Stardate 10.01.2026.C: 1974's 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre' Still Buzzes With The Best Of Them 52 Years After It First Scared Audiences Silly

On this day in 1974 (in the U.S.), the good people of Austin, Texas were treated to the future of Horror when The Texas Chain Saw Massacre took its first fateful swings.  Written (in part) and directed by Tobe Hooper, the film starred Marilyn Burns, Edwin Neal, Allen Danziger, and others. 

​According to our friends at IMDB.com, here's the plot summary:

"Five friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw."

For the record:

• During the film's original run, Massacre earned a bit of praise from screenings on the film festival circuit.
• In 2024, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was inducted into the U.S.'s National Film Registry, that organization that seeks to preserve productions that have contributed to the lasting legacy of the cinemas.

ExtraExtra Alert:
In 2023, I received an all-new promotional release of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre from a distributor in exchange for review coverage on SciFiHistory.Net.  Interested readers can find my review right here.

-- EZ

From Google.com:
​

• The false "true story" claim: The movie famously opens by claiming the events depicted are real, which was a marketing ploy. While the character of Leatherface was loosely inspired by real-life Wisconsin killer Ed Gein, the entire plot and family of cannibals were completely fictional. [1, 2]

• A hardware store epiphany: Director Tobe Hooper came up with the idea for the movie while Christmas shopping in a crowded hardware store. Frustrated by the dense crowd blocking his way, he looked at a display of chainsaws and thought about how quickly he could clear a path through the people.

• The brutal, unwashed heat: Filmed during a sweltering Texas summer in temperatures over 100°F, the low budget meant actor Gunnar Hansen (Leatherface) wore the exact same unwashed polyester shirt for four straight weeks. By the end of production, the stench was so unbearable that the rest of the cast actively avoided him off-camera. [1, 2]