7736}}</ref>

===Casting===
Many of the cast members at the time were relatively unknown actors—Texans who had played roles in commercials, television, and stage shows, as well as performers whom Hooper knew personally, such as [[Allen Danziger]] and [[Jim Siedow]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Wood|first=Robin|title=Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan|year=1986|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-05777-6|page=80|chapter=5: The American Nightmare}}</ref><ref name="TCMCompanion"/><ref>[[#Macor10|Macor 2010, pp. 24–25]]</ref> Involvement in the film propelled some of them into the motion picture industry. The lead role of Sally was given to [[Marilyn Burns]], who had appeared previously on stage and served on the film commission board at UT Austin while studying there.<ref name="TCMCompanion"/> Teri McMinn was a student who worked with local theater companies, including the [[Dallas Theater Center]].<ref name="TCMCompanion"/> Henkel called McMinn to come in for a reading after he spotted her picture in the ''[[Austin American-Statesman]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Teri McMinn Talks Meathooks, Chainsaws, and Massacres |url=https://dreadcentral.com/news/31995/teri-mcminn-talks-meathooks-chainsaws-and-massacres |website=[[Dread Central]]|date=June 24, 2009|access-date=August 26, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120610060830/https://dreadcentral.com/news/31995/teri-mcminn-talks-meathooks-chainsaws-and-massacres |archive-date=June 10, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> For her last call-back he requested that she wear short shorts, which proved to be the most comfortable of all the cast members' costumes.<ref name="TCMCompanion"/>

Icelandic-American actor [[Gunnar Hansen]] was selected for the role of Leatherface.<ref name="TM2">{{cite magazine|first=Richard|last=West|title=Scariest Movie Ever?|magazine=[[Texas Monthly]]|publisher= Genesis Park, LP|location=Austin, Texas|volume=2|issue=3|date=March 1974|page=9|issn=0148-7736}}</ref> He regarded Leatherface as having an [[intellectual disability]] and having never learned to speak properly. To research his character in preparation for his role, Hansen visited a [[special needs]] school and watched how the students moved and spoke.<ref name="theshockingtruth"/><ref>[[#Jaworzyn04|Jaworzyn 2004, p. 30]]</ref> [[John Larroquette]] performed the narration in the opening credits,<ref>{{cite web|first=Nathan|last=Rabin|url=https://avclub.com/articles/john-larroquette,2331/ |title=John Larroquette |website=[[The A.V. Club]] |publisher=Onion, Inc.|location=Chicago, Illinois|date=June 8, 2008 |access-date=May 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509174405/https://avclub.com/articles/john-larroquette,2331/ |archive-date=May 9, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> for which he was paid in marijuana.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/john-larroquette-paid-marijuana-narrate-texas-chainsaw-massacre|title=John Larroquette was paid in marijuana to narrate 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre,' talks 'Night Court' reboot|first=Tracy|last=Wright|date=January 16, 2023|website=Fox News}}</ref>

===Filming===
[[File:Chain Saw Massacre House3.jpg|thumb|left|The farmhouse used for ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' was moved from [[La Frontera (Round Rock, Texas)|La Frontera]] to [[Kingsland, Texas]], and restored as a restaurant.<ref name="KillingFields">{{cite news|title=The Killing Fields: A culinary history of 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' farmhouse |first=MM |last=Pack |newspaper=[[The Austin Chronicle]] |date=October 23, 2003 |url=http://www.austinchronicle.com/food/2003-10-31/184100/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629192458/http://www.austinchronicle.com/food/2003-10-31/184100/ |archive-date=June 29, 2011 |access-date=February 2, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>]]
The primary filming location was an early 1900s farmhouse located on Quick Hill Road near [[Round Rock, Texas]], where the [[La Frontera (Round Rock, Texas)|La Frontera]] development is now located.<ref name="KillingFields"/> The crew filmed seven days a week, up to 16 hours a day. The environment was hot<ref name="Hansen"/><ref>{{cite news |author=Staff |title=The calm, peaceful life of Leatherface |url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Movies/06/10/film.leatherface.ap/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040611042642/http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Movies/06/10/film.leatherface.ap/index.html |date=June 10, 2004 |archive-date=June 11, 2004 |publisher=[[CNN]] |access-date=July 26, 2009}}</ref> and the cast and crew found conditions tough; temperatures peaked at 110°[[Fahrenheit|F]] (43&nbsp;°C) on July 26.<ref>{{cite video |people=Hansen, Gunnar (Actor)|date=2008|title=The Texas Chain Saw Massacre audio commentary |medium=DVD |publisher= Second Sight Films |time=0:04:20  |quote=it was 110 degrees or whatever in the sun }}</ref> Hansen later recalled, "It was 95, 100 degrees every day during filming. They wouldn't wash my costume because they were worried that the laundry might lose it, or that it would change color. They didn't have enough money for a second costume. So I wore that [mask] 12 to 16 hours a day, seven days a week, for a month."<ref>[[#Jaworzyn04|Jaworzyn 2004, p. 63]]</ref>

''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' was mainly shot using an [[Eclair (camera)|Eclair NPR]] 16mm camera<ref name="TCMDVD">{{cite video |title=The Texas Chain Saw Massacre [DVD commentary] |date=2008 |medium=DVD |publisher=Dark Sky Films |time=00:01:00–00:01:22 |people=Hooper, Tobe (Director)}}</ref><ref name="MovieGoing"/> with fine-grain, low-speed [[Ektachrome|Ektachrome Commercial]] film that required considerably more light than modern digital cameras and even most filmstocks of the day.<ref name="GadFly">{{cite web|url=http://www.gadflyonline.com/archive-texaschainsaw.html |title=Bone of My Bone, Flesh of My Flesh |last=Kraus |first=Daniel |date=October 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608082606/http://www.gadflyonline.com/archive-texaschainsaw.html |archive-date=June 8, 2011 |publisher=Gadfly |access-date=October 17, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> This allowed more mobility and cost savings over shooting on the standard theatrical 35mm format of the time, without significant sacrifices to image quality. Most of the filming took place in the farmhouse, which was filled with furniture constructed from animal bones and a latex material used as upholstery to give the appearance of human skin.<ref name="NewsOK">{{cite web|url=http://www.newsok.com/article/2951550/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070320112840/http://www.newsok.com/article/2951550/|archive-date=March 20, 2007 |title=First 'Chain Saw' madman remains fond of grisly role |last=Triplett |first=Gene |date=October 6, 2006 |work=NewsOk/[[The Oklahoman]] |access-date=November 22, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The house was not cooled, and there was little ventilation. The crew covered its walls with drops of animal blood obtained from a local slaughterhouse.<ref name="HooperInterview"/> [[Art director]] [[Robert A. Burns]] drove around the countryside and collected the remains of cattle and other animals in various stages of decomposition, with which he littered the floors of the house.<ref name="NewsOK"/>

The special effects were simple and limited by the budget.<ref>[[#Freeland02|Freeland 2002, p. 241]]</ref> The on-screen blood was real in some cases,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,100135,00.html |title='Chainsaw' Cuts Up the Screen |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024220252/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,100135,00.html |archive-date=October 24, 2012 |last=Weinstein |first=Farrah |date=October 15, 2003 |publisher=[[Fox News]] |access-date=July 12, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> such as the scene in which Leatherface feeds "Grandpa". The crew had difficulty getting the stage blood to come out of its tube, so instead Burns's index finger was cut with a razor.<ref>{{cite video |people=Hansen, Gunnar (Actor)|date=2008|title=The Texas Chain Saw Massacre audio commentary |medium=DVD |publisher= Second Sight Films |time=1:08:17 |quote=we couldn't get the blood out of the tube onto the knife edge and so after the fourth or fifth take... I turned away from everybody... and just cut her}}</ref> Burns's costume was so drenched with stage blood that it was "virtually solid" by the last day of shooting.<ref name="TCMCompanion">[[#Jaworzyn04|Jaworzyn 2004, pp. 8–33]]</ref> The scene in which Leatherface dismembers Kirk with a chainsaw worried actor William Vail (Kirk). After telling Vail to stay still lest he really be killed, Hansen brought the running chainsaw to within {{convert|3|in|cm|0}} of Vail's face.<ref name="MovieGoing">[[#Haines03|Haines 2003, pp. 114–115]]</ref> A real hammer was used for the climactic scene at the end, with some takes also featuring a mock-up. However, the actor playing Grandpa was aiming for the floor rather than his victim's head.<ref name=SXSWTexas/> Still, the shoot was quite dangerous, with Hooper noting at the wrap party that all cast members had obtained some level of injury. He stated that "everyone hated me by the end of the production" and that "it just took years for them to kind of cool off."<ref name=SXSWTexas>{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Nigel M|title=SXSW: Tobe Hooper On Why Audiences Get 'Texas Chain Saw Massacre' Better Now Than When It Was First Released|date=March 14, 2014|url=https://indiewire.com/article/sxsw-tobe-hooper-on-why-audiences-get-texas-chainsaw-massacre-better-now-than-when-it-was-first-released|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904012702/https://indiewire.com/2014/03/sxsw-tobe-hooper-on-why-audiences-get-texas-chain-saw-massacre-better-now-than-when-it-was-first-released-28993/|archive-date=September 4, 2017|work=[[IndieWire]]|access-date=September 3, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Twitch>{{cite web|last1=Gayne|first1=Zach|title=SXSW 2014 Interview: THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE Director Tobe Hooper Talks His Legacy of Unspeakable Horror|url=http://screenanarchy.com/2014/03/sxsw-2014-interview-texas-chainsaw-massacre-director-tobe-hooper-talks-his-legacy-of-unspeakable-hor.html#ixzz3Fsd4ZI5M|date=March 18, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903211244/http://screenanarchy.com/2014/03/sxsw-2014-interview-texas-chainsaw-massacre-director-tobe-hooper-talks-his-legacy-of-unspeakable-hor.html|archive-date=September 3, 2017|website=[[Screen Anarchy]]|access-date=October 15, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The gas station featured in several scenes of the film is located in [[Bastrop, Texas]]. It now operates as a horror-themed attraction, Texas barbecue restaurant, and motel. To maintain its resemblance to the film, the owners preserved various antiques, including the vintage sign that reads "We Slaughter Barbecue".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Herrera Farías|first=José Andrés |date=July 24, 2024 |title=The Gas Station |url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/the-gas-station |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240725014818/https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/the-gas-station |archive-date=25 July 2024 |website=Handbook of Texas Online |publisher=[[Texas State Historical Association]]}}</ref>

===Post-production===
The production exceeded its original $60,000 (about ${{inflation|US-GDP|60000|1974|fmt=c|r=-3}} adjusted for inflation) budget during [[film editing|editing]].<ref>[[#Jaworzyn04|Jaworzyn 2004, p. 33]]</ref> Sources differ on the film's final cost, offering figures between $93,000 (about ${{inflation|US-GDP|93000|1974|fmt=c|r=-3}} inflation-adjusted) and $300,000 (about ${{inflation|US-GDP|300000|1974|fmt=c|r=-5}} inflation-adjusted).<ref name="TM2"/><ref>[[#Bloom04|Bloom 2004, p. 6]]</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Halberstam|first=Judith|title=Skin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters|year=1995|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=978-0-8223-1663-3|page=148}}</ref><ref name="Rockoff">[[#Rockoff02|Rockoff 2002, p. 42]]</ref> A film production group, Pie in the Sky, partially led by future President of the Texas State Bar [[Joe K. Longley]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/they-came-they-sawed/|title = They Came. They Sawed| work=Texas Monthly |date = November 2004 | last1=Bloom | first1=John }}</ref>  provided $23,532 (about ${{inflation|US-GDP|23532|1974|fmt=c|r=-3}} inflation-adjusted) in exchange for 19% of Vortex.<ref>[[#Bloom04|Bloom 2004, p. 5]]</ref> This left Henkel, Hooper and the rest of the cast and crew with a 40.5% stake.<ref name="Cinefastique"/> [[Warren Skaaren]], then head of the [[Texas Film Commission]], helped secure the distribution deal with [[Bryanston Distributing Company]].<ref name="Bloom3"/> [[David Foster (film producer)|David Foster]], who would later produce the 1982 horror film ''[[The Thing (1982 film)|The Thing]]'', arranged for a private screening for some of Bryanston's West Coast executives, and received 1.5% of Vortex's profits and a deferred fee of $500 (about ${{inflation|US-GDP|500|1974|fmt=c|r=-2}} inflation-adjusted).<ref name="Cinefastique"/>

On August 28, 1974, Louis Peraino of Bryanston agreed to distribute the film worldwide, from which Bozman and Skaaren would receive $225,000 (about ${{inflation|US-GDP|225000|1974|fmt=c|r=-5}} inflation-adjusted) and 35% of the profits. Years later Bozman stated, "We made a deal with the devil, [sigh], and I guess that, in a way, we got what we deserved."<ref name="Cinefastique"/> They signed the contract with Bryanston and, after the investors recouped their money (with interest),—and after Skaaren, the lawyers, and the accountants were paid—only $8,100 (about ${{inflation|US-GDP|8100|1974|fmt=c|r=-2}} inflation-adjusted) was left to be divided among the 20 cast and crew members.<ref name="Cinefastique"/> Eventually the producers sued Bryanston for failing to pay them their full percentage of the box office profits. A court judgment instructed Bryanston to pay the filmmakers $500,000 (about ${{inflation|US-GDP|500000|1974|fmt=c|r=-5}} inflation-adjusted), but by then the company had declared bankruptcy. In 1983, [[New Line Cinema]] acquired the distribution rights from Bryanston and gave the producers a larger share of the profits.<ref name="BozInterview">{{cite video|people= Bozman, Ron (Production manager)|date=2008|title= The Business of Chain Saw: Interview with Ron Bozman from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre|medium=DVD|publisher= Dark Sky Films|time=0:11:40–0:16:25}}</ref>

== Release ==
''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' premiered in Austin, Texas, on October 11, 1974, almost a year after filming concluded. It screened nationally in the United States as a Saturday afternoon matinée and its false marketing as a "true story" helped it attract a broad audience.<ref>{{cite news |last=Savlov |first=Marc |title=''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' |newspaper=[[The Austin Chronicle]] |url=http://www.filmvault.com/filmvault/austin/t/texaschainsawmass4.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711002506/http://www.filmvault.com/filmvault/austin/t/texaschainsawmass4.html |archive-date= July 11, 2011|date=February 11, 1998 |access-date=August 23, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Aronzyk |first=Melissa |title=A New Texas Chainsaw to Fire Up Blood Lust |newspaper=[[Toronto Star|The Toronto Star]] |date=October 12, 2003}}</ref> For eight years after 1976, it was annually reissued to [[Movie theater#Programming|first-run]] theaters, promoted by full-page ads.<ref>[[#Bowen04|Bowen 2004, pp. 17–18]]</ref> The film eventually grossed more than $30 million in the United States and Canada<ref name="BOM">{{cite web |url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=texaschainsaw.htm |title=The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) - Box Office Mojo |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100807174257/https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=texaschainsaw.htm |archive-date=August 7, 2010 |work=[[Box Office Mojo]] |access-date=August 23, 2012}}</ref> ($14.4 million in rentals), making it the [[1974 in film|12th-highest-grossing film]] initially released in 1974, despite its minuscule budget.<ref name="Cook">[[#Cook00|Cook 2000, p. 229]]</ref> 

{{Quote box
| quote = ''The film which you are about to see is an account of the tragedy which befell a group of five youths, in particular Sally Hardesty and her invalid brother, Franklin. [...]''
| source = — The opening crawl falsely suggests that the film is based on true events, a conceit that contributed to its success.
| bgcolor=#e6f6df
| align = right
| width = 35%
}}

Hooper reportedly hoped that the [[Motion Picture Association|Motion Picture Association of America]] (MPAA) would give the complete, uncut [[release print]] a "PG" rating due to its minimal amount of visible gore.<ref>{{cite book |last=Russo |first=John |title=Making Movies: The Inside Guide to Independent Movie Production |publisher=Delacorte Press |isbn=978-0-385-29684-7 |year=1989 |page=[https://archive.org/details/makingmoviesinsi00russ/page/252 252] |url=https://archive.org/details/makingmoviesinsi00russ/page/252 }}</ref><ref>[[#Worland06|Worland 2006, p. 298]]</ref><ref>[[#Jaworzyn04|Jaworzyn 2004, p. 40]]</ref> Instead, it was originally rated "X". After several minutes were cut, it was resubmitted to the MPAA and received an "R" rating. A distributor restored the offending material, and at least one theater presented the full version under an "R".<ref>{{cite book |last=Vaughn |first=Stephen |title=Freedom and Entertainment: Rating the Movies in an Age of New Media |year=2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-85258-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/freedomentertain0000vaug/page/58 58] |url=https://archive.org/details/freedomentertain0000vaug/page/58 }}</ref> In San Francisco, cinema-goers walked out of theaters in disgust<ref>{{cite news |title=The Perils of a 'Chainsaw' star |last=Murphy |first=Mary |page=F.13 |date=November 20, 1974|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> and in February 1976, two theaters in Ottawa, Canada, were advised by local police to withdraw the film lest they face morality charges.<ref>{{cite news |last=Henry |first=Sarah |title=Mordbid 'Massacre' pulled off screen |newspaper=[[Ottawa Citizen]] |date=February 12, 1976|page=3 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=QBJtjoHflPwC&dat=19760212&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |access-date=August 23, 2012}}</ref>

After its initial British release, including a one-year theatrical run in London,<ref name="Bowen 2004, p. 18">[[#Bowen04|Bowen 2004, p. 18]]</ref> ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' was initially banned on the advice of [[British Board of Film Classification|British Board of Film Censors]] (BBFC) Secretary Stephen Murphy, and subsequently by his successor, [[James Ferman]].<ref name="SBBFC">{{cite web|url=http://www.sbbfc.co.uk/CaseStudies/The_Texas_Chain_Saw_Massacre |title=Case Study: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre |publisher=British Board of Film Classification |access-date=August 23, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019155715/http://www.sbbfc.co.uk/CaseStudies/The_Texas_Chain_Saw_Massacre |archive-date=October 19, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://bbfc.co.uk/website/Classified.nsf/c2fb077ba3f9b33980256b4f002da32c/86714a632d6e4788802566c8003266b7?OpenDocument |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320100021/https://bbfc.co.uk/website/Classified.nsf/c2fb077ba3f9b33980256b4f002da32c/86714a632d6e4788802566c8003266b7?OpenDocument |archive-date=March 20, 2012 |title=Texas Chainsaw Massacre Rejected by the BBFC |date=March 12, 1975 |publisher=British Board of Film Classification |access-date=August 23, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> While the British ban was in force the word "chainsaw" itself was barred from movie titles, forcing imitators to rename their films.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Morgan |first1=Diannah |last2=Gaskell |first2=Ed |title=Creative titling with Final Cut Pro |publisher=The Ilex Press Ltd |year=2004 |edition=illustrated |page=22 |isbn=978-1-904705-15-4}}</ref> In 1998, despite the BBFC ban, [[Camden London Borough Council]] granted the film a license.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2002/mar/13/filmcensorship.seanclarke |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110207104312/http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2002/mar/13/filmcensorship.seanclarke |archive-date=February 7, 2011 |title=Explained: Film censorship in the UK |last=Clarke |first=Sean |date=March 13, 2002 |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=August 23, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The following year the BBFC passed ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' uncut for release with an [[18 (British Board of Film Classification)|18 certificate]],<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/education/case-studies/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre | title=The Texas Chainsaw Massacre | date=August 3, 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/298009.stm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100822141440/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/298009.stm |archive-date=August 22, 2010 |date=March 16, 1999 |title=Entertainment: Texas Chainsaw Massacre released uncut |work=[[BBC News Online]] |access-date=August 23, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> and it was broadcast a year later on [[Channel 4]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/974619.stm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130107215207/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/974619.stm |archive-date=January 7, 2013 |title=Screen 'video nasty' hits Channel 4 |date=October 16, 2000 |work=BBC News Online |access-date=August 23, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Egan |first=Kate |title=Trash or Treasure?: Censorship and the Changing Meanings of the Video Nasties |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=2008 |edition=illustrated |page=243 |isbn=978-0-7190-7232-1}}</ref>

When the 83-minute version of the film was submitted to the  [[Australian Classification Board]] by distributor [[Seven Keys (company)|Seven Keys]] in June 1975, the Board denied the film a classification,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.classification.gov.au/www/cob/find.nsf/d853f429dd038ae1ca25759b0003557c/904868623909466eca257671007b1284?OpenDocument |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305163124/http://www.classification.gov.au/www/cob/find.nsf/d853f429dd038ae1ca25759b0003557c/904868623909466eca257671007b1284?OpenDocument |date=June 1, 1975 |archive-date=March 5, 2012 |title=The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Review 1) |publisher=[[Australian Classification Board]] |access-date=August 23, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and similarly refused classification of a 77-minute print in December that year.<ref name="OFLC">{{cite web|url=http://www.classification.gov.au/www/cob/find.nsf/d853f429dd038ae1ca25759b0003557c/663d0ec037aa8a32ca2576710079f4f2?OpenDocument |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305163132/http://www.classification.gov.au/www/cob/find.nsf/d853f429dd038ae1ca25759b0003557c/663d0ec037aa8a32ca2576710079f4f2?OpenDocument |archive-date=March 5, 2012 |title=The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Review 2) |date=December 12, 1975 |publisher=Australian Classification Board |access-date=August 23, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1981, the 83-minute version submitted by [[Greater Union|Greater Union Film Distributors]] was again refused registration.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.classification.gov.au/www/cob/find.nsf/d853f429dd038ae1ca25759b0003557c/ee6070a48804edd5ca257671007a6260?OpenDocument 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305163146/http://www.classification.gov.au/www/cob/find.nsf/d853f429dd038ae1ca25759b0003557c/ee6070a48804edd5ca257671007a6260?OpenDocument
 |archive-date=March 5, 2012
 |date=July 1, 1981 
 |title=The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Review 3) 
 |publisher=Australian Classification Board 
 |access-date=August 23, 2012 
 |url-status=dead
}}</ref> It was later submitted by Filmways Australasian Distributors and approved for an "R" rating in 1984.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.classification.gov.au/www/cob/find.nsf/d853f429dd038ae1ca25759b0003557c/72350d5bf418f476ca2576710078cde6?OpenDocument |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305163156/http://www.classification.gov.au/www/cob/find.nsf/d853f429dd038ae1ca25759b0003557c/72350d5bf418f476ca2576710078cde6?OpenDocument |date=January 1, 1984 |archive-date=March 5, 2012 |title=The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Review 4) |publisher=Australian Classification Board |access-date=August 23, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Australia Parliament |title=Parliamentary Debates, Senate Weekly Hansard |publisher=Australian Authority |year=1984 |page=776}}</ref> It was [[List of banned films|banned for periods in many other countries]], including Brazil, Chile, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Singapore, Sweden and West Germany.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/banned-the-most-controversial-films-1768299.html?action=gallery&ino=2 |last=Davis |first=Laura |date=October 5, 2010 |title=The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616162622/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/banned-the-most-controversial-films-1768299.html?action=Gallery&ino=2 |archive-date=June 16, 2011 |access-date=August 23, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[[#Chibnall02|Chibnall 2002, p. 16]]</ref><ref>[[#Bloom04|Bloom 2004, p. 7]]</ref>In France, it was X-rated for "incitement to violence."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Triollet |first1=Christophe |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C9osDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22incitation+%C3%A0+la+violence%22+massacre+tron%C3%A7onneuse&pg=PA286 |title=Darkness, censure et cinéma (1. Gore & violence) |last2=Montagne |first2=Albert |date=2017-07-15 |publisher=LettMotif |isbn=978-2-36716-089-4 |pages=286–288 |language=fr |chapter=Les films X violence. Une censure méconnue du cinéma français}}</ref> In Sweden, it would also symbolize a [[video nasty]], a discussed topic at the time.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/film/a/On8Wql/succe-for-ny-massaker|title=Succé för ny massaker|work=[[Aftonbladet]]|language=sv|first=Annika|last=Johansson|date=October 22, 2003|access-date=June 15, 2018}}</ref>

The film was released in 2021 in Australia and 2024 in Russia, grossing $36,879 at the international box office.<ref name="The Texas Chain Saw Massacre">{{Cite web |title=The Texas Chain Saw Massacre |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0072271/ |access-date=2024-06-27 |website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Техасская резня бензопилой, кинопрокат – ИНОЕКИНО |url=https://inoekino.com/distribution/TexasChainSawMassacre |access-date=2024-06-27 |website=inoekino.com |language=ru}}</ref> In 2025, a 4K remaster was released in Poland — the first time ever it was shown in movie theaters.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://velvetspoon.pl/film/teksanska-masakra-pila-mechaniczna/|title=Velvet Spoon – Teksańska masakra piłą mechaniczną|publisher=Velvet Spoon Distribution|language=Polish|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250526083027/https://velvetspoon.pl/film/teksanska-masakra-pila-mechaniczna/|archive-date=May 26, 2025|access-date=May 26, 2025}}</ref> It grossed $2.5 million in Blu-Ray home sales.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) - Financial Information |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Texas-Chainsaw-Massacre-The-(1974) |access-date=2024-11-08 |website=The Numbers}}</ref>

==Reception==
===Critical response===
''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' received a mixed reaction upon its initial release. Linda Gross of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' called it "despicable" and described Henkel and Hooper as more concerned with creating a realistic atmosphere than with its "plastic script".<ref>{{cite news|title='Texas Massacre' Grovels in Gore|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23517794/|last=Gross|first=Linda|date=October 30, 1974|page=14|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' said it was "as violent and gruesome and blood-soaked as the title promises", yet praised its acting and technical execution.<ref name="Ebertreview">{{cite news |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19740101/REVIEWS/401010319/1023 |title=The Texas Chainsaw Massacre |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605135946/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F19740101%2FREVIEWS%2F401010319%2F1023 |archive-date=June 5, 2011 |date=January 1, 1974 |newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |access-date=May 31, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="EbertBook">{{cite book|last=Ebert|first=Roger|title=Roger Ebert's Movie Home Companion: Full-Length Reviews of Twenty Years of Movies on Video|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|year=1989|page=[https://archive.org/details/rogerebertsmovie00eber/page/748 748]|isbn=978-0-8362-6240-7|url=https://archive.org/details/rogerebertsmovie00eber/page/748}}</ref> Donald B. Berrigan of ''[[The Cincinnati Enquirer]]'' praised the lead performance of Burns: "Marilyn Burns, as Sally, deserves a special Academy Award for one of the most sustained and believable acting achievements in movie history."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Berrigan |first1=Donald B. |title=Texas Chainsaw Massacre (R) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32005121/the_cincinnati_enquirer/ |access-date=May 28, 2019 |work=The Cincinnati Enquirer |date=November 17, 1974}}</ref> Patrick Taggart of the ''[[Austin American-Statesman]]'' hailed it as the most important horror film since George A. Romero's ''[[Night of the Living Dead]]'' (1968).<ref>[[#Macor10|Macor 2010, p. 39]]</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' found the picture to be well-made, despite what it called the "heavy doses of gore".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/review/VE1117795563?refcatid=31 |title=Variety Reviews - The Texas Chain Saw Massacre |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116145415/https://variety.com/review/VE1117795563?refcatid=31 |archive-date=January 16, 2014 |date=November 6, 1974 |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |access-date=September 2, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> John McCarty of ''[[Cinefantastique]]'' stated that the house featured in the film made the [[Norman Bates|Bates]] motel "look positively pleasant by comparison".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=McCarty|first=John|year=1975|magazine=[[Cinefantastique]]|asin=B001O8Q9SO|volume=4|issue=3|page=36|title=The Texas Chain Saw Massacre}}</ref> Revisiting the film in his 1976 article "Fashions in Pornography" for ''[[Harper's Magazine]]'', Stephen Koch found its sadistic violence to be extreme and unimaginative.<ref>{{cite book|last=Staiger|first=Janet|title=Perverse Spectators: The Practices of Film Reception|publisher=NYU Press|year=2000|page=183|isbn=978-0-8147-8139-5}}</ref>

{{quote box
| width = 35%
| align = left
| bgcolor = #e6f6df
| quote = Horror and exploitation films almost always turn a profit if they're brought in at the right price. So they provide a good starting place for ambitious would-be filmmakers who can't get more conventional projects off the ground. ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' belongs in a select company (with ''[[Night of the Living Dead]]'' and ''[[The Last House on the Left|Last House on the Left]]'') of films that are really a lot better than the genre requires. Not, however, that you'd necessarily enjoy seeing it.
| source = — Roger Ebert, writing for the ''Chicago Sun-Times''<ref name="Ebertreview" />
}}

Critics later frequently praised both the film's aesthetic quality and its power. Observing that it managed to be "horrifying without being a bloodbath (you'll see more gore in a [[Steven Seagal]] film)", Bruce Westbrook of the ''[[Houston Chronicle]]'' called it "a backwoods masterpiece of fear and loathing".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1992_1031837 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018211208/http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1992_1031837 |archive-date=October 18, 2012 |title=Films love to show off tawdry side of Texas |last=Westbrook |first=Bruce |date=January 19, 1992 |newspaper=[[Houston Chronicle]] |access-date=May 9, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''[[TV Guide]]'' thought it was "intelligent" in its "bloodless depiction of violence",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://movies.tvguide.com/texas-chain-saw-massacre/review/120053 |title=''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'': Review |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110909135811/http://movies.tvguide.com/texas-chain-saw-massacre/review/120053 |archive-date=September 9, 2011 |access-date=July 8, 2008 |publisher=TVGuide.com |url-status=dead }}</ref> while Anton Bitel felt the fact that it was banned in the United Kingdom was a tribute to its artistry. He pointed out how the quiet sense of foreboding at the beginning of the film grows, until the viewer experiences "a punishing assault on the senses".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/reviews.php?id=7486 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111018184603/http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/reviews.php?id=7486 |archive-date=October 18, 2011 |title=The Texas Chain Saw Massacre |last=Bitel |first=Anton |publisher=Eye For Film |access-date=October 9, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In ''Hick Flicks: The Rise and Fall of Redneck Cinema'', Scott Von Doviak commended its effective use of daylight shots, unusual among horror films, such as the sight of a corpse draped over a tombstone in the opening sequence.<ref>{{cite book|last=Von Doviak|first=Scott|title=Hick Flicks: The Rise and Fall of Redneck Cinema|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|year=2005|page=172|isbn=978-0-7864-1997-5}}</ref> Mike Emery of ''[[The Austin Chronicle]]'' praised the film's "subtle touches"—such as radio broadcasts heard in the background describing grisly murders around Texas—and said that what made it so dreadful was that it never strayed too far from potential reality.<ref name="AustinChronicle2">{{cite news|url=http://www.filmvault.com/filmvault/austin/t/texaschainsawmass5.html |title=The Texas Chainsaw Massacre |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101229150823/http://www.filmvault.com/filmvault/austin/t/texaschainsawmass5.html |archive-date=December 29, 2010 |last=Emery |first=Mike |date=November 2, 1998 |newspaper=[[The Austin Chronicle]] |access-date=October 9, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

It has often been described as one of the scariest films of all time.<ref>{{cite book|last=Edmundson|first=Mark|title=Nightmare on Main Street: Angels, Sadomasochism, and the Culture of Gothic|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1999|page=22|isbn=978-0-674-62463-4}}</ref> [[Rex Reed]] called it the most terrifying film he had ever seen.<ref>[[#Muir02|Muir 2002 p. 17]]</ref> ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' described it as "the most purely horrifying horror movie ever made" and called it "never less than totally committed to scaring you witless".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=3841 |title=Review of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018185828/https://empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=3841 |archive-date=October 18, 2012 |magazine=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |access-date=September 18, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Reminiscing about his first viewing of the film, horror director [[Wes Craven]] recalled wondering "what kind of [[Manson Family|Mansonite]] crazoid" could have created such a thing.<ref>[[#Bowen04|Bowen 2004, pp. 16–17]]</ref> It is a work of "cataclysmic terror", in the words of horror novelist [[Stephen King]], who declared, "I would happily testify to its redeeming social merit in any court in the country."<ref>{{cite book|last=King|first=Stephen|title=Stephen King's Danse Macabre|url=https://archive.org/details/stephenkingsdans00step|url-access=registration|year=1983|publisher=Berkley Books|isbn=978-0-425-10433-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/stephenkingsdans00step/page/130 130]}}</ref> Critic [[Robin Wood (critic)|Robin Wood]] found it one of the few horror films to possess "the authentic quality of nightmare".<ref>[[#Worland06|Worland 2006, p. 208]]</ref> [[Quentin Tarantino]] called it "one of the few perfect movies ever made."<ref>{{cite book|first=Quentin|last=Tarantino|title=Cinema Speculation|year=2022|publisher=W&N|page=331}}</ref>

Based on 91 reviews published since 2000, the review aggregate website [[Rotten Tomatoes]] reports that 85% of critics gave it a positive review, with an average score of 8.20/10. The site's critical consensus states, "Thanks to a smart script and documentary-style camerawork, ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' achieves start-to-finish suspense, making it a classic in low-budget exploitation cinema."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://rottentomatoes.com/m/1021112-texas_chainsaw_massacre/|title=The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)|access-date=October 10, 2024|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]}}</ref> On  [[Metacritic]], the film has a weighted average score of 92 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Reviews |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre// |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250801000000*/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre/|archive-date=March 28, 2025 |access-date=January 26, 2026 |website=[[Metacritic]] |publisher=[[CBS Interactive]]}}</ref>

 
===Cultural impact===
''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' is widely considered one of the greatest—and most controversial—horror films of all time<ref name="BBC"/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Kerekes|first1=David|last2=Slater|first2=David|title=See No Evil: Banned Films and Video Controversy|edition=illustrated|year=2000|publisher=Headpress|isbn=978-1-900486-10-1|page=374}}</ref> and a major influence on the genre.<ref name="Rockoff"/><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://popwatch.ew.com/2009/08/06/texas-chainsaw-massacre-horror/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110108222948/http://popwatch.ew.com/2009/08/06/texas-chainsaw-massacre-horror/ |archive-date=January 8, 2011 |title=Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The template for modern horror |last=Gleiberman |first=Owen |date=August 6, 2009 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |access-date=August 9, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1999, Richard Zoglin of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' commented that it had "set a new standard for slasher films".<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,991757,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110221090233/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,991757,00.html |archive-date=February 21, 2011 |title=Cinema: The Predecessors: They Came from Beyond |last=Zoglin |first=Richard |date=August 16, 1999 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=April 8, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''[[The Times]]'' listed it as one of the 50 most controversial films of all time.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article609728.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809061452/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article609728.ece |archive-date=August 9, 2011 |title=The frighteners |date=August 19, 2006 |newspaper=[[The Times]] |access-date=August 24, 2009 |first=Lindsay |last=McIntosh |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Tony Magistrale]] believes the film paved the way for horror to be used as a vehicle for social commentary.<ref>{{cite book|last=Magistrale|first=Tony|year=2005|title=Abject Terrors: Surveying the Modern and Postmodern Horror Film|publisher=[[Peter Lang (publishing company)|Peter Lang]]|isbn=978-0-8204-7056-6|page=153}}</ref> Describing it as "cheap, grubby and out of control", Mark Olsen of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' declared that it "both defines and entirely supersedes the very notion of the exploitation picture".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-aug-06-ca-descent6-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310214514/https://articles.latimes.com/2006/aug/06/entertainment/ca-descent6 |archive-date=March 10, 2012 |title=Beware, the cave man |last=Olsen |first=Mark |date=August 6, 2006 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |page=5 |access-date=January 3, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> In his book ''Dark Romance: Sexuality in the Horror Film'', David Hogan called it "the most affecting gore thriller of all and, in a broader view, among the most effective horror films ever made ... the driving force of ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' is something far more horrible than aberrant sexuality: total insanity."<ref>{{cite book|last=Hogan|first=David J.|title=Dark Romance: Sexuality in the Horror Film |year=1997|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|isbn=978-0-7864-0474-2|pages=247–249}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Weaver|first=James B.|author2=Tamborini, Ronald C. |title=Horror Films: Current Research on Audience Preferences and Reactions|publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum Associates|year=1996|page=36|isbn=978-0-8058-1174-2}}</ref> According to Bill Nichols, it "achieves the force of authentic art, profoundly disturbing, intensely personal, yet at the same time far more than personal".<ref>{{cite book|last=Nichols|first=Bill|author-link=Bill Nichols (film critic)|title=Movies and Methods: An Anthology|edition=reprint|volume=1|year=1985|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-05408-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/moviesmethodsa00nich/page/214 214]|url=https://archive.org/details/moviesmethodsa00nich/page/214}}</ref> [[Leonard Wolf]] praised the film as "an exquisite work of art" and compared it to a [[Greek tragedy]], noting the lack of onscreen violence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1991-10-31/features/9102140049_1_horror-hall-chainsaw-massacre |title=Eek! Now There's A Hall Of Fame For Horror Films |last=Jicha |first=Tom |date=October 31, 1991 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723191820/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1991-10-31/features/9102140049_1_horror-hall-chainsaw-massacre |archive-date=July 23, 2013 |work=[[South Florida Sun-Sentinel]] |access-date=September 1, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Leatherface has gained a reputation as a significant character in the horror genre.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-18-981416.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110210080409/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-18-981416.html |archive-date=February 10, 2011 |title=The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (18) |last=Morris |first=Sophie |date=October 31, 2008 |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |access-date=August 24, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Schechter|first=Harold |author2=Everitt, David |title=The A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers |publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=2006|edition=revised, illustrated|page=232|isbn=978-1-4165-2174-7}}</ref> [[Christopher Null]] of Filmcritic.com said, "In our collective consciousness, Leatherface and his chainsaw have become as iconic as [[Freddy Krueger|Freddy]] and his razors or [[Jason Voorhees|Jason]] and his hockey mask."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmcritic.com/reviews/1974/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324104540/http://www.filmcritic.com/reviews/1974/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre/ |archive-date=March 24, 2012 |title=The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) |first=Christopher |last=Null |access-date=July 8, 2008 |publisher=FilmCritic.com |date=November 22, 2003 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Don Sumner called ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' a classic that not only introduced a new villain to the horror pantheon but also influenced an entire generation of filmmakers.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sumner|first=Don|title=Horror Movie Freak|edition=illustrated|year=2010|publisher=Krause Publications|isbn=978-1-4402-0824-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/horrormoviefreak00sumn/page/109 109]|url=https://archive.org/details/horrormoviefreak00sumn/page/109}}</ref> According to Rebecca Ascher-Walsh of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'', it laid the foundations for the ''[[Halloween (franchise)|Halloween]]'', ''[[Evil Dead]]'', and ''[[Blair Witch]]'' horror franchises.<ref name="entertainmentweeklyreview">{{cite magazine |first=Rebecca |last=Ascher-Walsh |url=https://ew.com/ew/article/0,,278290,00.html |title=''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' (1974) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606222111/https://ew.com/ew/article/0,,278290,00.html |archive-date=June 6, 2011 |date=November 3, 2000 |access-date=December 26, 2008 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |url-status=dead }}</ref> Wes Craven crafted his 1977 film ''[[The Hills Have Eyes (1977 film)|The Hills Have Eyes]]'' as an homage to ''Massacre'',<ref name=miska>{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3448707/40-years-later-hills-still-eyes/|title=40 Years Later and 'The Hills Still Have Eyes'|author=Paul, Zachary|work=[[Bloody Disgusting]]|date=July 22, 2017|access-date=September 17, 2018}}</ref> while [[Ridley Scott]] cited Hooper's film as an inspiration for his 1979 film ''[[Alien (film)|Alien]]''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Robb|first=Brian|title=Ridley Scott|publisher=Pocket Essentials|year=2005|page=37|isbn=978-1-904048-47-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/2008/09/revisiting-alien-ridley-scott/ |title=Alien Revisited: An Interview with Ridley Scott |last=Biodrowski |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110311035744/http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/2008/09/revisiting-alien-ridley-scott/ |archive-date=March 11, 2011 |first=Steve |date=September 20, 2008 |publisher=[[Cinefantastique]] |access-date=April 9, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> French director [[Alexandre Aja]] credited it as an early influence on his career.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2008_4610142 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018211216/http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2008_4610142 |archive-date=October 18, 2012 |title=Aja reflects on Mirrors, his life as a director |last=Dicker |first=Ron |date=September 15, 2008 |newspaper=[[Houston Chronicle]] |access-date=May 9, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Horror filmmaker and heavy metal musician [[Rob Zombie]] sees it as a major influence on his work, including his films ''[[House of 1000 Corpses]]'' (2003) and ''[[The Devil's Rejects]]'' (2005).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a23810/texas-chainsaw-things-you-didnt-know/|title=11 Things You Didn't Know About The Texas Chainsaw Massacre|author=Wood, Jennifer M.|work=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]|date=October 21, 2014|access-date=September 24, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/review/film/s996936.htm |title=The Texas Chainsaw Massacre |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101114204813/http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/review/film/s996936.htm |archive-date=November 14, 2010 |first=Megan |last=Spencer |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] |date=November 25, 2003 |access-date=August 23, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' was selected for the 1975 [[Cannes Film Festival]] [[Directors' Fortnight]]<ref name="Bowen 2004, p. 18"/> and [[BFI London Film Festival]].<ref name="Cook"/> In 1976, it won the Special Jury Prize at the [[Avoriaz International Fantastic Film Festival|Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival]] in France.<ref>[[#Jaworzyn04|Jaworzyn 2004, p. 86]]</ref> ''Entertainment Weekly'' ranked the film sixth on its 2003 list of "The Top 50 Cult Films".<ref name="EWCult">{{cite magazine |title=The Top 50 Cult Films |url=https://ew.com/ew/article/0,,451853_5,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110527220008/https://ew.com/ew/article/0,,451853_5,00.html |archive-date=May 27, 2011 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=May 16, 2003 |access-date=September 29, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In a 2005 ''[[Total Film]]'' poll, it was selected as the greatest horror film of all time.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4323968.stm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224154832/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4323968.stm |archive-date=February 24, 2011 |title=Texas Massacre tops horror poll |access-date=July 9, 2008 |work=[[BBC News Online]] |date=October 9, 2005 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.totalfilm.com/news/shock-horror-1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519085929/http://www.totalfilm.com/news/shock-horror-1 |archive-date=May 19, 2011 |title=Shock Horror! |last=Graham |first=Jamie |date=October 10, 2005 |work=[[Total Film]] |access-date=June 17, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It was named among ''Time''{{'}}s top 25 horror films in 2007.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1676793_1676808_1677011,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518015724/http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1676793_1676808_1677011,00.html |archive-date=May 18, 2011 |title=''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'', 1974 |access-date=July 9, 2008 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=October 29, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2008 the film ranked number 199 on ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://empireonline.com/500/59.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120201340/https://empireonline.com/500/59.asp |archive-date=January 20, 2012 |title=Empire: The Greatest Films of All Time (200–101) |work=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |access-date=February 20, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''Empire'' also ranked it 46th in its list of the 50 greatest independent films.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://empireonline.com/features/50greatestindependent/46_45.asp#50independent |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204204509/https://empireonline.com/features/50greatestindependent/46_45.asp |archive-date=February 4, 2012 |title=The 50 Greatest Independent Films - The Texas Chain Saw Massacre |magazine=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |access-date=February 24, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In a 2010 ''Total Film'' poll, it was again selected as the greatest horror film; the judging panel included veteran horror directors such as John Carpenter, Wes Craven, and [[George A. Romero]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.futureplc.com/2010/09/29/futures-total-film-reveals-greatest-horror-movie-ever/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524224508/http://www.futureplc.com/2010/09/29/futures-total-film-reveals-greatest-horror-movie-ever/ |archive-date=May 24, 2011 |title=Future's Total Film reveals "Greatest Horror Movie Ever" |date=September 29, 2010 |publisher=[[Future plc]] |access-date=October 10, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2010, as well, ''[[The Guardian]]'' ranked it number 14 on its list of the top 25 horror films.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/22/texas-chainsaw-massare-hooper-horror |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101025122658/http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/oct/22/texas-chainsaw-massare-hooper-horror |archive-date=October 25, 2010 |title=The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: No 14 best horror film of all time |last=Heritage |first=Stuart |date=October 22, 2010 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=October 26, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It was also voted the greatest horror film of all time in ''[[Slant Magazine]]''{{'s}} 2013 list of the greatest horror films of all time.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/features/article/100-greatest-horror-films-of-all-time/P10|title=The 100 Greatest Horror Films of All Time|magazine=Slant Magazine|access-date=August 11, 2018|date=October 28, 2013}}</ref> It was also voted the scariest movie of all time in a 2017 list by ''[[Complex (magazine)|Complex]]''<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/scariest-movies-all-time/the-texas-chainsaw-massacre|title=The 50 Scariest Movies of All Time|publisher=Complex Magazine|access-date=August 11, 2018|date=October 7, 2017}}</ref> and voted the best horror movie of all time in a 2017 list by ''[[Thrillist]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/best-horror-movies-ever|title=The 50 Best Horror Movies of All Time|publisher=Thrillist|access-date=August 11, 2018|date=November 27, 2017}}</ref> It was also voted the scariest movie of all time in a 2018 list by ''[[Consequence of Sound]]''<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://consequence.net/2019/10/100-scariest-movies-of-all-time/|title=The 100 Scariest Movies of All Time|magazine=Consequence of Sound|access-date=August 11, 2018|date=June 7, 2018}}</ref> and voted the best horror movie of all time in a 2018 list by ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/g3383/best-horror-movies-of-all-time/|title=The 50 Scariest Movies of All Time|magazine=Esquire Magazine|access-date=August 11, 2018|date=July 30, 2018}}</ref> In 2024, [[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] selected it as the greatest horror movie of all time.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/lists/best-horror-movies-of-all-time|title=The 100 Best Horror Movies of All Time|magazine=Variety Magazine|access-date=October 13, 2024|date=October 9, 2024}}</ref>

''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' was inducted into the [[Horror Hall of Fame]] in 1990, with Hooper accepting the award,<ref>{{cite book|last=Davies|first=Steven Paul|title=A-Z of cult films and film-makers|publisher=Batsford|year=2003|edition=illustrated|page=109|isbn=978-0-7134-8704-6}}</ref> and it is part of the permanent collection of New York City's [[Museum of Modern Art]].<ref name="Rockoff"/> In 2012, the film was named by critics in the [[British Film Institute]]'s ''[[Sight & Sound]]'' magazine as [[The Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time 2012|one of the 250 greatest films]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://explore.bfi.org.uk/sightandsoundpolls/2012/film/4ce2b6b7ea720 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130225222037/http://explore.bfi.org.uk/sightandsoundpolls/2012/film/4ce2b6b7ea720 |archive-date=February 25, 2013 |title=Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The |year=2012 |work=[[Sight & Sound]] |publisher=[[British Film Institute]] |access-date=March 12, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Academy Film Archive]] houses the Texas Chain Saw Massacre Collection, which contains over fifty items, including many original elements for the film.<ref>{{cite web|title=Texas Chain Saw Massacre Collection |url=https://www.oscars.org/film-archive/collections/texas-chainsaw-massacre-collection|website=Academy Film Archive|date=September 5, 2014}}</ref>

==Themes and analysis==
===Contemporary American life===
{{Quote box
| quote = Hooper's apocalyptic landscape is&nbsp;... a desert wasteland of dissolution where once vibrant myth is desiccated. The ideas and iconography of [[James Fenimore Cooper|Cooper]], [[Bret Harte]] and [[Francis Parkman]] are now transmogrified into yards of dying cattle, abandoned gasoline stations, defiled graveyards, crumbling mansions, and a ramshackle farmhouse of psychotic killers. ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' [is]&nbsp;... recognizable as a statement about the dead end of American experience.
| source = — Christopher Sharrett<ref>[[#Sharrett04|Sharrett 2004, p. 318]]</ref>
| bgcolor = #e6f6df
| align = right
| width = 35%
}}
Critic Christopher Sharrett argues that since [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s ''[[Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho]]'' (1960) and ''[[The Birds (film)|The Birds]]'' (1963), the American horror film has been defined by the questions it poses "about the fundamental validity of the American civilizing process",<ref>[[#Sharrett04|Sharrett 2004, pp. 300–1]]</ref> concerns amplified during the 1970s by the "delegitimation of authority in the wake of [[United States in the Vietnam War|Vietnam]] and [[Watergate scandal|Watergate]]".<ref>[[#Sharrett04|Sharrett 2004, p. 300]]</ref> "If ''Psycho'' began an exploration of a new sense of absurdity in contemporary life, of the collapse of causality and the diseased underbelly of [[Southern Gothic|American Gothic]]", he writes, ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' "carries this exploration to a logical conclusion, addressing many of the issues of Hitchcock's film while refusing comforting closure".<ref>[[#Sharrett04|Sharrett 2004, pp. 301–2]]</ref>

Robin Wood characterizes Leatherface and his family as victims of [[industrial capitalism]], their jobs as slaughterhouse workers having been rendered obsolete by technological advances.<ref>[[#Sharrett04|Sharrett 2004, p. 308]]</ref> He states that the picture "brings to focus a spirit of negativity&nbsp;... that seems to lie not far below the surface of the modern [[collective consciousness]]".<ref>{{cite book|last=Gelder|first=Ken|title=The Horror Reader|year=2000|page=291|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-21355-4}}</ref> Naomi Merritt explores the film's representation of "cannibalistic capitalism" in relation to [[Georges Bataille]]'s theory of taboo and transgression.<ref>[[#Merritt10|Merritt 2010, p. 1]]</ref> She elaborates on Wood's analysis, stating that the Sawyer family's values "reflect, or correspond to, established and interdependent American institutions&nbsp;... but their embodiment of these social units is perverted and transgressive."<ref>[[#Merritt10|Merritt 2010, p. 6]]</ref>

In [[Kim Newman]]'s view, Hooper's presentation of the Sawyer family during the dinner scene parodies a typical American sitcom family: the gas station owner is the bread-winning father figure; the killer Leatherface is depicted as a bourgeois housewife; the hitchhiker acts as the rebellious teenager.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/Films-Str-Th/The-Texas-Chainsaw-Massacre.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705152942/http://www.filmreference.com/Films-Str-Th/The-Texas-Chainsaw-Massacre.html |archive-date=July 5, 2008|title=The Texas Chainsaw Massacre|last=Newman|first=Kim|author-link=Kim Newman|publisher=Film Reference|access-date=November 15, 2009}}</ref> Isabel Cristina Pinedo, author of ''Recreational Terror: Women and the Pleasures of Horror Film Viewing'', states, "The horror genre must keep terror and comedy in tension if it is to successfully tread the thin line that separates it from terrorism and parody&nbsp;... this delicate balance is struck in ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' in which the decaying corpse of Grandpa not only incorporates horrific and humorous effects, but actually uses one to exacerbate the other."<ref>{{cite book|last=Pinedo|first=Isabel Cristina|title=Recreational Terror: Women and the Pleasures of Horror Film Viewing|publisher=SUNY Press|year=1997|page=48|isbn=978-0-7914-3441-3}}</ref>

===Violence against women===
The underlying themes of the film have been the subject of extensive [[Misogyny in horror films|critical discussion]]; critics and scholars have interpreted it as a paradigmatic [[exploitation film]] in which female protagonists are subjected to brutal, sadistic violence.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wood|first=Robin|year=1985|page=19|title=An Introduction to the American Horror Film|journal=Movies and Methods |volume=2|url=http://www.neiu.edu/~circill/F1313.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609053420/http://www.neiu.edu/~circill/F1313.pdf |archive-date=June 9, 2011 |access-date=June 2, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Weaver|first=James B. III|date=Summer 1991|title=Are Slasher Horror Films Sexually Violent?|journal=Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media|volume=35|issue=3|pages=385–392|issn=1550-6878|doi=10.1080/08838159109364133}}</ref> Stephen Prince comments that the horror is "born of the torment of the young woman subjected to imprisonment and abuse amid decaying arms&nbsp;... and mobiles made of human bones and teeth."<ref>{{cite book|last=Prince|first=Stephen|title=The Horror Film|year=2004|publisher=[[Rutgers University Press]]|isbn=978-0-8135-3363-6|page=113|chapter=Postmodern Elements of the Contemporary Horror Film}}</ref> As with many slasher films, it incorporates the "[[final girl]]" trope—the heroine and inevitable lone survivor who somehow escapes the horror that befalls the other characters:<ref name="Grant82">{{cite book|last=Grant|first=Barry Keith |title=The Dread of Difference: Gender and the Horror Film|publisher=University of Texas Press|year=1996|edition=illustrated|page=82|isbn=978-0-292-72794-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Schmidt|first1=Leonard J.|last2=Warner|first2=Brooke|title=Panic: Origins, Insight, and Treatment: Issue 63|year=2002|publisher=North Atlantic Books|isbn=978-1-55643-396-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781556433962/page/224 224]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781556433962/page/224}}</ref> Sally Hardesty is wounded and tortured, yet manages to survive with the help of a male truck driver.<ref>{{cite book|last=Prince|first=Stephen|title=Screening Violence|publisher=[[Continuum International Publishing Group|Continuum]]|year=2000|edition=illustrated|page=146|isbn=978-0-485-30095-6}}</ref> Critics argue that even in exploitation films in which the ratio of male and female deaths is roughly equal, the images that linger will be of the violence committed against the female characters.<ref name="Grant82"/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Wells|first1=Alan|last2=Hakanen|first2=Ernest A.|title=Mass Media & Society|year=1997|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]]|isbn=978-1-56750-288-6|page=476}}</ref><ref>[[#Clover93|Clover 1993, p. 7]]</ref> The specific case of ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' provides support for this argument: three men are killed in quick fashion, but one woman is brutally slaughtered—hung on a meathook—and the surviving woman endures physical and mental torture.<ref name="Bogart00">{{cite book|last=Bogart|first=Leo |title=Commercial Culture: The Media System and the Public Interest |publisher=Transaction Publishers|year=2000|edition=2, illustrated|page=349|isbn=978-0-7658-0605-5}}</ref> In 1977, critic Mary Mackey described the meathook scene as probably the most brutal onscreen female death in any commercially distributed film.<ref name="JumpCut">{{cite journal|url=http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/onlinessays/JC14folder/MassacreWomen.html|title=Women and Violence in Film|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506224934/http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/onlinessays/JC14folder/MassacreWomen.html |archive-date=May 6, 2009|last=Mackey |first=Mary|year=1977|pages=12–14|issue=14|journal=Jump Cut|access-date=November 15, 2009}}</ref> She placed it in a lineage of violent films that depict women as weak and incapable of protecting themselves.<ref name="JumpCut"/>

In one study, a group of men were shown five films depicting differing levels of violence against women.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/j.1460-2466.1984.tb02180.x|last=Linz|first= Daniel|author2=Donnerstein, Edward |authorlink2=Edward Donnerstein|author3=Penrod, Steven |date= September 1984|title=The Effects of Multiple Exposures to Filmed Violence Against Women|journal=Journal of Communication|volume=34|issue=3 |pages=130–147|url=http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ308140&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ308140|url-access=subscription}}</ref> On first viewing ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' they experienced symptoms of depression and anxiety; however, upon subsequent viewing they found the violence against women less offensive and more enjoyable.<ref name="Bogart00"/> Another study, investigating gender-specific perceptions of slasher films, involved 30 male and 30 female university students.<ref name="Study">{{cite journal|last=Nolan|first=Justin M. |author2=Ryan, Gery W. |year=2000|title=Fear and Loathing at the Cineplex: Gender Differences in Descriptions and Perceptions of Slasher Films|journal=Sex Roles|volume=42|issue=1 & 2|page=39|issn=0360-0025|doi=10.1023/A:1007080110663|s2cid=142297913 }}</ref> One male participant described the screaming, especially Sally's, as the "most freaky thing" in the film.<ref name="Study"/>

According to Jesse Stommel of ''[[Bright Lights Film Journal]]'', the lack of explicit violence in the film forces viewers to question their own fascination with violence that they play a central role in imagining.<ref name="BrightLights">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/71/71horror_stommel.php |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5xiv2Zpwj?url=http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/71/71horror_stommel.php |archive-date=April 5, 2011 |title=Something That Festers |last=Stommel |first=Jesse |date=February 2011 |magazine=[[Bright Lights Film Journal]] |access-date=February 24, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Nonetheless—citing its feverish camera moves, repeated bursts of light, and auditory pandemonium—Stommel asserts that it involves the audience primarily on a sensory rather than an intellectual level.<ref name="BrightLights"/>

===Vegetarianism===
''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' has been described as "the ultimate pro-[[vegetarian]] film" due to its [[animal rights]] themes. In a video essay, film critic Rob Ager describes the irony in humans' being slaughtered for meat, putting humans in the position of being slaughtered like farm animals. Hooper has confirmed that "it's a film about meat"<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/07/30/texas_chain_saw_massacre_and_vegetarianism_animal_rights_themes_in_the_original.html|title=The Ultimate Pro-Vegetarian Film Is the Last Movie You'd Expect|magazine=Slate|first1=Forrest|last1=Wickman|date=July 30, 2013|access-date=June 28, 2018}}</ref> and even gave up meat while making the film, saying, "In a way I thought the heart of the film was about meat; it's about the chain of life and killing [[sentient beings]]."<ref>{{cite news|last=Wickman |first=Forrest |title=The Ultimate Pro-Vegetarian Film Is the Last Movie You'd Expect |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/07/30/texas_chain_saw_massacre_and_vegetarianism_animal_rights_themes_in_the_original.html |access-date=July 31, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130802094405/http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/07/30/texas_chain_saw_massacre_and_vegetarianism_animal_rights_themes_in_the_original.html |archive-date=August 2, 2013 |newspaper=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |date=July 30, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Waddell |first=Calum |title=Tobe Hooper Interview |url=http://www.bizarremag.com/film-and-music/interviews/10249/tobe_hooper.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130805022028/http://www.bizarremag.com/film-and-music/interviews/10249/tobe_hooper.html |archive-date=August 5, 2013 |access-date=July 31, 2013 |newspaper=[[Bizarre (magazine)|Bizarre]] |date=November 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Writer-director [[Guillermo del Toro]] became a vegetarian for a time after seeing the film.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XQVqyB-psI |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/8XQVqyB-psI| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Director Guillermo del Toro Became a Vegetarian Because of a Slasher Film - TMZ|publisher=YouTube|date=November 7, 2013|access-date=June 28, 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==Post-release {{anchor|DVD}} ==
[[File:Texas Chainsaw Hollywood Theater.png|thumb|right|''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' screening at the [[Hollywood Theatre (Portland, Oregon)|Hollywood Theatre]] in [[Portland, Oregon]], in July 2014.]]
''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' has appeared on various home video formats. In the US, it was first released on videotape and [[Capacitance Electronic Disc|CED]] in the early 1980s by [[Wizard Video]] and [[Vestron Video]].<ref>{{cite magazine|year=1982|title=Video Cassette: Top 25 Rentals|magazine=Billboard|volume=94|issue=7|page=48|issn=0006-2510}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=American film|author=American Film Institute; Arthur M. Sackler Foundation|publisher=[[American Film Institute]]|year=1983|volume=9|page=72}}</ref> The [[British Board of Film Classification]] had long since refused a certification for the uncut theatrical version and in 1984 they also refused to certify it for home video, amid a [[moral panic]] surrounding "[[video nasty|video nasties]]".<ref>{{cite book|last=Cherry|first=Bridget|title=Horror|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2009|edition=illustrated|page=90|isbn=978-0-415-45667-8}}</ref> After the retirement of BBFC Director [[James Ferman]] in 1999, the board passed the film uncut for theatrical and video distribution with an [[18 (British Board of Film Classification)|18 certificate]], almost 25 years after the original release.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bbfc.co.uk/website/Classified.nsf/0/D35CE290A629176B80256737002B7882?OpenDocument |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320100026/https://bbfc.co.uk/website/Classified.nsf/0/D35CE290A629176B80256737002B7882?OpenDocument |archive-date=March 20, 2012 |title=The Texas Chainsaw Massacre rated 18 by the BBFC |access-date=June 1, 2008 |publisher=[[British Board of Film Classification]] |year=1999 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' was released on [[LaserDisc]] in the United States in November 1993.<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=November 6, 1993|title=Letterbox Format's Popularity Widens|last=McGowan|first=Chris|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1993/BB-1993-11-06.pdf|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|page=73|access-date=February 4, 2024}}</ref> It was initially released on [[DVD]] in October 1998 in the United States,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dvd.ign.com/articles/737/737317p1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504184610/http://dvd.ign.com/articles/737/737317p1.html |archive-date=May 4, 2011 |title=Double Dip Digest: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre |first=Todd |last=Gilchrist |access-date=August 21, 2008 |website=[[IGN]] |date=October 5, 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref> May 2000 in the United Kingdom<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2001/10/02/txs_chainsaw_massacre_1974_dvd_review.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090102154031/http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2001/10/02/txs_chainsaw_massacre_1974_dvd_review.shtml |archive-date=January 2, 2009 |title=The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) |last=Coates |first=Tom |date=October 2, 2001 |publisher=[[BBC]] |access-date=August 20, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and 2001 in Australia.

In 2005 the film received a [[2K resolution|2K]] scan and full restoration from the original [[16mm film|16mm]] A/B rolls,<ref name="2006DVD">{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050205055410/http://www.fangoria.com/news_article.php?id=3508 |archive-date=February 5, 2005 |work=[[Fangoria]] |url=http://www.fangoria.com/news_article.php?id=3508 |title=RIP Paul Partain; new CHAINSAW & HENRY DVDs |date=March 2, 2005 |url-status=dead }}</ref> which was subsequently released on DVD and [[Blu-ray]]. In 2014, a more extensive [[4K resolution|4K]] restoration, supervised by Hooper, using the original 16mm A/B reversal rolls, was carried out.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3282090/full-details-4k-stills-for-restored-the-texas-chain-saw-massacre/|title=Full Details, 4K Stills for Restored 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'!|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170422035943/https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3282090/full-details-4k-stills-for-restored-the-texas-chain-saw-massacre/|first=Brad|last=Miska|archive-date=April 22, 2017|url-status=live|publisher=[[Bloody Disgusting]]|access-date=April 21, 2010}}</ref> After a screening in the [[Directors' Fortnight]] section of the [[2014 Cannes Film Festival]],<ref name="Cannes2014">{{cite web |url=http://www.screendaily.com/festivals/cannes/cannes-directors-fortnight-2014-lineup-unveiled/5070844.article |title=Cannes Directors' Fortnight 2014 lineup unveiled|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424163202/http://www.screendaily.com/festivals/cannes/cannes-directors-fortnight-2014-lineup-unveiled/5070844.article|archive-date=April 24, 2014|date=April 22, 2014|first=Melanie|last=Goodfewllow|access-date=April 28, 2014|work=[[Screen Daily]]}}</ref> this was also released on DVD and Blu-ray worldwide. [[Dark Sky Films]]' US 40th Anniversary Edition was nominated for Best DVD/BD Special Edition Release at the 2015 [[Saturn Award]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Academy of Science Fiction Fantasy and Horror Films |url=http://www.saturnawards.org |publisher=[[Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107012143/http://www.saturnawards.org/ |archive-date=November 7, 2015 |access-date=November 27, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2024, for the film's 50th anniversary, the film was released to [[Ultra HD Blu-ray]] and re-released to VHS in a collector's edition.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Squires |first=John |date=2024-09-17 |title='The Texas Chain Saw Massacre' 50th Anniversary 4K Collector's Set Includes the Original Classic on VHS! |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/home-video/3831455/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-50th-anniversary-4k-collectors-set-includes-the-original-classic-on-vhs/ |access-date=2024-09-17 |website=Bloody Disgusting! |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1982, shortly after ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' established itself as a success on US home video, Wizard Video released a mass-market video game adaptation for the [[Atari 2600]].<ref name="TCMGame">{{cite magazine|last=Shea|first=Tom|date=February 28, 1983|title=Horror films' themes reappear in video games|magazine=InfoWorld|publisher=InfoWorld Media Group|volume=5|issue=9|issn=0199-6649}}</ref> In the game, the player assumes the role of Leatherface and attempts to murder trespassers while avoiding obstacles such as fences and cow skulls.<ref name="TCMGame"/> As one of the first horror-themed video games, ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' caused controversy when it was first released due to its violent nature; it sold poorly as a result, because many game stores refused to stock it.<ref>{{cite book|last=Clark|first=Al|title=The Film Yearbook, 1984|year=1983|publisher=[[Random House]]|edition=illustrated|page=143|isbn=978-0-394-62488-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Montfort|first=Nick|author2=Bogost, Ian |title=Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System|publisher=MIT Press|year=2009|edition=illustrated|page=128|isbn=978-0-262-01257-7}}</ref>

The film has been followed by eight [[The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (franchise)|other films]] to date, including sequels, prequels and remakes. The first sequel, ''[[The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2]]'' (1986), was considerably more graphic and violent than the original and was banned in Australia for 20 years before it was released on DVD in a revised special edition in October 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.classification.gov.au/www/cob/find.nsf/d853f429dd038ae1ca25759b0003557c/5b64ebc56e443789ca25767100791b86?OpenDocument |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110405182222/http://www.classification.gov.au/www/cob/find.nsf/d853f429dd038ae1ca25759b0003557c/5b64ebc56e443789ca25767100791b86?OpenDocument |archive-date=April 5, 2011 |title=The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 – SE Film (DVD) |access-date=June 2, 2008 |publisher=[[Australian Classification Board]] |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''[[Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III]]'' (1990) was the second sequel to appear, though Hooper did not return to direct due to scheduling conflicts with another film, ''[[Spontaneous Combustion (film)|Spontaneous Combustion]]''.<ref>[[#Jaworzyn04|Jaworzyn 2004, p. 188]]</ref> ''[[Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation]]'', starring [[Renée Zellweger]] and [[Matthew McConaughey]], was released in 1995. While briefly acknowledging the events of the preceding two sequels, its plot makes it a virtual remake of the 1974 original.<ref>{{cite book|last=Maltin|first=Leonard|author-link=Leonard Maltin|title=Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide|publisher=Signet|year=2000|page=[https://archive.org/details/leonardmaltins200000malt/page/1400 1400]|isbn=978-0-451-20107-2|title-link=Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide}}</ref> A straight remake, ''[[The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003 film)|The Texas Chainsaw Massacre]]'', was released by [[Platinum Dunes]] and [[New Line Cinema]] in 2003.<ref name="PM">{{cite web|work=[[PopMatters]] |title=No Texas, No Chainsaw, No Massacre: The True Links in the Chain |first=J. C. III |last=Maçek |date=February 5, 2013 |access-date=February 9, 2013 |url=https://popmatters.com/pm/column/167248-no-texas-no-chainsaw-no-massacre-the-true-links-in-the-chain/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208051707/https://popmatters.com/pm/column/167248-no-texas-no-chainsaw-no-massacre-the-true-links-in-the-chain/ |archive-date=February 8, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It was followed by a prequel, ''[[The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning]]'', in 2006. A seventh film, ''[[Texas Chainsaw 3D]]'', was released on January 4, 2013.<ref name="PM"/> It is a direct sequel to the original 1974 film, with no relation to the previous sequels, or the 2003 remake.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.fangoria.com/index.php/home/all-news/1-latest-news/6651-date-shifts-for-qsinisterq-and-qtexas-chainsaw-massacre-3dq |title=Date shifts for Sinister and Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D |last=Zimmerman |first=Samuel |date=February 27, 2012 |magazine=[[Fangoria]] |access-date=March 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101174724/http://fangoria.com/index.php/home/all-news/1-latest-news/6651-date-shifts-for-qsinisterq-and-qtexas-chainsaw-massacre-3dq |archive-date=November 1, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://rottentomatoes.com/m/texas_chainsaw_3d/|title=Texas Chainsaw 3D|date=January 9, 2013|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=January 9, 2013}}</ref> Another prequel, ''[[Leatherface (2017 film)|Leatherface]]'', was released exclusively to [[DirecTV]] on September 21, 2017, before receiving a wider release on [[video on demand]] and in [[limited release|limited theaters]], simultaneously, in North America on October 20, 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/exclusives/3444651/official-leatherface-release-date-exclusive/|publisher=[[Bloody Disgusting]]|first=Brad|last=Miska|date=June 30, 2017|title=We Have the Official 'Leatherface' Release Date! (Exclusive)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171031214106/https://bloody-disgusting.com/exclusives/3444651/official-leatherface-release-date-exclusive/|archive-date=October 31, 2017|access-date=October 31, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> Another sequel, ''[[Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022 film)|Texas Chainsaw Massacre]]'', was released exclusively on [[Netflix]] on February 18, 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/feb/18/texas-chainsaw-massacre-review-its-leatherface-vs-gentrifiers-in-nasty-sequel|title=Texas Chainsaw Massacre review – it's Leatherface vs gentrifiers in nasty sequel|website=The Guardian|last=Lee|first=Benjamin|date=February 18, 2022|access-date=February 18, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/netflix-texas-chainsaw-massacre-1235095495/|title=Netflix's 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre': Film Review|website=Hollywood Reporter|last=Scheck|first=Frank|date=February 18, 2022|access-date=February 18, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/leatherface-netflix-melody-texas-harlow-b2018244.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220620/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/leatherface-netflix-melody-texas-harlow-b2018244.html |archive-date=June 20, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Review: From hippies to hipsters, 'Texas Chainsaw' is back|website=The Independent|date=February 18, 2022|access-date=February 18, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a39091819/texas-chainsaw-massacre-review-netflix/|title=Texas Chainsaw Massacre review: Is Netflix's horror sequel any good?|website=Digital Spy|last=Sandwell|first=Ian|date=February 18, 2022|access-date=February 18, 2022}}</ref>

===Adaptations===
In 2023, both a tabletop game and a pinball machine based on the film were released.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Romanchick |first=Shane |date=2023-07-07 |title=Funko's 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' Tabletop Game Offers Bloody Family Fun |url=https://collider.com/texas-chainsaw-massacre-tabletop-game-image/ |access-date=2024-12-02 |website=Collider |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=DeVore |first=Britta |date=2023-12-09 |title=Leatherface's Reign of Terror Continues With 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre' Pinball Game |url=https://collider.com/texas-chain-saw-massacre-pinball-game-trailer/ |access-date=2024-12-02 |website=Collider |language=en}}</ref> In 2025, a haunted house attraction called [[Universal Horror Unleashed]] features characters from the film.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/universal-horror-unleashed-las-vegas-haunted-houses-1236050104/ |title=Universal Plans Year-Round Haunted Houses Based on 'Exorcist' and 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |first=Alex |last=Weprin |date=October 31, 2024 |access-date=November 4, 2024}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Cannibalism in popular culture]]
* [[List of American films of 1974]]
* [[List of cult films]]
* [[List of films voted the best]]
* [[List of films featuring psychopaths and sociopaths]]

==Notes==
<references group=note/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book |last1=Allon |first1=Yoram |last2=Patterson |first2=Hannah |title=Contemporary North American Film Directors: A Wallflower Critical Guide |year=2002 |publisher=Wallflower Press |isbn=978-1-903364-52-9 |ref=Allon02 |url=https://archive.org/details/contemporarynort00yora }}
* {{cite news|last=Bloom |first=John |title=They Came. They Sawed. |url=http://www.texasmonthly.com/2004-11-01/feature6.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708202138/http://www.texasmonthly.com/2004-11-01/feature6.php |archive-date=July 8, 2011 |newspaper=[[Texas Monthly]] |date=November 2004 |volume=32 |ref=Bloom04 |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite magazine |last=Bowen |first=John W. |date=November 2004 |title=Return of the Power Tool Killer |magazine=[[Rue Morgue (magazine)|Rue Morgue]] |issue=42 |pages=16–22 |publisher=Marrs Media |issn=1481-1103 |ref=Bowen04}}
* {{cite book |last1=Chibnall |first1=Steve |last2=Petley |first2=Julian |title=British Horror Cinema |publisher=Routledge |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-415-23004-9 |ref=Chibnall02}}
* {{cite book |last=Clover |first=Carol J. |author-link=Carol J. Clover |title=Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film |year=1993 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-00620-8 |ref=Clover93|title-link=Men, Women, and Chainsaws }}
* {{cite book |last=Cook |first=David A. |title=Lost Illusions: American Cinema in the Shadow of Watergate and Vietnam, 1970–1979 |year=2000 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-23265-5 |ref=Cook00}}
* {{cite book |last=Freeland |first=Cynthia A. |author-link1=Cynthia Freeland |title=The Naked and the Undead: Evil and the Appeal of Horror |publisher=Westview Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-8133-6563-3 |ref=Freeland02}}
* {{cite book |last=Haines |first=Richard W. |title=The Moviegoing Experience, 1968–2001 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-7864-1361-4 |ref=Haines03}}
* {{cite book |last=Hansen |first=Gunnar |title=Chain Saw Confidential: How We Made the World's Most Notorious Horror Movie|publisher=[[Chronicle Books]] |year=2013 |isbn=978-1452114491 |title-link=Chain Saw Confidential |ref=Hansen13 }}
* {{cite book |title=The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Companion |last=Jaworzyn |first=Stefan |year=2004 |publisher=Titan Books |isbn=978-1-84023-660-6 |ref=Jaworzyn04}}
* {{cite book |last=Macor |first=Alison |title=Chainsaws, Slackers, and Spy Kids: Thirty Years of Filmmaking in Austin, Texas |year=2010 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0-292-72243-9 |ref=Macor10}}
* {{cite journal |last=Merritt |first=Naomi |year=2010 |title=Cannibalistic Capitalism and other American Delicacies: A Bataillean Taste of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre |journal=Film-Philosophy |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=202–231 |issn=1466-4615 |url=http://www.film-philosophy.com/index.php/f-p/article/view/190 |ref=Merritt10|doi=10.3366/film.2010.0007 |doi-access=free }}
* {{cite book |title=Eaten Alive at a Chainsaw Massacre: The Films of Tobe Hooper |last=Muir |first=John Kenneth |year=2002 |publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn=978-0-7864-1282-2 |ref=Muir02}}
* {{cite book |last=Rockoff |first=Adam |title=Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, 1978–1986 |publisher=McFarland & Company |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-7864-1227-3 |ref=Rockoff02}}
* {{cite book |last=Sharrett |first=Christopher |editor1-last=Grant |editor1-first=Barry Keith |editor2-last=Sharrett |editor2-first=Christopher |title=Planks of Reason: Essays on the Horror Film |chapter=The Idea of Apocalypse in ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-8108-5013-2 |ref=Sharrett04}}
* {{cite book |last=Worland |first=Rick |title=The Horror Film: An Introduction |publisher=Blackwell |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-4051-3902-1 |ref=Worland06}}
* {{cite book |title=Recycled Culture in Contemporary Art and Film: The Uses of Nostalgia |first=Vera |last=Dika |year=2003 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=United Kingdom |isbn=978-0-521-01631-5 |ref=Dika03}}
* {{cite journal |last=Donaldson |first=Lucy Fife |year=2010 |title=Access and Excess in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre |journal=Movie: A Journal of Film Criticism |issue=1 |url=http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/film/movie/contents/the_texas_chain_saw_massacre.pdf |ref=Donaldson10}}
* {{cite book |last=Greenberg |first=Harvey Roy |title=Screen Memories: Hollywood Cinema on the Psychoanalytic Couch |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-231-07287-8 |ref=Greenberg94}}
* {{cite book |title=The Texas Chainsaw Massacre |last=Hand |first=Stephen |year=2004 |publisher=Games Workshop |isbn=978-1-84416-060-0}}
* {{cite book |title=Projected Fears: Horror Films and American Culture |last=Phillips |first=Kendall R. |year=2005 |publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]] |chapter=''The Exorcist'' (1973) and ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' (1974) |isbn=978-0-275-98353-6 |ref=Phillips05 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/projectedfearsho0000phil }}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite journal |last=Williams |first=Tony |date=December 1977 |title=American Cinema in the '70s: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre |journal=Movie |issue=25 |pages=12–16}}
* {{cite book |last=Lanza |first=Joseph |title=The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Film That Terrified a Rattled Nation. |date=May 21, 2019 |publisher=Skyhorse |isbn=9781510737907}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==


* {{Official website|https://thetexaschainsawmassacre.com/}}
*{{AFI film}}
*{{Mojo title}}
*{{IMDb title}}
*{{Metacritic film}}
*{{Rotten Tomatoes}}
*{{TCMDb title}}
* [http://www.texaschainsawmassacre.net/ ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'': A Visit to the Film Locations]

{{The Texas Chainsaw Massacre}}
{{Tobe Hooper}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The}}
[[Category:1974 American films]]
[[Category:1974 English-language films]]
[[Category:1970s exploitation films]]
[[Category:1970s serial killer films]]
[[Category:1970s slasher films]]
[[Category:1974 horror films]]
[[Category:1974 independent films]]
[[Category:1974 films]]
[[Category:American exploitation films]]
[[Category:American independent films]]
[[Category:American serial killer films]]
[[Category:American slasher films]]
[[Category:American teen horror films]]
[[Category:Censored films]]
[[Category:Cross-dressing in American films]]
[[Category:English-language horror films]]
[[Category:English-language independent films]]
[[Category:English-language crime films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Tobe Hooper]]
[[Category:Films about animal rights]]
[[Category:Films about cannibalism]]
[[Category:Films about disability in the United States]]
[[Category:Films about grave-robbing]]
[[Category:Films about families]]
[[Category:Films about psychopaths and sociopaths]]
[[Category:Films about self-harm]]
[[Category:Films about violence against women]]
[[Category:Films set in 1973]]
[[Category:Films set in abandoned houses]]
[[Category:Films set in Texas]]
[[Category:Films shot in Texas]]
[[Category:Films shot in Austin, Texas]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Kim Henkel]]
[[Category:Films à clef]]
[[Category:Films originally rejected by the British Board of Film Classification]]
[[Category:Films shot in 16 mm film]]
[[Category:Obscenity controversies in film]]
[[Category:Rating controversies in film]]
[[Category:Southern Gothic films]]
[[Category:The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (franchise) films]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry films]]
[[Category:Video nasties]]
[[Category:Films distributed by Elite Entertainment]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=The Texas Chain Saw Massacre|access_date=2026-02-23}}