In 1974, the horror genre changed forever.
Wes Craven undoubtedly brought a new level of realism to horror cinema with The Last House on the Left in 1972, but one could argue that Tobe Hooper took things one step further with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre just two years later.
Gritty, disturbingly authentic and with a hulking villain who remains one of the most terrifying to ever grace the screen, Hooper’s seminal masterpiece shocked the world in 1974; as Rob Zombie wrote in his touching tribute to Hooper on Rolling Stone this week, “It was a genuine American nightmare caught on film for all the world to see.”
The low-budget film, made in Texas, sure made an impression on Hollywood and, well, pretty much everyone who saw it, inspiring and influencing countless filmmakers to pick up a camera and make their own horror movie. Filmmakers like Rob Zombie, whose debut House of 1000 Corpses owes a huge debt to Chain Saw.
Outside of the film world, artists have been showing their love for Hooper’s game-changer with their own tributes to Leatherface and his twisted family, and today we wanted to highlight some of the most impressive art tributes we’ve come across for the film. Specifically, we’re spotlighting alternate posters that fans have conjured up.
Here are 13 of the very best, in honor of the late Tobe Hooper’s enduring legacy.
