The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
A group of young travelers are hunted through rural Texas by a cannibal family in Tobe Hooper’s brutally realistic slasher landmark.
Overview
A road trip turns into a nightmare as a group of friends encounters a family of cannibals in rural Texas.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Breakneck
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Graphic
- foreboding
- oppressive
- disturbing
- late night horror marathon
- halloween viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly regard it as an artistically accomplished and profoundly frightening landmark of horror, despite early objections to its extreme violence and thin script.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film stages much of its rural Texas horror in harsh daylight and mundane locations rather than relying on darkness.
The slaughterhouse, gas station, farmhouse, and family rituals transform familiar Texas environments into sources of sustained dread.
The slaughterhouse background and cannibal family's displaced labor identity connect economic collapse with grotesque violence.
The chainsaw, radio reports, corpses, and ritualized household scenes create extreme fear without constant graphic bloodshed.
Films like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and why
The Hills Have Eyes
shares rural isolation, escalating dread, cannibalistic violence, and landmark slasher intensity
Halloween
shares minimalist independent horror craft, psychological terror, and a youthful group trapped by an inhuman killer
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
shares documentary-like realism, serial killer menace, and an unnerving collision between ordinary life and extreme violence
Movie Details
- Director
- Tobe Hooper
- Release Date
- 1974-10-11
- Runtime
- 83 min
- Rating
- 7.3 / 10 (3976)
Cast
- Marilyn Burns
- Allen Danziger
- Paul A. Partain
- William Vail
- Teri McMinn
- Edwin Neal
- Jim Siedow
- Gunnar Hansen
- John Dugan
- Robert Courtin
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Peacock Premium, Philo, AMC+ Amazon Channel, Shudder, Shudder Amazon Channel, Netflix Standard with Ads, Shudder Apple TV channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Texas Chain Saw Massacre about?
- A group of young travelers are hunted through rural Texas by a cannibal family in Tobe Hooper’s brutally realistic slasher landmark.
- What is The Texas Chain Saw Massacre like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre as breakneck, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Texas Chain Saw Massacre violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre?
- Critics broadly regard it as an artistically accomplished and profoundly frightening landmark of horror, despite early objections to its extreme violence and thin script.
- Which films are like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre?
- Films with a similar feel include The Hills Have Eyes, Halloween, and Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer.
- How long is The Texas Chain Saw Massacre?
- The Texas Chain Saw Massacre runs 83 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Texas Chain Saw Massacre?
- In United States, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre streams on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Peacock Premium, Philo, AMC+ Amazon Channel, Shudder, Shudder Amazon Channel, Netflix Standard with Ads, Shudder Apple TV channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus.
