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Overview
It is often considered the prototype of the slasher film sub-genre. Despite its grisly and unsettling subject matter, the film like John Carpenter's Halloween film (1978) does not rely so much on explicit gore to generate terror in the audience as on pacing, suspense, the deserted location and dramatic tension. Its sequels and the imitations it spawned have been much bloodier and more graphic. The movie is also known for experimenting with boiling hot daylight in horror movies, something that was rarely done before.
The film was banned in the United Kingdom (1974-1999), but was subsequently issued on video and in France (1974-1984), Germany, India,and Romania. It also wasn't released in Australia until the early 1980's, due to distributing delays.
The official title of the original film writes 'Chain Saw' as two words (contrary to some posters and DVD covers), while the sequels and the remake use the English compound 'Chainsaw'. It is spelt as two words in the opening scrawl on the film. Most posters and DVD covers still use the compound for this first film, however.
While the film was financially a great success, the production team that made the film saw only a very small fraction of the profits. This was a result of the film's ownership belonging to backers (believed to be connected with the mafia, especially the film's co-producer Lou Periano who had previously produced Deep Throat (film) Deep Throat who managed to hide a significant percent of profits from the production company.
The affecting, and documentary feel has helped with the film’s huge success. The film opened to large amount of controversy, but despite that it became a smash hit all over America. The film is also considered the progenitor of the genre, predating as it did both Halloween (film) and Friday the 13th (film). It has received much praise from critics, mainly because its gritty and unsettling background that made it seem real.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
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