Show Notes
Tobe Hooper’s legendary low-budget horror film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, first screened in Austin on 1st October, 1974.
The movie was an international sensation - making £21.9 million from its £100,000 budget in its first year - although not in the UK, where it was not screened nationally for 25 years, due to the BBFC’s concerns about its portrayal of suffering and violence against women.
In this episode, The Retrospectors unpick the picture’s gruesome reputation, given that much of the violence is suggested rather than explicitly shown; pore over the extreme conditions faced by the hitherto unknown cast during filming, including scorching Texas heat and foul-smelling props like rotting animal bones; and consider whether the piece can be considered a (very black) comedy…
Further Reading:
• ‘Tobe Hooper: the director who took a chainsaw to wholesome family life’ (The Guardian, 2017): https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/aug/27/tobe-hooper-appreciation-texas-chainsaw-massacre-american-family
• ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ (BBFC Education): https://www.bbfc.co.uk/education/case-studies/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre
• ‘ The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Original Trailer (Tobe Hooper, 1974): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKn9QIaMgtQ
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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.
Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.
Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.
This episode originally aired in 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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