FC: Institutional context: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Hooper, 1974)

Information about the film:
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is an example of an independent horror film of the slasher subgenre. The film was so gore filled that the British Board of Film Classification struggled to award it a certification at first and it was described as "the pornography of terror" because its intent seemed to be to ask the viewers to revel in a venerable woman's situation. After certain scenes were removed the film was given the 18 certificate and it was released on October 1st 1974 in the USA. The film was a success, the budget is argued over but most people say it  was in the $140,000 region and the total life time gross equals over $30 million. the film also lead to a Chainsaw Massacre Franchise which is unusual for an independent film. Although the film has the feel of a standard slasher film it actually has a political undertone. Hooper said changes in culture and politics lead him to intentionally misleading people into thinking the film was true and he wanted to highlight that the government were and still are lying to the general public about things going on all over the world.

Production:

• The films budget was small so money had to be saved wherever possible.
• Production time was limited due to the high cost of hiring the filming equipment. It was therefor shot over 4 weeks in very high temperatures. Most filming days in this period lasted up to 16 hours.
• To save money on  props, the crew members found dead animal carcasses at the sides of roads in various stages of disgustingness and scattered them around the set to give a nice homely feel.
• the set was a Texas farm house where most of the film was shot. it was covered with latex material, as well as animal carcasses, to give the furniture a more skin like quality.
• Instead of expensive effects to make the chainsaw look real they just filmed with a fully running chainsaw. in some scenes it was within 3 inches of the actors faces.
• None of the actors cast were well known, as can be expected with an independent film. Most were from the Texas area and had only previously appeared in Theater and TV adverts.

Distribution:

• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre premiered on October 1, 1974, in Austin, Texas, almost a year after filming concluded.
• For 8 years after 1976 it was annually reissued which led to its eventual $30 million gross.