The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

R

Released Oct 1, 1974

1 hr. 23 min.

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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List

89%

71 Reviews

Tomatometer

82%

100,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

When Sally (Marilyn Burns) hears that her grandfather's grave may have been vandalized, she and her paraplegic brother, Franklin (Paul A. Partain), set out with their friends to investigate. After a detour to their family's old farmhouse, they discover a group of crazed, murderous outcasts living next door. As the group is attacked one by one by the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen), who wears a mask of human skin, the survivors must do everything they can to escape.

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Critics Consensus

Thanks to a smart script and documentary-style camerawork, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre achieves start-to-finish suspense, making it a classic in low-budget exploitation cinema.

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Thomas

TCM is the ultimate big screen horror movie experience

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/07/23

Full Review

03 Cobra

An all-time classic that was great to see in theaters for the first time.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/02/23

Full Review

Zach Z

Good movie. So scary. Set in Texas. 5/5.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/18/24

Full Review

Audience Member

Best horror movie of all time, The first TCM is the best one of them all, its done so well

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/18/24

Full Review

Emoji M

This is so dang bad because of the pain I went through this movie.....

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/24/24

Full Review

capnpppants

Even amongst the 'disturbing' movies of today, this still ranks high among the most disturbing movies I've ever watched. I don't know if I'd even call it a horror movie. It almost felt more like a snuff film towards the end. Nevertheless to produce such an impactful, depraved movie in the 70s must be commended I suppose.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/23/24

Full Review

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Tobe Hooper

Director

Marilyn Burns

Sally Hardesty

Gunnar Hansen

Leatherface

Allen Danziger

Jerry

Paul A. Partain

Franklin Hardesty

William Vail

Kirk

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The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: Trailer 1

1:44

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Linda Gross

Los Angeles Times

A despicable film about five young people traveling through the desolate flatlands of Texas who seek refuge in a mansion... Craziness handled without sensitivity is a degrading, senseless, misuse of film and time.

Sep 14, 2022

Full Review

Chris Stuckmann

ChrisStuckmann.com

This movie is nothing but an exercise in tension. Grotesque, looming, filthy tension -- and on that count, the film works extremely well.

Rated: A-

Oct 9, 2020

Full Review

Derek Malcolm

Guardian

Morally retrograde it may be, but then so are nightmares. The point is that this one, though often crude and raw, really leads the imagination. What also works in its favour is that it doesn't pretend to do anything more than scare the pants off you.

Apr 7, 2015

Full Review

Mike Thorn

Vague Visages

Under its brutal dissembling of anthropocentrism and customary moral divides, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre points to the terror of a harsh and uncaring universe.

Dec 12, 2023

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Along with 'Night of the Living Dead' and 'The Last House on the Left', it ushered in the modern age of horror in the 1970s. It is one of the great transgressive American horrors and is still the film upon which Hooper's reputation is built.

Oct 27, 2023

Full Review

Howard Waldstein

CBR

That sound, for those who have heard it, is unforgettable, and the sheer shock of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remains an all-time high for the genre.

Jul 18, 2023

Full Review

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Synopsis

When Sally (Marilyn Burns) hears that her grandfather's grave may have been vandalized, she and her paraplegic brother, Franklin (Paul A. Partain), set out with their friends to investigate. After a detour to their family's old farmhouse, they discover a group of crazed, murderous outcasts living next door. As the group is attacked one by one by the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen), who wears a mask of human skin, the survivors must do everything they can to escape.

Director: Tobe Hooper
Executive Producer: Jay Parsley
Screenwriter: Tobe Hooper, Kim Henkel
Distributor: New Line Cinema, Pioneer Entertainment
Production Co: Vortex
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 1, 1974, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 30, 2014

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