Five friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way, they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.
his abattoir of a movie boasts sledgehammers, meathooks and chainsaws, and the result, though not especially visceral, is noisy, relentless, and about as subtle as having your leg sawed off without anaesthetic.
– Chris Peachment,
Time Out,
14 Oct 2014
fresh:
The picture gets to you more through its intensity than its craft, but Hooper does have a talent.
– Dave Kehr,
Chicago Reader,
19 Sep 2007
fresh:
Despite the heavy doses of gore in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Tobe Hooper's pic is well-made for an exploiter of its type.
– Variety Staff,
Variety,
19 Sep 2007
rotten:
The movie is some kind of weird, off-the-wall achievement. I can't imagine why anyone would want to make a movie like this, and yet it's well-made, well-acted, and all too effective.