The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

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 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 ($900,000 adjusted for inflation) and used a cast of relatively unknown actors drawn mainly from central Texas, where the film was shot.

The limited budget forced Hooper to film for long hours seven days a week, so that he could finish as quickly as possible and reduce equipment rental costs. 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 rating, but the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) rated it 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 gained a reputation as one of the best and most influential horror films.

It is credited with originating several elements common in the slasher genre, including the use of power tools as murder weapons, the characterization of the killer as a large, hulking, masked figure, and the killing of victims.

It led to a franchise that continued the story of Leatherface and his family through sequels, prequels, a remake, comic books, and video games.

The robber ties a rotting corpse and other body parts onto a monument, creating a grisly display which is discovered by a local resident as the sun rises.

Driving in a van, five young people take a road trip through the area: Sally Hardesty, Jerry, Pam, Kirk, and Sally’s handicapped brother Franklin. They stop at the cemetery to check on the grave of Sally and Franklin’s grandfather, which appears undisturbed.

As the group drive past a slaughterhouse, Franklin recounts the Hardesty family’s history with animal slaughter. They pick up a hitchhiker who says that his own family also has experience with animal slaughter.

When the group refuse to pay the hitchhiker for a photograph, he attacks Franklin and smears a bloody symbol on the side of the van as he is ejected. Low on gas, the van stops at a station whose proprietor says that no fuel is available. The group explore a nearby abandoned house, owned by the Hardesty family.

Kirk and Pam leave the others behind, planning to go swimming. They discover another nearby house, running gas-powered generators. Hoping to barter for gas, Kirk enters the house.

A large man wearing a mask made of skin attacks Kirk with a hammer, killing him. When Pam enters the house, she finds its living room strewn with human and animal bones.

The man grabs her, impales her on a meat hook, and starts up a gas-powered chainsaw to dismember Kirk’s body 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. The masked man kills Jerry with a hammer.

At night, Sally and Franklin start towards the other house. 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.

The masked man chases Sally back to the gas station and vanishes. The station’s proprietor comforts Sally for a moment, 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, 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 faints.

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’s grip is weak, and he drops the hammer repeatedly.

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, injuring him, and escapes on foot.

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 giddily. Leatherface flails his chainsaw in frustration as the sun rises.