30 in 30: A MONTH OF HORROR. THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE (1974)
DAY 19
THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE (1974)
A classic that changed horror movies forever.
Yesterday we talked about a “humanistic” story being told through the voice, or “mask”, of horror.
I recognize a story as “humanistic” when the characters are treated with respect and understanding. Even though the story makes them go through rough and harrowing moments, the characters experience growth and positive change thanks to the horrific events. The characters, as humans, are inherently valuable. This is clearly not the case in most horror.
Horror is usually nihilistic or theistic, meaning that either it destroys all belief showing men as nothing but bio-matter crumbled together; or it puts humankind as something insignificant next to a deity or an all-powerful being.
Where do you think THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE fits into? That’s right; there’s no way there’s a god in this universe. This movie left a mark in the minds of the audience because it broke a lot of narrative tropes we’re accustomed to.
In stories, pain is usually used as a catalyst for change and movement. A character needs to learn something; his faults bring him pain so he either rises above it or loses to it. Either way, the audience gets MEANING out of the story.
But what about when the meaning of the story is that there’s no meaning? That sometimes pain is just that, pain. That there’s no reason behind it, no sins to atone.
That’s what makes THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE one of the most horrifying movies of all time. The silence of “meaning” behind it all.
For those who don’t remember the film, google summarizes the film as:
When Sally hears that her grandfather’s grave may have been vandalized, she and her paraplegic brother, Franklin, set out with their friends to investigate. After a detour to their family’s old farmhouse, they discover a group of crazed, murderous outcasts living next door. As the group is attacked one by one by the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface, who wears a mask of human skin, the survivors must do everything they can to escape.
The symbol of the mask made of human skin is perfect for the idea of “anti-human.” It equates men to something like an animal. Skin is just skin, it doesn’t matter where it comes from. The family is cannibalistic, the bones and other human parts are used as materials for objects around the house. Humans lose their essence to become matter. Only flesh and bone.
The last scene of the film is probably one of the most memorable ones. After the girl escapes the Leatherface, he dances with his chainsaw at sundown in a beautiful tribute to nothingness.
Why is he doing this? Why did the teens have to go through all of this?
It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t care. It just is.
Tomorrow: THE STRANGERS (2008)
Yesterday: GERALD’S GAME (2017)
