Cult 101: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) 4K Restoration
Director: Tobe Hooper Run Time: 83 min. Rating: R Release Year: 1974
Starring: Allen Danziger, Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Teri McMinn, William Vail
Country: United States
Language: English
Presented as part of the 2023 edition of Cult 101.
About the film:
In 1974, five youths on a weekend getaway in the Texas countryside fell prey to a butcher in a mask made of human skin and his cannibalistic family, and horror cinema would never be the same.
Violent, confrontational, and shockingly realistic, director Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) terrified audiences in a way never thought possible when it was unleashed on a politically and socially tumultuous America. Facing a storm of controversy, censorship, and outcry throughout its troubled release, this masterpiece of horror has stood the test of time to become a landmark motion picture and cultural milestone.
“still packs the same punch it did when it first came out and changed the face of horror”
—Nigel M. Smith, IndieWire
To celebrate its 40th anniversary, Hooper supervised a 4K restoration using the original 16mm A/B reversal rolls, and presented the film in the 2014 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, where it had originally screened in 1975. This beautiful restoration brings all the scares and the screams into terrifying focus and clarity, making for an immersive viewing experience you won’t forget.
About the filmmaker:
Tobe Hooper was an American genre filmmaker who produced, directed, and co-wrote one of the most influential horror films of all time, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), which was selected for the 1975 Cannes Film Festival Directors’ Fortnight and launched an enduring franchise. Hooper continued his genre work with feature films such as The Funhouse (1981) and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 2 (1986) as well as the 1979 television adaption of Stephen King’s novel, Salem’s Lot. Due to other contractual obligations, Spielberg tagged Hooper to assist with directing Poltergeist (1982), which served as a shocking and refreshing revamp on a then slasher-filled horror genre, lauded by many as one of the most terrifying horror films in history. Among Hooper’s other projects, he directed the 1983 music video Billy Idol: Dancing With Myself.
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