The Case for Texas Chainsaw Massacre

On the previous Halloween blog, I claimed Silence of the Lambs as the best horror movie of all time. Since then, I've watched, again, the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Here is the case for TCM being the best horror movie ever.

1. It starts creepy, stays creepy, ends creepy. From the start, with flashbulb shots of decomposing body parts, high strings and clashing cymbols soundtrack and shot of the sun as an object of forboding instead of comfort, TCM creates an atmosphere of creepyness and uncomfortableness that grabs you and doesn't let go. The disturbing images, music and, of course, plot, continue throughout. And we end with the classic shot of Leatherface dancing in the street waving his chainsaw around and the girl's eyes that glimmer with insanity.

2. It's scary, but mostly disturbing. There are moments in TCM that make you jump and scream and grab on to the person next to you. But, most of all, you can't get it out of your head. It disturbs you, disrupts your sleep, ruins road trips. Case in point: yes, the first time Leatherface jumps into frame, hits the guy over the head, drags him back and that great stainless steal door slides shut, you jump and scream in fright. But, the image of mostly-dead Grandpa sucking the cut finger of the protaginist, the couch made of bones or even the watch with a nail through hanging from the tree get stuck in your head and don't come out.

3. The filmmaker, Tobe Hooper, trusts in the capacity of the audience's imagination. You see the hook, you see Leatherface pick the girl up, but you don't see the hook go in. You see the chainsaw move toward the gut of the person, but you don't see the cuts being made. You don't need to; your imagination will come up with something worse than the director could show you. (Hostel, Saw, I'm looking at you!)

4. The girl gets away. She is not saved by anyone, she doesn't save anyone herself (like Jessica Biel saving the baby in the remake), she just gets away. Sure, she's completely driven insane by her experience. But, sometimes that's all we can ask , just to get away with our lives. And there's no stupid set up for a sequal, just a girl in a truck and a maniac dancing in the street with a chainsaw.

Thus, with its reliance on the deep dark disturbing recesses of our own imaginations and its creepy-crawly mood, from images to camera work to music, Texas Chainsaw Massacre could be the best horror movie ever!

Pleasant Dreams, B