The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

[Shwa]

Poor bloody minded Shaw.

Hey bloodyminded! I am 'bloodyminded' too! A fine compliment that dear old sadistic-type-retard Leafless has bestowed on me. I am humbled.

[bloodyminded]

Hey bloodyminded! I am 'bloodyminded' too! A fine compliment that dear old sadistic-type-retard Leafless has bestowed on me. I am humbled.

Welcome, welcome.

[Leafless]

Welcome, welcome.

An Indian and a pagan fish head.

Hope you enjoy each others company.

[bloodyminded]

An Indian and a pagan fish head.

Hope you enjoy each others company.

I'm not sure which one refers to me, but I can honestly say no one has ever referred to me as either.

Leafless, my man, I have to say this is pretty funny. (Sincerely!) I don't really know why it's funny, but it is.

[Moonlight Graham]

Stop this stupid argument. Of course its sadistic. That's what makes it scary and awesome.

Here's my comments on the other topic about Chainsaw:

The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre is probably the scariest horror film ever. I'm a big horror fan, been watching them since i was a kid actually (don't know what my parents were thinking lol letting their 10 y/o kid rent any horror flick he wanted). First watched the movie when i was about 17 with a buddy of mine, about 3/4 the way through i had to shut it off, there was a part where the movie just got freaky with the Chainsaw family sitting at the table, feeding their dead relative blood or something, and a women victim watching all this and just screaming non-stop.

I was just like "ok i gotta take a break, this is f'ed" lol. The movie is just so raw and minimalist, virtually no real soundtrack/score. A classic.

I disagree with Bloodyminded, i think the relative was dead, and they just kept them there cuz they were nuts and thought they were still alive. Well that's just what i thought. I also love the scene where one of the teens is hanging around the door to the Leatherface's house and Leatherface just suddenly barges the door open grabs the fool and goes back inside. And of course the scene with the big hook is awesome.

Of all the crappy modern remakes of classic horror flicks, i actually though the new Texas flick was done fairly well. They kept to the original concept fairly well, even having John Laroquette voice the intro.

[Bonam]

The appeal of horror movies is the adrenaline rush more than anything else. Personally, I'm not a fan. To say it's about sadism is stupid, if you get off on the pain of others, go watch a bondage/torture porn flick.

As for dehumanization in action movies... that's not correct at all. You might cheer for the deaths of some of the antagonists, but any good action movie will have you most definitely feeling sad over the deaths of some of the protagonists. Without a human/emotional connection to the movie's main character(s) an action movie is nothing but a dull special effects slideshow.

[bloodyminded]

I disagree with Bloodyminded, i think the relative was dead, and they just kept them there cuz they were nuts and thought they were still alive. Well that's just what i thought.

Initially, he does appear to be dead. But he definitely isn't. He tries, feebly, to kill their new victim with the hammer.

Of all the crappy modern remakes of classic horror flicks, i actually though the new Texas flick was done fairly well. They kept to the original concept fairly well, even having John Laroquette voice the intro.

I might have been slightly unfair. I agree, it's not a terrible remake. Lee Ermey, the same actor famous for his D.I. in Full Metal Jacket, does a great job as the head of the family. I just thought it nowhere near as good as the original.

[bloodyminded]

The appeal of horror movies is the adrenaline rush more than anything else. Personally, I'm not a fan. To say it's about sadism is stupid, if you get off on the pain of others, go watch a bondage/torture porn flick.

As for dehumanization in action movies... that's not correct at all. You might cheer for the deaths of some of the antagonists, but any good action movie will have you most definitely feeling sad over the deaths of some of the protagonists. Without a human/emotional connection to the movie's main character(s) an action movie is nothing but a dull special effects slideshow.

True, and I made it clear I wasn't condemning action movies. There's some I like very much.

But cheering over the deaths of antagonists is dehumanization. Again, I"m not criticizing this, as such existential issues are not really relevant to these movies.

I mentioned it only as a response to the poster who said that the audience enjoying death proves their sadism; I'd counter that, if that's so, then it applies to a lot of movies that aren't part of the horror genre.

[Moonlight Graham]

Initially, he does appear to be dead. But he definitely isn't. He tries, feebly, to kill their new victim with the hammer.

I guess i'll have to watch that part again. I thought they just put the hammer his hand and he dropped it. I dont know if it makes it scarier if he's alive or dead. hmmm.

I might have been slightly unfair. I agree, it's not a terrible remake. Lee Ermey, the same actor famous for his D.I. in Full Metal Jacket, does a great job as the head of the family. I just thought it nowhere near as good as the original.

Yup, definitely not as good as the original. I don't understand why they need to remake some of these classic flicks.

What are some of your other favorite horror flicks? I love the original Halloween, the definitive slasher. I have a soft spot for the old 80's Friday the 13th movies, thought most of them aren't really that great. Blair Witch Project was excellent, saw it the night it opened knowing nothing about it but went along with some movie-buff friends of mine who heard about it. The 1st 2 Evil Dead movies are also classic.

other fav's:

Psycho

Rosemary's Baby

The Others

The Lost Boys

the old "Christopher Lee" Dracula flicks.

and for some reason "One-Hour Photo" really scares me even though its not technically a horror movie. It's just very creepy and very realistic and plausible, which i think is what makes a movie truly scary. The only other movie i had to turn off mid-way for a break cuz it was just creeping me out.

[bloodyminded]

I guess i'll have to watch that part again. I thought they just put the hammer his hand and he dropped it. I dont know if it makes it scarier if he's alive or dead. hmmm.

Yup, definitely not as good as the original. I don't understand why they need to remake some of these classic flicks.

What are some of your other favorite horror flicks? I love the original Halloween, the definitive slasher. I have a soft spot for the old 80's Friday the 13th movies, thought most of them aren't really that great. Blair Witch Project was excellent, saw it the night it opened knowing nothing about it but went along with some movie-buff friends of mine who heard about it. The 1st 2 Evil Dead movies are also classic.

other fav's:

Psycho

Rosemary's Baby

The Others

The Lost Boys

the old "Christopher Lee" Dracula flicks.

and for some reason "One-Hour Photo" really scares me even though its not technically a horror movie. It's just very creepy and very realistic and plausible, which i think is what makes a movie truly scary. The only other movie i had to turn off mid-way for a break cuz it was just creeping me out.

I love Halloween, too. Though I don't find it as scary as Massacre, it really is one of the original slasher flicks. Almost bloodless, which is unusual. And I'm no film expert, but apparently the film style, with the long tracking shots, was very unique, and set the tone for a lot of what followed. Anyway, that's what folks say.

Rosemary's Baby...of course! I forgot about that. Really good.

As for remakes, I liked Dawn of the Dead with Sarah Polley, though a lot of people weren't too impressed, apparently.

[Moonlight Graham]

I love Halloween, too. Though I don't find it as scary as Massacre, it really is one of the original slasher flicks. Almost bloodless, which is unusual. And I'm no film expert, but apparently the film style, with the long tracking shots, was very unique, and set the tone for a lot of what followed. Anyway, that's what folks say.

Rosemary's Baby...of course! I forgot about that. Really good.

As for remakes, I liked Dawn of the Dead with Sarah Polley, though a lot of people weren't too impressed, apparently.

I'm not a big fan of any of the zombie flicks, George A Romero or otherwise.

[Guest American Woman]

The appeal of horror movies is the adrenaline rush more than anything else. Personally, I'm not a fan.

I'm not a fan, either, but a horror flick at a drive-in-movie .... who could resist that?

[GostHacked]

Horror movies of today are nothing like of what they were in the past.

I think the 70s, 80s had some of the best made horror movies that stand up to this day. To me it was how they were filmed with the technology at the time. There was no CGI for the most part and things had to be done with props. That to me does make things a bit more realistic. I can tell you that modern horror movies with all the CGI tends to make itself less believable and less scary.

i think it was in part of the technology used. If you watch it today, it almost feels like a home movie (in terms of picture and sound quality) but it also gives me the chills when I watch these movies. Most of these movies have a real psychological effect on people. Most horror movies, show little of the villain.

Some of the best horror movies are where the baddie is always just around the corner but you never fully see it. Always bits and pieces of it, until the movie gets to the end, then you start seeing the whole thing. Alien was a fine example of this. It played on the mind more than anything. I just don't get this from movies made today.

Not to mention you buy movies now in HD, and you can see the dead bodies breathing. Kind of kills the mood.

Other top notch horror films of the 80s.

The Hills Have Eyes. 1977

Amityville Horror. 1979

Exorcist 1973

Nightmare on Elm Stree - 1984

Poltergeist - 1982

I could go on.