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HORROR UNDER THE SUN
Celebrating Five Decades of an All-Time Classic
BILL WOOD | OCTOBER 30, 2024
Is it possible to watch a movie and then watch it again nearly four decades later…. for the very first time?!?
I’m not sure myself, but that is definitely the vibe I came away with during a recent viewing of the 1974 classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. As a horror-obsessed teen, I lumped TCM in with Bloodsucking Freaks, Basket Case and any number of blood-soaked VHS cassettes rented from the local video store. It was good for an hour or so of squeamish cheap thrills and that's about it. As such, I cast the movie aside and eventually forgot about it. But as an adult with different sensibilities and a newfound appreciation for cinema as an art form, I have to admit I’m blown away.
WARNING: 50-YEAR-OLD SPOILERS AHEAD!
I won’t dive too deep into the history of TCM as that story has been told numerous times over on countless websites. Safe to say it’s a landmark film for a number of reasons and has been celebrated by fans and critics many times over since its original release. It’s a very special movie, what I failed to see in my younger years was just how special it is.
For starters, TCM is a brilliant achievement in filmmaking; the direction, cinematography and acting are all top-notch. Director Tobe Hooper was not afraid to take chances. Unlike the majority of horror movies which use the cover of darkness to provoke inherent feelings of tension and fear, TCM bares many of its horrors underneath a blazing Texas sun. The stifling heat and humidity is relayed by the travelers’ complaints as well as the radio broadcasts that occasionally trickle in and provide additional narrative. The effect is that the viewer is removed from common horror trappings and placed into unfamiliar and uncomfortable territory.
The sun actually plays a vital role in TCM. The intro features a series of sunspots overexposed to resemble blood splatter. The camera occasionally focuses directly on the sun, using exposure and filtering techniques to make it appear otherworldly. There are even instances where the sun is used to frame sequences within the film. For example, a frenzied chainsaw attack cutting to a subdued shot of a windmill filtering sunlight (a patented Kurosawa technique), which mimics the mechanical and repetitive nature of the power tool. This reinforces the fact that despite the welcome change of scenery, the horror isn’t about to let up.
I’m particularly fascinated with the character of Franklin, the wheelchair-bound traveler who straddles the line between the naivety of his friends and the unhinged nature of the killers in their midst. At his core he is an underdeveloped man-child, mirroring his cinematic counterpart, the menacing Leatherface. He’s one of the film’s “good guys” (or unfortunate victims depending on how you view them), but he also shares several traits in common with the bad guys. He wields a knife, he has a working knowledge of the meat industry and a fascination with the hitch-hiker’s motifs and tendencies, which includes self-mutilation. Franklin's friend calls him a maniac and says he’s “crazier than (the hitch-hiker).”
Despite this (or perhaps because of it), I found myself rooting for Franklin more than any other protagonist. He’s focused on morbid curiosities, just as we are when we partake in a horror movie. Bound to his chair, he is rendered a helpless spectator, just as we are when we partake in a horror movie. Perhaps because of physical condition (or is it his sour disposition?), he’s the only one of his friends who doesn’t bring a date on this fateful trip, the only traveler with time alone to contemplate his situation. Taking all of this into consideration, my question is; is Franklin actually the moviegoer placed directly into the film? It would certainly seem so.
And then there’s the father/cook character, portrayed to perfection by Jim Siedow. Like a backwoods Jekyll and Hyde, he casually drifts between empathy and apathy, compassion and violence. He seems conflicted about the nightmarish incidents taking place around him, scolding his sons (it’s presumed they are his sons, this is never clearly stated) for their cruelty while sympathizing with a helpless victim. Then he’ll fade into the background and break into a mischievous giggle; despite his protests, he’s clearly enjoying the morbid spectacle. Leatherface may reap all of the accolades, but as far as horror villains are concerned, Siedow's cook is every bit as terrifying.
Much has been made of TCM’s gore factor, or more accurately the lack of it. I believe this is another area where the movie truly shines. Make no mistake, it’s a brutally violent film, especially considering the era in which it was filmed. But instead of displaying every bash and slice in graphic detail, Hooper employs well-timed jump cuts while keeping most of the gruesome activity just out of camera view. The result is that you’re left to fill in gaps with your imagination, which is more memorable than having everything laid bare, for me anyway.
Symbolism is a key factor in many sci-fi and horror movies, the commentary on Cold War-era Communism and/or McCarthy-ism in the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) being a prime example. TCM hits on several levels, the most obvious being a biting (no pun intended!) critique of the meat industry. Franklin inadvertently predicts the forthcoming horrors by sharing his knowledge of slaughterhouses. The movie’s human victims are subsequently mistreated, abused, and yes, devoured like cattle… or at least as they were 50 years ago. Of course you can chalk this up to good-old-fashioned foreshadowing, but it does seem as though there’s a deeper message at play here.
In addition to the absence of onscreen gore, TCM features no sex or nudity and virtually no swearing, which likely contributes to the widely-circulated rumor that Hooper was aiming for a PG rating. I’ve read conflicting reports as to whether this is actually true, but it does seem absurd to expect a PG rating from a movie full of torture, murder, and cannibalism.
If you’re an old-school fan of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, then I probably haven’t mentioned anything that you don’t know already. But if you haven’t watched the movie for some time, it’s worth revisiting to see just how well it has aged. I currently rate it at #2 on my personal list of all-time horror faves, with Nosferatu (1922) residing at #1. That knocks The Evil Dead (1982) down to #3, something I’d never have thought imaginable. - BW
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