Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Last night, my husband and I watched The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) together. Allow me, if you will, to explain some background information.
My husband is a horror movie junkie. He argues vehemently that Halloween 4 is the best of the series, and although he agrees it's junk, he can accurately describe the plot of Friday the 13th Part 8. The Nightmare on Elm Street box set DVDs were the first DVDs he ever owned. Why he had never seen the original Texas Chainsaw, I don't know, but he hadn't.
I, on the other hand, just recently (like, a week ago) saw A Nightmare on Elm Street for the first time ever, and it was mostly at the prompting of dearest hubby. I've seen Halloween, but only once, and only recently. I've never seen a Jason movie, and I don't intend to. It's not that I dislike them, per se, but there are other movies I'd rather watch, and if I do want to be scared, I'd rather it be from Silence of the Lambs than April Fool's Day
That being said, these were our respective opinions of Texas Chainsaw:
Me: Holy crap. That's frickin' freaky. Quick, turn on the lights. What was that noise? AAAAAAHHH!! *is very unsettled the rest of the evening*
Him: That's it? Wow, that's disappointing.
As he and I were debating the pros and cons of the film, I realized something about hubby: he sure likes his plots. See, I was content to be thoroughly creeped out by the intense atmosphere of the film and the inevitability of the suspension. Hubby was massively disappointed by the lack of anything remotely resembling a plot twist or a mystery - because Texas Chainsaw has neither. Here's the plot: five teenagers get stranded roadside and wander around, only to discover the house of a crazy family that wants to kill them all. That's it. No twists, no added little mysteries, nothing - that's the plot.
For hubby, this was inexcusable. Never mind the atmosphere, the hints of the torture to come, the slow, fiendish buildup and adrenaline-pumping climax; nope, all that is out the window if the storyline doesn't hold his interest.
For me, the plot didn't matter - and wasn't the point. The point was everything that hubby didn't care about, plus the amazing cuts of the film, the quick jumps in time and the remarkable set pieces. The direction is near flawless.
For a movie with "chainsaw" in the title, there's amazingly little blood. So much the better, as the film proves it's possible to be incredibly unsettling without showing you every little gory detail.
Leatherface's first appearance is breathtaking and unforgettable - even hubby agreed on that. The set decorations and reliance on mood and suspense make it possible to draw direct correlations between this film and more modern day thrillers, such as Silence of the Lambs and Saw or Hostel.
I rated this flick three stars (out of five) on Netflix (which has you rate movies based on how much you liked them), because even though it was an amazing movie, I don't really ever care to see it again. It freaked me out enough the first time, thank you very much. Critically, however, I'd have to give it 4/5 - maybe even 4.5.
Hubby can have his Halloween 4; I'd much rather take this.
cross-posted to my personal journal
My husband is a horror movie junkie. He argues vehemently that Halloween 4 is the best of the series, and although he agrees it's junk, he can accurately describe the plot of Friday the 13th Part 8. The Nightmare on Elm Street box set DVDs were the first DVDs he ever owned. Why he had never seen the original Texas Chainsaw, I don't know, but he hadn't.
I, on the other hand, just recently (like, a week ago) saw A Nightmare on Elm Street for the first time ever, and it was mostly at the prompting of dearest hubby. I've seen Halloween, but only once, and only recently. I've never seen a Jason movie, and I don't intend to. It's not that I dislike them, per se, but there are other movies I'd rather watch, and if I do want to be scared, I'd rather it be from Silence of the Lambs than April Fool's Day
That being said, these were our respective opinions of Texas Chainsaw:
Me: Holy crap. That's frickin' freaky. Quick, turn on the lights. What was that noise? AAAAAAHHH!! *is very unsettled the rest of the evening*
Him: That's it? Wow, that's disappointing.
As he and I were debating the pros and cons of the film, I realized something about hubby: he sure likes his plots. See, I was content to be thoroughly creeped out by the intense atmosphere of the film and the inevitability of the suspension. Hubby was massively disappointed by the lack of anything remotely resembling a plot twist or a mystery - because Texas Chainsaw has neither. Here's the plot: five teenagers get stranded roadside and wander around, only to discover the house of a crazy family that wants to kill them all. That's it. No twists, no added little mysteries, nothing - that's the plot.
For hubby, this was inexcusable. Never mind the atmosphere, the hints of the torture to come, the slow, fiendish buildup and adrenaline-pumping climax; nope, all that is out the window if the storyline doesn't hold his interest.
For me, the plot didn't matter - and wasn't the point. The point was everything that hubby didn't care about, plus the amazing cuts of the film, the quick jumps in time and the remarkable set pieces. The direction is near flawless.
For a movie with "chainsaw" in the title, there's amazingly little blood. So much the better, as the film proves it's possible to be incredibly unsettling without showing you every little gory detail.
Leatherface's first appearance is breathtaking and unforgettable - even hubby agreed on that. The set decorations and reliance on mood and suspense make it possible to draw direct correlations between this film and more modern day thrillers, such as Silence of the Lambs and Saw or Hostel.
I rated this flick three stars (out of five) on Netflix (which has you rate movies based on how much you liked them), because even though it was an amazing movie, I don't really ever care to see it again. It freaked me out enough the first time, thank you very much. Critically, however, I'd have to give it 4/5 - maybe even 4.5.
Hubby can have his Halloween 4; I'd much rather take this.
cross-posted to my personal journal