The story takes place in the hot August of 1973. A group of friends (Sally, Frank, Jerry, Pam, and Kirk) are on a trip to a rural area of Texas in their van; en route they give a ride to a somewhat deranged boy whose family, according to his account, owns a slaughterhouse. His behaviors are somewhat bizarre and, in a fit of rage, he injures Frank, a handicapped man. The madman is thrown out of the van, and the five friends continue on to an old abandoned farm that belonged to Sally and Frank's grandfather.
To find refreshment, Pam and Kirk decide to go for a swim; they will not find water, but a rather bizarre farm.
During the search, both will fall victim to the "tenants": a rugged man with a face covered by a leather mask will cut them to pieces with a chainsaw.
Frank and Jerry, who were patrolling the area looking for their missing comrades, will also fall under his blows, while Sally is captured and introduced to the rest of the family unit: in addition to Leatherface, they include the cook (owner of a gas station where the boys had previously asked for information), the grave-robbing hitchhiker, and the old wrinkled grandfather.
The psychopathic family is into cannibalism and is responsible for the violation of some burial niches in neighboring cemeteries: they take some body parts of corpses to use them as furniture!
Sally is subjected to a series of psychological tortures, from which she will emerge with her mind in turmoil....
Hallucinatory and hallucinatory film, Tobe Hooper's first and never equaled work, despite the numerous films he would direct in the following years. The opening cap mentions the events as really happening, but this is simply a promotional phrase to attract attention and viewers. In fact, the primary source of inspiration was the exploits of a famous 1950s serial killer, Ed Gein, who skinned his victims to adorn his home.
Hooper succeeds in masterfully striking the audience's imagination with images that are decidedly strong for the time, focusing on the anguish of the protagonist Sally and the physical presence of Leatherface. Indeed, it is the latter who will be the main attraction of the film, destined to become an icon of horror cinema, with his famous chainsaw flaunted like a trophy. The script is rather simple and limited, but sufficiently terrifying to nail you to your seat.
Some sequels will be made in the future, but not with the same emotional intensity.
An absolute must in horror cinema.
Review by Maxena
