Editorials
Horror Education of the Week: ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’
As we Americans sit down this Thursday for a nice meal to give thanks for those around us, let us be reminded of one of the most sadistic meals to grace the silver screen.
Of course, I am talking about Sally Hardesty’s meal with the Sawyers in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
After filming in 110 degree weather for up to 16 hours a day, covered in animal blood, Tobe Hooper’s masterpiece premiered almost a year later on October 1, 1974, in Austin, Texas.
Ever since I was young, I’ve had nightmares like everyone else. The most terrifying seem to be those in which I am not able to get away from an attacker. Fleeing from the oppressor is fleeting, and quite fickle – as sometimes when finding help – it turns out to be the same person or people I am running from. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, of course, revolves around this idea with poor Sally Hardesty. The idea of a real life nightmare, and complete lack of control, is what makes TCM so damn good.
I’d love to give a valid breakdown of TCM. I truly do adore it. It’s terrifying in so many more ways than what I will present below. The Hitchhiker, Franklin in his wheelchair, the slamming of that door for the first time…
Perhaps, in the future, I can give a “Part 2” to this article.
– The film itself visually appears like a dream. The colors and motion remind me of my own nightmares.
– Like most horror films, which have nightmarish qualities, there are elements in TCM that represent a “doomed” structure that bring the evil forces.
– For TCM, it is the seemingly normal farmhouse that brings the attackers.
– The evil comes out because the structure is disturbed. Much like in dreams where you know you are not supposed to go near the house. But it’s only a dream, right? Dreams can’t hurt you…
– The watering hole and farmhouse are possibly off limits, and yet the teenagers go and disturb the area, bringing about their real life nightmare.
– The scary reality of TCM is standard. There there are sick people like that in this world. That is what is most frightening about the film.
– As crazy as it may be, TCM presents a completely valid idea: There are families of psychotics living in rural areas just waiting for young teens on road trips to fall victim to their diabolical plan.
– Writer Robin Wood made the statement that horror films have come to signify “the sense of civilization condemning itself”.
– Condemning oneself is easily broken down in slasher films.
– If someone condemns their body with sex or drugs, they deserve to be killed.
– If someone goes skinny-dipping in some slaughterhouse-running psycho’s backyard, they deserve to be killed.
– Wood actually commented once that TCM is also like a grotesque comedy.
– This is very true as Sally’s struggle to free herself as the family argues over Grandpa’s lack of ability to hold the hammer and kill Sally.
– The idea of this being humorous clicks in my mind with nightmares I’ve had where my attacker is laughing at my struggle.
– This brings us to that sick, sick meal.
– Sally awakens to the Sawyers gathered at the table with her. And as she begins to scream, they mock her. Laughing, crying out. The tension builds as we see her tear-filled eyes.
– The sickening thought that attackers do this in real life, is what is ultimately the most disturbing.
– Terrifying thought: TCM can be stripped of the fact that it is “just a movie”.
– The actual reality is that the sick nature of human beings can be as evil as Leatherface.
– After all, the character and story are based on true events that include Ed Gein.
– Edward Theodore “Ed” Gein came to light when the local police found his home was full of trophies and keepsakes made from bones and skin.
– This included: nine masks of human skin, bowls made from human skulls, human skin covering several chair seats, a belt made from female human nipples, skulls on his bedposts, a pair of lips on a draw string for a window-shade, and a lampshade made from the skin from a human face.
– Gein, who was abused by his mother growing up, was also the basis for Norman Bates.
So, as we sit down this week, let us give the ultimate thanks. The fact that if we’re terrified, most of the time we can say, “It was just a dream.”
Having grown up in a religious family, Christian movie night was something that happened a lot more often than I care to admit. However, back when I was a teenager, my parents showed up one night with an unusually cool-looking DVD of a movie that had been recommended to them by a church leader. Curious to see what new kind of evangelical propaganda my parents had rented this time, I proceeded to watch the film with them expecting a heavy-handed snoozefest.
To my surprise, I was a few minutes in when Denzel Washington proceeded to dismember a band of cannibal raiders when I realized that this was in fact a real movie. My mom was horrified by the flick’s extreme violence and dark subject matter, but I instantly became a fan of the Hughes Brothers’ faith-based 2010 thriller, The Book of Eli. And with the film’s atomic apocalypse having apparently taken place in 2024, I think this is the perfect time to dive into why this grim parable might also be entertaining for horror fans.
Originally penned by gaming journalist and The Walking Dead: The Game co-writer Gary Whitta, the spec script for The Book of Eli was already making waves back in 2007 when it appeared on the coveted Blacklist. It wasn’t long before Columbia and Warner Bros. snatched up the rights to the project, hiring From Hell directors Albert and Allen Hughes while also garnering attention from industry heavyweights like Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman.
After a series of revisions by Anthony Peckham meant to make the story more consumer-friendly, the picture was finally released in January of 2010, with the finished film following Denzel as a mysterious wanderer making his way across a post-apocalyptic America while protecting a sacred book. Along the way, he encounters a run-down settlement controlled by Bill Carnegie (Gary Oldman), a man desperate to get his hands on Eli’s book so he can motivate his underlings to expand his empire. Unwilling to let this power fall into the wrong hands, Eli embarks on a dangerous journey that will test the limits of his faith.
SO WHY IS IT WORTH WATCHING?
Judging by the film’s box-office success, mainstream audiences appear to have enjoyed the Hughes’ bleak vision of a future where everything went wrong, but critics were left divided by the flick’s trope-heavy narrative and unapologetic religious elements. And while I’ll be the first to admit that The Book of Eli isn’t particularly subtle or original, I appreciate the film’s earnest execution of familiar ideas.
For starters, I’d like to address the religious elephant in the room, as I understand the hesitation that some folks (myself included) might have about watching something that sounds like Christian propaganda. Faith does indeed play a huge part in the narrative here, but I’d argue that the film is more about the power of stories than a specific religion. The entire point of Oldman’s character is that he needs a unifying narrative that he can take advantage of in order to manipulate others, while Eli ultimately chooses to deliver his gift to a community of scholars. In fact, the movie even makes a point of placing the Bible in between equally culturally important books like the Torah and Quran, which I think is pretty poignant for a flick inspired by exploitation cinema.
Sure, the film has its fair share of logical inconsistencies (ranging from the extent of Eli’s Daredevil superpowers to his impossibly small Braille Bible), but I think the film more than makes up for these nitpicks with a genuine passion for classic post-apocalyptic cinema. Several critics accused the film of being a knockoff of superior productions, but I’d argue that both Whitta and the Hughes knowingly crafted a loving pastiche of genre influences like Mad Max and A Boy and His Dog.
Lastly, it’s no surprise that the cast here absolutely kicks ass. Denzel plays the title role of a stoic badass perfectly (going so far as to train with Bruce Lee’s protégée in order to perform his own stunts) while Oldman effortlessly assumes a surprisingly subdued yet incredibly intimidating persona. Even Mila Kunis is remarkably charming here, though I wish the script had taken the time to develop these secondary characters a little further. And hey, did I mention that Tom Waits is in this?
AND WHAT MAKES IT HORROR ADJACENT?
Denzel’s very first interaction with another human being in this movie results in a gory fight scene culminating in a face-off against a masked brute wielding a chainsaw (which he presumably uses to butcher travelers before eating them), so I think it’s safe to say that this dog-eat-dog vision of America will likely appeal to horror fans.
From diseased cannibals to hyper-violent motorcycle gangs roaming the wasteland, there’s plenty of disturbing R-rated material here – which is even more impressive when you remember that this story revolves around the bible. And while there are a few too many references to sexual assault for my taste, even if it does make sense in-universe, the flick does a great job of immersing you in this post-nuclear nightmare.
The excessively depressing color palette and obvious green screen effects may take some viewers out of the experience, but the beat-up and lived-in sets and costume design do their best to bring this dead world to life – which might just be the scariest part of the experience.
Ultimately, I believe your enjoyment of The Book of Eli will largely depend on how willing you are to overlook some ham-fisted biblical references in order to enjoy some brutal post-apocalyptic shenanigans. And while I can’t really blame folks who’d rather not deal with that, I think it would be a shame to miss out on a genuinely engaging thrill-ride because of one minor detail.
With that in mind, I’m incredibly curious to see what Whitta and the Hughes Brothers have planned for the upcoming prequel series starring John Boyega…
There’s no understating the importance of a balanced media diet, and since bloody and disgusting entertainment isn’t exclusive to the horror genre, we’ve come up with Horror Adjacent – a recurring column where we recommend non-horror movies that horror fans might enjoy.
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