Tobe Hooper's low-budget horror classic Texas Chainsaw Massacre turns 40 this year.
Fans know all the trivia, the behind-the-scenes stories, and have debated the film's themes, value, etc. for four decades. I've seen it 5 or 6 times myself, including a viewing for the first Fright Film Spectacular when I did it via Twitter (check out @TheBulldogNate for those tweets from two years ago). I'm not sure what else I could add to the knowledge base of the movie, other than to describe what it was like to see it on the big screen for the first time this past Saturday.
I got to see it in Athens, Ga., which is my favorite city in the world. I watched it at Cine, which is a bar/theater a block over from the world-famous 40 Watt Club. Cine is hosting what it calls Schlocktoberfest, which is sort of a misnomer given the classics on the schedule (The Exorcist, Halloween, An American Werewolf in London, etc.).
The theater held a Chainsaw Chili Cookoff and Dog of the Dead (as in hot dog) contest in conjunction with Creature Comforts Microbrewery. For $13 you got a glass, beer tasting tickets (with very generous pours), and a tasting spoon for the chili.
I got my money's worth. I had five different kinds of beer (the Reclaimed Rye is the best) and several types of chili (The Silence of the Lambs made with lamb's tongue, fava beans and chianti was by far the best). By the time I made it across the street to Cine, I was in fine form.
Cine was offering two specials in honor of TCM: $3 Lone Star beers and a drink called Grandpa's Hammer, which was basically a spicy Bloody Mary with a Lone Star in it.
I had one of each. Then took a glass of Scotch (Glenmorangie Nectar d'or, which is worth every bit of the $7.50 they charged for it) into the theater. By then I was really ready for some mayhem.
The film was introduced by a University of Georgia professor who teaches a class on horror films, which I must audit someday. He did a decent job of giving a 6- or 8-minute primer for the audience. And then the movie began.
Now if you've seen it, you remember it, and there's no point in rehashing the plot. But I will point out three things I think you should know.
One, this was supposed to be the 40th anniversary digital remastered print. I noticed no difference in image quality, which doesn't necessarily bother me. When I watch exploitation horror and grindhouse from the 1970s I sort of expect it to look cruddy. It's part of the experience. I don't know if it looks the same way on Blu-ray, but I'd probably be a little disappointed if it does.
Two, you haven't heard the saw until you've heard it in a theater. I've heard the saw on VHS and DVD, through tinny TV speakers and decent surround sound, but until you hear it on a commercial quality sound system, you haven't really heard it, nor understood just how terrifying it can be. It takes you from simply watching Sally run from Leatherface to running with her. It's a lot more effective.
Finally, the film still holds up, mainly because it descends into madness so quickly. It's a lean 84 minutes, but it gets the job done. Today's directors who can't seem to make a feature-length movie that clocks in at less than 2.5 hours could take a lesson from Hooper. From the opening voice-over by John Larroquette and camera-flash images of the posed corpses in the graveyard, you are creeped out. By the time Leatherface does his chainsaw ballet in the road at sunrise, you're ready to get the hell out of there.
Even more so if you've been to a beer tasting beforehand.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre remains a five-star classic.
No comments:
Post a Comment