Each year, the National Film Registry selects 25 films that have made a significant contribution to the medium historically, aesthetically, and culturally. There have been some important works in the horror genre; Todd Browningof Freak (1932), George Romeroof night of the living dead (1968), and Jonson Demmeof silence of the lambs (1991) stands among them. It’s easy to justify their spot on the roster. These films transformed the language of horror and the potency of unique expressions of violence. night of the living deadFor example, blood and gore are turned into tools of political thought that can expose the immorality of a country. Freakon the other hand, challenges society’s perception of normalcy and discovers that it is more dangerous and unstable than the so-called freaks at the center of the story.
Apparently, the barrier to entry into the film registry is quite high. However, the latest horror classics contained within exceed these expectations and their contribution is undeniable. that movie is tobe hooperof Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), one of the most deserving films of all time.
Loosely based on a true case of a serial killer Ed Gein (also known as the Plainfield Butcher), Texas Chainsaw Massacre Follow a group of hippie friends with the iconic Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen), a chainsaw-wielding madman wearing a mask made from the faces of his victims. He was part of a family of cannibals who lived in a house furnished with a couch and other utensils made of human skin and bones.
Leatherface and his family went on to kill most of the group, but it was the ones who survived that were everything. One of the girls is named Sally (Marilyn Burns), manages to avoid becoming dinner for a family of cannibals, and leaves at the end of the film in the back of a pickup truck with a mixture of triumphant laughter and utter terror. That last detail gave birth to one of horror’s most cherished and enduring tropes: the final girl.
This contribution is precisely the purpose of film registration. The Final Girl, as the name suggests, is a character who survives a terrorist attack against all odds. By definition, horror movies are presentations of violence in the hope that viewers will enjoy the free flow of gore. Defeating the zombie machines chasing you means defeating the killing machines. This means making it impossible for the killer to succeed.
The final girl trope doesn’t represent a complete victory, though. Instead, it’s a middle finger to the murderer. It’s about finding a little bit of damaged hope in all the ugliness. As a result, it gives women a greater sense of agency and power that many other horror movies before it didn’t really give them. This alone deserves to go down in the annals of film history.
What else is cement? chainsaw massacreWhen it comes to Final Girl’s status as a mainstay of American horror, it’s the way it’s violent. Hooper was not interested in set kill scenes or flashy dismemberments. It’s about capturing something raw, chaotic, brutal and legitimate. Unlike Michael Meyers or Jason Voorhees, it’s not hard to imagine someone as unhinged as Leatherface actually going out and killing people with a chainsaw and then doing unspeakable things to their bodies. This is thanks to the naturalistic feel of the murder scenes.
chainsaw massacre It’s not too gory, and it’s not a bloody mess either. It is often suggestive, with sound playing a more important role than it is given credit for. The horror Hooper pursues centers on a more horrific sense of violence. It’s brutal and taboo, not explicit. This makes Leatherface feel more dangerous than some of his fellow killers. He’s just more real. This allowed Hooper to establish an American form of violence that initially reflected the onset of the seventies and the beginning of the fading of the counterculture.
One final point. The fact that Leatherface is part of a family that plays a prominent role in the film also allows Hooper to comment on the corruption of American families, specifically how they pass evil down through the generations. This is so important that I think a Leatherface movie without a family element takes away some of the essence of the character. Killing is a family business Texas Chainsaw Massacreits expression in the film inspired future storytellers to think about what they wanted to express with violence.
Tobe Hooper’s horror classic earned a spot in the National Film Registry by expanding the language of horror. In short, it changes genre. The horrific history thus came to an end in 1974. So horror looks different. Horror culture was forever changed as a result. This shows that in addition to being a great tool for removing someone’s face, a chainsaw can also be a great tool for criticism and female agency.
