At a glance
| First film | The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) |
| Director of the original | Tobe Hooper |
| Killer | Leatherface |
| Co-writer | Kim Henkel |
Overview
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) is a family in a farmhouse and a man in a mask of skin. Tobe Hooper directed it with Kim Henkel. The title is two words, Chain Saw. Later films usually make it one. The original was sold as a true story. The crimes are fiction. Ed Gein is the case people cite, the same one behind Psycho. Leatherface does not talk. The family does the talking. Sally Hardesty is the one who gets away.
The films
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) is a comedy Hooper directed on purpose, with Dennis Hopper. Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III and The Next Generation are the early-1990s sequels. The 2003 remake, produced by Michael Bay’s company, started a new line, including The Beginning (2006). Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013) tries to follow the original. Leatherface (2017) is a prequel. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022) is another legacy sequel. They do not share one continuity. Hooper and Henkel’s deal is why their names keep appearing on films they did not direct.
Films on this site
- The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
- Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)
Trivia
- The 1974 title is Chain Saw, two words. The slug on this site matches that.
- Gunnar Hansen played Leatherface in the original. Later films recast him.
- The dinner scene took more than a day. The set smelled like the props.
- Most of the violence in the first film is suggested. The reputation says otherwise.
- Sally Hardesty does not have a character page yet.