Fear the buzz (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (DVD))

Name: stephen_logan

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Product:	The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (DVD)
Date:	30/01/02 (83 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superb film, Horrific, Extremely well made

Disadvantages: too vile for some

The Texas chainsaw massacre is a hugely underrated film; it has a style and charisma that many horror films fall short of. The film is a very standard horror film in that it begins with a horrific visual, continues to do all the usual in depth characterisations and then goes on to do as the title implies. The film isn’t a high blown Hollywood blockbuster; it has more of an affinity with the more independent style of direction. Chainsaw massacre doesn’t have any big stars in it, and was directed by a relative unknown, but what these people managed to create will go down in infamy.

Texas chainsaw massacre is a cult film; people are drawn in to viewing it either because of its rather graphic title, or in recognition to its history. The film is thoroughly unapproachable, to get into the story is one of its many challenges. The characters are unlikeable and have no basis for an audience to relate to. This rich blend of non-standard Hollywood production, serves to extenuate the production as a cult piece. This is what I would class as a pure film, there aren’t any morals, there are no hidden meanings and political correctness is ignored; what you see is what you get.

In appearance the film resembles a student production, with seemingly poor standard of film production and quality. But the beauty of this film is when you finally remove these film prejudices and watch and become involved in the narrative, you are far more likely to appreciate the film. I have never once heard someone say that this film is alright, people either love it or they hate it, when a production like this is created no middle ground for taste is accounted for, it is all or nothing.

The plot
As you can probably imagine from the rather flagrant title, taste and decency really do not figure too highly throughout the plot. The story is centred around a group of teenagers who venture up country to visit their grandparent’s old ranch. Dist
urbing and distasteful occurrings befall them prior to their arrival to the old place, including a neurotic psychotic hitchhiker and a vile desiccation of a graveyard. Ignoring the warnings of a local petrol station attendant they carry on to their target.

On their arrival being promiscuous and adventurous teenagers they venture off looking for things to do in their own little groups. Eventually a young couple come across an old house, with some very disturbing secrets. It would be unfair to ruin the entire plot for potential viewers so at this point I will do a brief summary over the other key features. The house itself contains a deranged family including a chainsaw wielding maniac who wears a mask of his victims skin. One by one the group encounters this vile hub of evil with varying outcomes. The main question is not does anyone die, but instead will anybody survive!?

That was of course a very brief outline of the overall plot; further details would not aid but ruin any enjoyment that you may extract from this film. My guarantee though is that you will on watching this film go through a mixture of emotions, which will prominently feature fear and disgust.

Acting
The acting by the teenagers is exaggerated but for the genre it is thoroughly acceptable and realistic. They convey their emotions extremely well, which really adds to the realism and entrapment of the film. The best feature of the performance is the ease at which the audience can probably relate to the characters peril; this is probably most aptly explained by the frantic screaming of one of the potential victims whilst being chased through a forest by a chainsaw wielding maniac, wearing the flesh of previous victims for a mask, that is possibly a situation in which I would mimic, but with more bodily fluids flowing perhaps. Overall I think the teenagers do a sublime job at portraying the slide from a happy normal day out into a hellish fatal experince.

>However the genius lies in the fear inducing performances of the insane butchers and cannibals. ‘Leatherface’ is perhaps the most famous of the characters, as he is the chainsaw wielding masked foe. However he is actually seen somewhat as a victim in an ironic twist, as he is provoked and forced to conform to his fathers words. Leatherface’s father and brother are the real insane characters who mastermind the horrific deeds. These characters portray Tobe Hooper’s original plan, into a living breathing evil manifestation, truly an act of twisted genius.

Direction
Tobe Hooper’s direction is of an extremely high standard, when considering the shoestring budget and low-grade equipment at his disposal. The aim of the film is to bestow an unimaginable level of fear into the psyche of the audience, from personal experience I can vouch for the success of the film from this aspect. His portrayal of fear and its routes is exceptional, he captures the images so well, with a range of distance images moving into close ups and detailed views, the audience is placed in a near reality position, where all manor of emotions are given to them on a platter. This film is a misrepresented piece of mastery and skill; it redefines how directors can manipulate an audience in this genre.

There is very little from a negative angle that can be said about this film, I have got the DVD and it takes an enormous amount of strain to find the courage to view it. Once on though there is no turning back, the fixation begins and 80 minutes of fear is guaranteed. Because of the graphic and to many, the distasteful aspect of Texas Chainsaw massacre, the film has often courted controversy and has faced numerous bans. The opportunity is available now to view this film, and so when you are trying to think of a horror to watch or even just a high quality movie masterpiece to rent or buy, I cannot recommend this film highly enough.

The
title of the film is renowned throughout the world and has a stigma attached to it, with ridiculous claims of immoral behaviour and distasteful overtones. This stigma is often transcribed to people who admit to liking the film, the trouble is though that liking a media text can often lead a person to be subject of disgust and distain. This is unashamedly one of my top 5 films of all time; in fact I would say it is only beaten by Clockwork Orange and Apocalypse Now in production and narrative, a testament to the films undoubted quality.

The best way to approach a film such as this is with a completely open mind, but in the knowledge that you will incur a fear that no other film has been able to portray. This is a ground breaking piece of film after all, slasher’s from the horror genre were always unbelievable and were easy to separate reality from fiction, but chainsaw massacre and its packaging doesn’t allow you as an audience member any of these comforts. If you are of a nervous disposition and not an avid lover of the horror genre then I suggest you should perhaps look for something else, but if you are accustomed to the genre and looking for something with a bit more edge then this is the film for you.

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