History Film / TheTexasChainSawMassacre1974

** Said slasher is a normal human who isn't MadeOfIron.

* DaylightHorror: The first and second act take place during the day, which includes two out of three onscreen kills. Additionally, the final confrontation with Leatherface at the end also occurs in the morning.

* CrapsackWorld: The setting of the original film feels post-apocalyptic or very near to it. The opening act of the film displays long stretches of abandoned buildings and factories, gas stations closed or non-functional due to fuel shortages, desecrated graves, almost no signs of civilization short of truckers huddled by the road, and a narration on the car radio giving an endless stream of terrifying and disturbing news. The main characters gleefully explore and laugh about the memories they had playing in their grandparent's home just a few years earlier, but the house has clearly been abandoned for decades, with massive structural decay they don't even seem to notice, and their favorite swimming hole is scarcely more than a dried up ditch. The cannibal family themselves seem to have fallen upon their madness and unravelling partially because of the collapse of the slaughter house which kept them employed.

* NothingIsScarier: Legendarily so. When James Furman, the Director of the British Board of Film Classification at the time, tried to cut the movie, he found that he ''couldn't'' - all the most horrendous violence takes place offscreen, making the film seem far more disturbing and scary than if they just showed all the gore.

* DropTheHammer:
** Leatherface bashes Kirk's and Jerry's heads in with a sledgehammer.
** Later, Grandpa tries to kill Sally with a hammer (this is played for BlackComedy, as Grandpa's arm is so weak he can no longer even hold the rubber mallet and keeps dropping it on the floor, which allows Sally to escape).

* ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: Jerry. Perfectly understandable, given what Leatherface is [[DropTheHammer about to do]].

Controversial upon release, with several countries banning it outright, the film was a great commercial success despite being critically divisive, and has gone on to be hailed as one of the greatest, scariest and most influential horror films ever made. The film has since spawned [[Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre a franchise]] with [[Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre2 three]] [[Film/TexasChainsaw3D direct]] [[Film/TexasChainsawMassacre2022 sequels]] (none of which are connected to each other), a [[Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre2003 remake]], and a direct [[Film/{{Leatherface}} prequel]], the lattermost loosely in-continuity with the second sequel (''Texas Chainsaw 3D'') as well.

Controversial upon release, with several countries banning it outright, the film was a great commercial success despite being critically divisive, and has gone on to be hailed as one of the greatest, scariest and most influential horror films ever made. The film has since spawned [[Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre a franchise]] with [[Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre2 three]] [[Film/TexasChainsaw3D direct]] [[Film/TexasChainsawMassacre2022 sequels]], none of which are connected to each other, a [[Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre2003 remake]] and a direct [[Film/{{Leatherface}} prequel]], the latter loosely in-continuity with ''Texas Chainsaw 3D'' as well.

''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' is a seminal slasher film directed and co-written by Creator/TobeHooper, based on the "true" story of a group of teenagers [[DeadlyRoadTrip traveling]] through rural Texas who happen upon a secluded old house inhabited by the world's most horrifying family -- in particular a disturbed young man with an interest in leather masks and amateur butchery. The film was completed in 1973 and released on October 1st, 1974.

While the film was marketed as based on actual events, [[BasedOnAGreatBigLie this was in large part a deliberate conceit to attract a wider audience]], while also a subtle commentary on the political climate surrounding its release, as Hooper believed similar lies-presented-as-fact were being pushed by the government on a regular basis (on subjects like [[UsefulNotes/RichardNixon Watergate]] and UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar). Hooper did, however, take inspiration for the film from the real-life murderer UsefulNotes/EdGein (who was also the inspiration for ''Film/{{Psycho}}'''s Norman Bates, and later for Buffalo Bill of ''Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs''), and based the character Leatherface on him.

* CreepyGasStationAttendant: The Old Man. Probable TropeMaker, by the way.

While the film was marketed as based on actual events, this was in large part a deliberate conceit to attract a wider audience, while also a subtle commentary on the political climate surrounding its release, as Hooper believed similar lies-presented-as-fact were being pushed by the government on a regular basis (on subjects like [[UsefulNotes/RichardNixon Watergate]] and UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar). Hooper did, however, take inspiration for the film from the real-life murderer UsefulNotes/EdGein (who was also the inspiration for ''Film/{{Psycho}}'''s Norman Bates, and later for Buffalo Bill of ''Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'') and based the character Leatherface on him.

[-[[caption-width-right:300:''[[{{Tagline}} Who will survive and what will be left of them?]]'']]-]

* CrapsackWorld: The setting of the original film feels post-apocalyptic or very near to it. The opening act of the film displays long stretches of abandoned buildings and factories, gas stations closed or non-functional due to fuel shortages, desecrated graves, almost no signs of civilization short of truckers huddled by the road, and a narration on the car radio giving an endless stream of terrifying and disturbing news. The main characters gleefully explore and laugh about the memories they had playing in their grandparent's home just a few years earlier, but the house has clearly been abandoned for decades, with massive structural decay they don't even seem to notice, and their favorite swimming hole is scarcely more than a dried up ditch. The cannibal family themselves seem to have fallen upon their madness and unravelling partially because of the collapse of the slaughter house which kept them employed, which closed due to the modernization of technology.

* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Sally genuinely loves her older brother Franklin, but he does seem to get on her nerves a lot.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Two of the murderers are just listed as "Hitchhiker" and "The Proprietor" in the credits, and as for the third, "Leatherface" is obviously not his real name. The sequel established that their names are Nubbins, Drayton, and Bubba, respectively.
* NoEnding: [[spoiler: Sally jumps into the back of a pickup truck driven by a GoodSamaritan, and he drives away with her. As her screaming turns into delirious laughter, Leatherface has a tantrum and wildly flails his chainsaw -- during which the film abruptly cuts to black and rolls credits. It's an incredibly abrupt ending, cutting from nothing but ten consecutive minutes of pure terror... To just black and silence.]]

While the film was marketed as based on actual events, this was in large part a deliberate conceit to attract a wider audience and to serve as subtle commentary on the political climate surrounding its release, as Hooper believed similar lies-presented-as-fact were being pushed by the government on a regular basis (on subjects like [[UsefulNotes/RichardNixon Watergate]] and UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar). Hooper did, however, take inspiration for the film from the real-life murderer UsefulNotes/EdGein (who was also the inspiration for ''Film/{{Psycho}}'''s Norman Bates, and later for Buffalo Bill of ''Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'') and based the character Leatherface on him.

The film was produced on a budget of $140,000[[note]]$876,000 in late 2021[[/note]], and Hooper cast mainly unknown actors from the local Texan population. When it was completed, Hooper struggled to find a distributor due to the graphic depictions of violence (although the film is not ''nearly'' as bloody as its reputation suggests, prioritizing suspense and atmosphere over explicit gore, and [[GoryDiscretionShot largely keeping depictions of it off-screen]] [[NothingIsScarier and in the viewer's mind]]). While Hooper had intended for the movie to get a PG rating, it was originally rated X; an edited resubmission was then rated R.

* GoryDiscretionShot: Implemented with most every kill in the film [[spoiler:expect for the explicit depiction of Nubbins getting obliterated by a passing truck]]. Also purposefully invoked when [[spoiler:Pam is hung on the meathook]]. Hooper was seeking to cut down violent content to try to get a better rating, so he opted not to show [[spoiler:the impalement]]. Instead, [[spoiler:he established her wearing a shirt with no back, emphasized the hook and showed splatters of blood in the room]]. As he said, "The mind fills in the gaps for you."

* JumpScare: [[spoiler:Pam springing out of Leatherface's freezer when Jerry opens it; and Leatherface suddenly appearing before Franklin and Sally in the dark woods.]]

While the film was marketed as based on actual events, this was in large part a deliberate conceit to attract a wider audience and to serve as subtle commentary on the political climate surrounding its release, as Hooper believed similar lies-presented-as-fact were being pushed by the government on a regular basis (on subjects like [[UsefulNotes/RichardNixon Watergate]] and UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar). Hooper did, however, take inspiration for the film from the real-life serial killer Ed Gein (who was also the inspiration for ''Film/{{Psycho}}'''s Norman Bates, and later for Buffalo Bill of ''Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'') and based the character Leatherface on him.