Having the family take care of a vampiric grandfather seems like a strange creative decision for a film that was marketed as a down-to-earth retelling of a real tragedy, so why exactly did Hooper include this pulpy bit of supernatural horror in his masterpiece? Sally actually stumbles onto Grandpa before that horrific dinner scene, but rationally assumes that these are simply the dried up remains of the family’s original patriarch and leaves him behind. Earlier in the film, Nubbins talks about his legendary abilities at the slaughterhouse where he was eventually made obsolete by industrialization, which is likely the reason that the family turned to cannibalism in the first place. Played by John Dugan, who would later reprise the role in the opening scene of Texas Chainsaw 3D, the original TCM depicts Grandpa as a possibly undead corpse who awakens only to feed. This odd character is the most ridiculous part of the film and I absolutely love him for it. Watching Leatherface, Nubbins and Drayton torture Sally in what amounts to a Thanksgiving celebration from hell is terrifying enough, but the movie soon embraces the madness of its antagonists by revealing that the ridiculously ancient Grandpa Sawyer is somehow still alive and has a taste for human blood. This ingenious approach to marketing and presentation (which almost certainly influenced future productions like Cannibal Holocaust and The Blair Witch project) led many audiences to believe that the film was adapting a real-life murder case, which I think is fascinating when you consider what actually happens in the final act of the film.ĭragged into the Sawyer homestead by Drayton, our final girl Sally is forced to join in on a memorable family dinner, with the movie offering a glimpse into this insane family dynamic. Not only did it put audiences through a gauntlet of Texan cannibalism and surprisingly subtle violence, but it also enhanced the scares by taking advantage of a near-documentary aesthetic and claims that the film was based on a true story. Everyone and their mothers know that the original Texas Chain Saw Massacrewas a horrific and ground-breaking experience that influenced the genre for decades to come.
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