Plot Summary:

Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a landmark in horror cinema, a film that redefined the genre with its relentless terror and gritty realism. The story follows five young friends—Sally (Marilyn Burns), her brother Franklin (Paul A. Partain), and their companions—as they embark on a road trip to rural Texas to visit an old family homestead. Along the way, they encounter a sinister hitchhiker, setting off a chain of horrifying events.

Their journey leads them to a remote farmhouse inhabited by a deranged family of cannibals, including the iconic and terrifying Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen), who wields his titular chainsaw with brutal precision. As the friends are hunted one by one, Sally becomes the sole survivor, forced to endure unimaginable horrors in a desperate fight for her life.

Shot on a low budget, the film’s grainy aesthetic and documentary-like style create an unnervingly realistic atmosphere. Tobe Hooper’s direction relies on psychological tension and implied violence, making the terror more visceral without excessive gore. Marilyn Burns delivers a harrowing performance as Sally, cementing her as one of the original “final girls” of horror.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is not just a horror film; it’s a cultural phenomenon. Its raw intensity, unsettling sound design, and critique of societal decay have made it a timeless classic and one of the most influential horror films in history. Leatherface, with his grotesque mask and chainsaw, remains an enduring symbol of fear in popular culture.