The First Time I Saw: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a film whose reputation precedes the viewing experience.  It’s one of those titles that is oft-whispered on playgrounds and in pre-teen social circles as a sort of rite of passage the same way Faces of Death might be; “Hey, ever seen Texas Chainsaw Massacre?  No, well ‘I’ did!”  Even today, kids wear these kinds of bragging rights like a badge of courage!

Probably the first time I heard the name The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was in the 1985 comedy Moving Violations when the character Wink Barnes (played by The Burning's Ned Eisenberg) tells another character to rent the film, stating it will relax him! 


My first true experience with Texas Chainsaw would be when my own mother took me to see A Nightmare on Elm Street 5 in the theater; the infamous teaser trailer for Leatherface:  Texas Chainsaw Massacre III played before it.  To this day, the tranquil music that plays under the ominous voice-over about stories and legends still makes me a little uneasy!  This trailer just compounded any preconceived notions I had about the world of Texas Chainsaw, which were birthed from the brief mentions of the original film and its theatrical poster glimpsed (not to mention Chas Balun's bitchin' t-shirt either!) in the Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors home video.


For the longest time after that, I had wild visions of Leatherface or "Piggy" as I believed him to be called (ed:  why exactly does Clu Gulager refer to him as such in the Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors video anyway?) chasing around people wearing cowboy boots and cowboy hats!  Around this same time, my dad had a bunch of friends who owned and operated a horse equipment company, where a lot of folks dressed like extras in Urban Cowboy or the band in The Howling, so these types of characters peppered such daydreams. 


The next utterance of Texas Chainsaw Massacre came in
the form of Chainsaw & Dave in 1987's Summer School!  These dudes were funny and they LOVED the movie...so it had to be cool, right?

Dean Cameron and Gary Riley as Francis 'Chainsaw' Gremp and Dave Fraizer

Finally, in the summer of 1989, of course mom took me to see Nightmare 5 , where I saw that damned teaser trailer for Leatherface:  Texas Chainsaw Massacre III.  Here was a teaser trailer that frightened me so badly, it remained branded into my brain like the monogrammed ass-end of a cow.  "So this is what Leatherface is all about, huh?" I thought to myself. 

Much like the opening monologue of Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2, ol' Leatherface and his story continued to haunt me via whispers and casual pop culture references over the next several years.  Whenever I'd be in a video store, I'd gaze at the box art for Texas Chainsaw and its first sequel, terrified & disgusted...yet wholly curious.  Lending even more credence to Chainsaw’s “based on a true story” mythos, I fondly recall how one of my best friend's moms even claimed to remember when it actually happened! 


What. In. The. Actual. Hell?!?!


It wouldn't be until probably 1995 or 1996 until I would finally cross the border and ultimately learn that the saw, truly, was family.

The very first time I saw Texas Chainsaw Massacre was courtesy of the Video Treasures release on VHS which I purchased at the now long gone Jamesway department store in Flemington, NJ.  Sometime before actually watching the film though, I must have caught the opening scroll/credits once on cable since I knew that the events of the first film took place on August 18^th, 1973 (which, incidentally happens to be my birthday – 9 years early).  By that point, I was already convinced that this film was going to be intense – a crazy horror film based on an actual massacre that occurred on MY birthday?!?


The film's presentation appeared as though I was watching a 16mm film print in a darkened classroom.  As the picture flickered before me, I periodically had to keep peering out of my bedroom and into the hallway to remind myself "it's only a movie...only a movie..."  Even on a first-time viewing, it was apparent that Tobe Hooper's decision to have Daniel Pearl shoot the film in a near-documentary style certainly lent itself credibility as far as the "true story" anecdotes went. 


Post-screening, I remember being numb to what I had just experienced...but I was ultimately hooked on all things Texas Chainsaw!  Around that same time, I even remember drawing (ed: trying to!) the reversed image of Leatherface from the video cover art. 


A short time later, I'd also pick up the Video Treasures release of Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 at a yard sale with my grandmother and, like the guy says, the rest is history!