The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is both a proto-slasher and a proto-found footage horror movie. It was positioned as being based on a true story, though it wasn’t, as a criticism of sensationalistic “if it bleeds, it leads” news of the era. On top of that, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is arguably a top-10 movie title of all-time, and the tagline, “Who will survive and what will be left of them?” is also an all-timer.
Tobe Hooper’s film was made on the cheap, which you can do when your biggest special effect is, you know, a chainsaw. The movie was made for less than $140,000, with some estimates as low as $80,000. It would make $30.9 million, a huge return on that investment, and influence generations of horror directors to come. A very profitable movie that would inspire a wide range of films, from Pearl to Alien.
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