I feel I should add a few qualifiers before diving in. I went into this movie with high expectations because of its reputation. And had I seen this in 1974 when it was released, those expectations may have been met. But that is not the case. So it's hard to say if I genuinely dislike this movie, or if I'm just disappointed. But either way, I do not think it is good, or worth your time.
It's not all bad, I must admit. When we are first introduced to Leatherface, when he comes from around that corner and slams his hammer down, it is a great moment in horror. The surprise, the bluntness, and the brutality all add up. And this is shortly followed by him grabbing Pam as she runs out the front door, another iconic moment.
And I also need to give credit to the thought behind Leatherface. His different masks determining his personality and his motives, showing that there is nothing behind the mask. Removing a sense of humanity from our killer makes him scarier, in my opinion, because that means you won't find reason or empathy within him.
So credit and praise where they're due, there are definitely good things in this movie. But...
My biggest complaint can be summed up in one word: noise. After Franklin is killed, this movie fills with so much noise I can't stand it. More specifically, screaming. Which I completely understand, to a point. This girl just saw her brother take a chainsaw to the chest, of course she's going to scream. But she screams while running through the woods, she screams while running through the house, she screams while running down the street, she screams right up to the point she falls through that door and thinks she's safe. And the whole time there's also the sounds from the chainsaw and the random grunts and yells that Leatherface makes.
And then when she realizes she's still in danger and tries to defend herself, she gets knocked out with...a broom. She, a young adult with a knife, gets knocked out by an old man hitting her with a broom. And then there's the dinner scene. The dinner scene is where I completely stopped enjoying this movie.
What happens in the dinner scene? Mostly more screaming. The men are yelling everything they say, and Sally screams her head off the whole time. And they get close up shots of her face while she's screaming. Anything interesting that might be happening during this scene, is completely ruined by her screaming. Leatherface is wearing a new mask. We're given some more information about this backwoods cannibal family. Is that what you'll remember from the scene? Nope. Just screaming. And then there's the bit with the hammer. Look, I get that they're showing how grandpa isn't even strong enough to hold the hammer, but why show him fail 8 or 9 times? It doesn't build tension, and it's certainly not scary. If anything it's comical. And while that's going on Sally just...gets away? They seriously let go of her and she just runs and gets away.
After running for a while, and screaming the whole time, she makes it to a road. And luck is on her side because a semi truck is driving down that road. The driver stops, after running over one of the guys chasing her, and lets her into his cab. But then when Leatherface gets to the door, they leave the truck. Why? This one action bothers me so much because I cannot justify it at all. They're in the truck. Leatherface's chainsaw is not getting through the door. They can drive away and both be safe, but they just...don't. They just get out of the truck and run. If someone knows an explanation for why they do this, please tell me, because I am at a loss.
Then while Sally and the truck driver are running down the road, Sally is lucky enough to hop into the back of another truck that stops to help. And she gets away. But the semi driver doesn't. The last we see of him, he's still running down the road.
So, in conclusion, I do not understand how this movie became so popular. Again, if I saw it when it first came out my opinion might be different. But I can't give a hypothetical review based on an impossible situation.
3/10. Would not watch again. I do not recommend this movie.
It's not all bad, I must admit. When we are first introduced to Leatherface, when he comes from around that corner and slams his hammer down, it is a great moment in horror. The surprise, the bluntness, and the brutality all add up. And this is shortly followed by him grabbing Pam as she runs out the front door, another iconic moment.
And I also need to give credit to the thought behind Leatherface. His different masks determining his personality and his motives, showing that there is nothing behind the mask. Removing a sense of humanity from our killer makes him scarier, in my opinion, because that means you won't find reason or empathy within him.
So credit and praise where they're due, there are definitely good things in this movie. But...
My biggest complaint can be summed up in one word: noise. After Franklin is killed, this movie fills with so much noise I can't stand it. More specifically, screaming. Which I completely understand, to a point. This girl just saw her brother take a chainsaw to the chest, of course she's going to scream. But she screams while running through the woods, she screams while running through the house, she screams while running down the street, she screams right up to the point she falls through that door and thinks she's safe. And the whole time there's also the sounds from the chainsaw and the random grunts and yells that Leatherface makes.
And then when she realizes she's still in danger and tries to defend herself, she gets knocked out with...a broom. She, a young adult with a knife, gets knocked out by an old man hitting her with a broom. And then there's the dinner scene. The dinner scene is where I completely stopped enjoying this movie.
What happens in the dinner scene? Mostly more screaming. The men are yelling everything they say, and Sally screams her head off the whole time. And they get close up shots of her face while she's screaming. Anything interesting that might be happening during this scene, is completely ruined by her screaming. Leatherface is wearing a new mask. We're given some more information about this backwoods cannibal family. Is that what you'll remember from the scene? Nope. Just screaming. And then there's the bit with the hammer. Look, I get that they're showing how grandpa isn't even strong enough to hold the hammer, but why show him fail 8 or 9 times? It doesn't build tension, and it's certainly not scary. If anything it's comical. And while that's going on Sally just...gets away? They seriously let go of her and she just runs and gets away.
After running for a while, and screaming the whole time, she makes it to a road. And luck is on her side because a semi truck is driving down that road. The driver stops, after running over one of the guys chasing her, and lets her into his cab. But then when Leatherface gets to the door, they leave the truck. Why? This one action bothers me so much because I cannot justify it at all. They're in the truck. Leatherface's chainsaw is not getting through the door. They can drive away and both be safe, but they just...don't. They just get out of the truck and run. If someone knows an explanation for why they do this, please tell me, because I am at a loss.
Then while Sally and the truck driver are running down the road, Sally is lucky enough to hop into the back of another truck that stops to help. And she gets away. But the semi driver doesn't. The last we see of him, he's still running down the road.
So, in conclusion, I do not understand how this movie became so popular. Again, if I saw it when it first came out my opinion might be different. But I can't give a hypothetical review based on an impossible situation.
3/10. Would not watch again. I do not recommend this movie.