The History, Context, and Influence of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Film that Rattled a Nation by Joseph Lanza

Kim Henkel and Tobe Hooper filming The Texas Chainsaw Massacre CC BY 4.0  via Wikimedia Commons

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre at the Hollywood Cinema by Scottdoesntknow, CC BY-SA 4.0  via Wikimedia Commons

The house in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre by G Yancy, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Joseph Lanza’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Film that Rattled a Nation is a great book that not only provides background information about the creation of one of the most terrifying horror movies of all time, but it also contextualizes the film in the turbulent 1970s and analyzes its influence on subsequent horror films. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is one of the most exhilarating film experiences I’ve ever witnessed. Despite wanting to see it as a horror obsessed kid, I didn’t get around to watching it until college, and I could believe what I was seeing. I just remember feeling so claustrophobic with all of the close-ups and tight shots once we enter the family’s house. I don’t think I had experienced a reaction to a film like that until watching Texas Chain Saw Massacre. I loved learning more about Tobe Hooper and the crew who helped bring this film to life. It is also important to consider all of the influences that resulted in this film, starting with the late 60s including the daily violence of the Vietnam War prominently displayed on the news, the Manson Family’s crime and murder spree in LA in 1969, as well as the growing distrust of the Nixon administration and the fallout from Watergate, which would happen after the film was released. Beyond that, the book delves into other influences like Ed Gein and Hooper’s other films prior to this at University of Texas, Austin. Lanza interviews other actors and crew from the film, sharing their experiences working on the set, which apparently was really difficult in the Texas summer heat. I’m not sure whether the lack of masks and costumes for Leather Face was a budgeting issue or more of a way to help the cast get into character; it seems like Hooper also used raw, rotting meat in the dinner table scene to evoke a sense of disgust and dread, which can be scene on film, but was also experienced by the cast. Lanza’s strength also lies in his analysis of this film’s place in cinema’s history. Although somewhat notorious, the film actually doesn’t show any blood, with much of the violence implied. I always found the closeups and the dinner scene to be more disturbing than watching actual violence on screen. Lanza goes on to investigate how this film helped shape the subsequent years of horror and possibly even help birth the popularity of the slasher films. Although many of the sequels and remakes (with the exception of Part II) haven’t quite lived up to the original, Lanza helps to situation the film’s eventual popularity, influence, and status among horror films and cinema in general. This was a great book that provided a great deal of research and analysis about an influential and notorious movie that helped to shape the subsequent decades of horror.