:
Marilyn Burns,
Marilyn Burns,
Allen Danziger,
more...
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Tobe Hooper,
Tobe Hooper
see all cast/crew...
: 
: Geneon
: Horror, Slashers, Cannibals
: 84 min.
see additional details...
This title is currently out of print.
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Tobe Hooper's influential cult classic continues the subgenre of horror films based on the life and "career" of Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein, which began with Alfred Hitchcock's own influential cult classic Psycho. When Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) hears that the Texas cemetery where her grandfather is buried has been vandalized, she gathers her wheelchair-bound brother Franklin (Paul A. Partain) and several other friends together to see if grandpa's remains are still in one piece. While in the area, Sally and her friends decide to visit grandfather's old farmhouse. Unfortunately, a family of homicidal slaughterhouse workers who take their job home with them have taken over the house next door. Included amongst the brood is Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen), a chainsaw-wielding human horror show who wears a face mask made out of human skin. Sally's friends are rapidly exterminated one-by-one by the next-door neighbors, leaving only Sally left to fight off Leatherface and his clan. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
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| Actually scary
by AShields
January 16, 2004 - 2:33 PM PST
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9 out of 9 members found this review helpful
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Since I've been raised on modern shock films and am highly de-sensitized to violence (blame TV, rap music, whatever, I just am), I wasn't expecting much from this film. A so-called "classic" of the horror genre? Get real. Movies have gotten scarier since the early 70s just as the effects have gotten better. Right?
I was pleasantly surprised to find that this film used it's low budget to great effect. The effects are used sparingly, don't come across as cheap and certainly don't detract from the believability of the film. Shot in what I would consider an early documentary-style, it really lulls you in just like the original "Exorcist" did. Of course you're always expecting something gruesome to happen (how can you not expect it with a title that includes the word 'massacre'?) but you end up not being ready for it. There's no big crash of music, no long drawn out struggle, and no multi-gallon blood-bath. It's much more powerful that way.
Of course the acting is sub-par to say the least and the story doesn't tax your brain. However, the film does leave you with that uneasy feeling common to what the best of what the horror genre has to offer. Recommended to anyone looking to round out their film knowledge. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 7.16)
753 Votes
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