Save your money for something good and enjoyable

good back-story, and good acting

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. One of the most iconic titles to a film, in any genre nevermind Horror.The films false documentary introduction is brilliant and has long fueled the urban myth that this all actually happened. As a child I remember thinking it really happened, before I'd ever seen the film I knew the title, I knew the 'real events' mystique surrounding it. Such a simple thing has lead to so much heresay. Firstly I have to say this film has some of the most amazing cinematography I've seen. It's a cheaply made Horror film from the early 1970s. It had no real right to be so well shot, but here we are. Some of the shots are just amazing. Tobe Hooper and cinematographer Daniel Pearl did one hell of a job with this film. The camerawork is unbelievable. The visuals are brilliant from the use of color, to the bright sunlight. Yes a Horror film which makes use of the summer sun, a sight to behold. The 16mm film stock captures a cheap and very real feeling film. This is no glamorous Hollywood production. You can feel the sweaty, humid heat through the screen. You can practically smell the stench. This really adds to the gruesome events taking place.The soundtrack was improvised. It's no piece of classical music. It's just pure harrowing sounds and it works oh so well. These sounds are now iconic. I can't imagine this film without them. The use of sound in this film outside of the soundtrack is brilliant, the sound of the chainsaw being one such example. The film is a real tour-de-force in both visual and audio horror.The acting performances are all too real. Sally, her brother Franklin and their friends all feel like a real group of individuals. Not actors portraying people, but just every day people. This works to the films strength. Combined with the visuals you get such a grounded true to life experience. More on Sally, whom was portrayed by Marilyn Burns. Marilyn gives one of the best acting performances in a Horror film I've seen. She portrays the ordeal that Sally goes through impeccably. Horror films often feature Women screaming, you're unlikely to encounter a better screamer in all of Horror than Marilyn Burns and for that I have to say she truly is the 'Scream Queen' (a title bestowed upon leading Horror actresses). Never has a title been more fitting.The villains in this piece are some of the most whacky and insane you'll ever encounter, the performances from the actors are brilliant. The film also contains undertones and messages about the horrors of the meat industry and slaughterhouses. Quite simply a must watch for every Horror fan. For me personally, it's a perfect Horror film and I'd go as far to say that this is the best Horror film I've seen.

Two siblings and three of their friends en route to visit their grandfather's grave in Texas end up falling victim to a family of cannibalistic psychopaths. Despite some problems in terms of story and especially acting 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre' is a well directed and especially creepy and quite disturbing at times horror film that despite it's flaws it overcomes them for sure and we get a pretty entertaining but also quite scary flick. One of the best scenes in the film was definitely how Leatherface killed one of the victim's with a sledgehammer it was creepy. (7/10)

This is a great horror movie. Very unsettling scenes, i would have given it a 9 but the acting is a bit dodgy. Definetly one of the best classic horror films around.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre — somehow only Tobe Hooper's second feature film ever — is as notorious as it is brilliant. It has been highly influential on a number of other filmmakers — Wes Craven counts it as one of his five favorite movies, Ridley Scott called it one of "only a few really, really great movies", Rob Zombie has sung its praises many times. There's really no other way to say it — it's legendary, and for good reason.It's just one of those movies that could never be truly duplicated — it's a stunning combination of the talent and inspiration of Hooper, the setting, the 1970s aesthetic and film quality, and, in many ways, the circumstances, more bad than good. The iconic dinner table scene, for example, was shot in a marathon 26-hour session, which led to the actors truly — physically and mentally — being on the verge of breaking down.The plot is surprisingly simple. Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) is traveling with her paraplegic brother, Franklin (Paul A. Partain), and three friends, Jerry (Allen Danziger), Kirk (William Vail), and Pam (Teri McMinn), to visit the gravesite of her grandfather to make sure it hasn't been defaced in a recent spate of grave robbings. SPOILERS!It's as politically and socially relevant now as it was in the 70s. Hooper talks about being influenced by how he felt about the world around him -- it was made in the wake of the Vietnam War, amid the investigation surrounding the Kent State shooting, at the height of the Watergate scandal. The opening text claiming that it was based on a true story (it wasn't) wasn't just done as a marketing ploy — Hooper thought of it as a response to "being lied to by the government". The raw, gritty style of the film really makes you believe at times that you're watching IS real. It's visceral. It's unpolished in the best way. You can feel the searing heat, the sharp twigs scratching your face as you run, gasping, through the woods, the chicken feathers brushing against your skin as you lay, horrified and confused, in a room full of animal flesh and dry bones. Leatherface is absolutely terrifying, if for no better reason than he is not some kind of supernatural beast — he's a man. He's strong and powerful and capable of chasing you endlessly while squealing like a stuck pig and wielding a heavy power tool… but he's human. It's filthy and gruesome but, surprisingly, there's a shocking lack of gore. The real fear comes from what is implied, and from the relentless mental torture. This was done intentionally by Hooper, and not for the reasons you might think — he kept the amount of blood down in hopes of getting a PG rating so it could reach a wider audience. But it's one of the reasons this movie stands out so much in my mind — it scares the hell out of you on a much deeper, much less knee-jerk level. On top of that, it has some incredibly well thought out and downright beautiful shots. The colors and contrast are vibrant. The cinematography is powerful. The shot of the open gas station door while Sally waits; Leatherface dancing, almost childlike, in the golden light of the setting sun after Sally escapes; the camera panning low while the house, stark against a stunning blue sky, looms over Pam; Leatherface's first kill, punctuated by the slamming of the sliding metal door; the van initially pulling up to the derelict homestead; even the closeup shots of Sally's bloodshot eyes as she desperately scans the room during the infamous dinner scene, unable to believe what she's seeing. All fantastic.Speaking of the dinner scene, the whole thing is just unreal. Again, there's no need for blood or gore — the psychological torment is palpable, both between the brothers' own family drama and their utter disregard for Sally's life (not to mention Grandpa, for which there is no explanation whatsoever). I can't think of another actress who has so convincingly and chillingly screamed in terror, and you get the sense that every single person at that table is going insane, both in the film and in real life. It is madness.Oh, and a special shoutout for the music, which manages to be disturbing in a way that gets under your skin thanks to an almost industrial sounding, discordant array of clanging and chiming. It's perfect.