What more can be said about such spot-on Americana? A
relentless assault on its viewers that crosses the splatter
movie with lowbrow redneck comedy, Texas Chain Saw is as
much an experimental film as an endurance test, terrorizing
both its characters and its audience at length. Bolstering an
expressionist exploration of the concept of "normalcy" as it
applies to the American family, many of the most repulsive
moments in Tobe Hooper's first horror film are implicit, rather
than graphic. In fact, the most explicit violence of this film
is perpetrated on the soundtrack, where the titular implement
of destruction wails endlessly. Few films so truly disturbing
ever had such a grip on the popular imagination.
Elite Entertainment has promised to release a definitive
laserdisc edition of Texas Chain Saw later this year, including
lots of footage they dug up in Tobe Hooper's garage, or
someplace. Look for it.
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