The then-dilapidated farm house originally sat on Quick Hill Road during the July–August 1973 filming of the movie.The original site is where La Frontera is now located, in Round Rock. We changed that to the character who eventually became Leatherface. With no real dialogue (apart from a gibberish scene that Hooper eventually cut) to drive his character, and his facial expressions hidden by a mask, Hansen had to come up with other ways to express who he thought Leatherface was. Then it was changed to the menacing working title of Leatherface. It's a work of film fiction. The film’s menacing opening narration is an instant tone-setter, preparing the audience for a truly horrifying experience. As he dragged the knife across Burns’s finger, Hansen was supposed to squeeze the bulb and pump the blood out to simulate the cut, but the tube kept clogging in take after take. Though its teeth were removed for some shots, the saw Hansen wielded in the film was indeed a working chainsaw, and it sometimes put cast members in real danger. The film went on to earn $12 million at the box office in its first year, according to Variety, but Bryanston ultimately claimed only about $1 million of that. Four years later, brother Henry would die under mysterious circumstances revolving around a fire on the family farm. 1974's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was loosely inspired by a number of real-life events that caught the attention of Hooper. He got so smelly by the end of production that the rest of the cast and crew avoided eating around him. Although represented as a true story involving the ambush and killing of a group of pals on a cascade through rural while encountering a family of cannibals in Texas, the film is actually a work of fiction. The six bedroom house was built in Austin in the 1850's then moved by train in the 1930's and rebuilt brick by brick where it now sits. We were angry.". Not outside of a series of movies, anyway. So, for my answer, and it is only what I have been told secondhanded from a supposedly read newspaper article, it did indeed take place, albeit many years ago, as the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" came out in, I believe, late 1970's early 1980's. For more information please see chainsaw safety devices. It just hit me that he was whiny.”. There’s a lot of bad karma surrounding this movie, and I’m quitting.’ So I called [art director] Bob Burns and told him I was interested.”. Ed was the returned to the Central State Hospital for the Criminally Insane where he died on July 26, 1984. Not outside of … Police searched the family farm where they found Bernice’s decapitated body hanging upside down inside the barn. The brothers apparently got into the film business in the first place after muscling away the rights to another classic ‘70s cult film: Deep Throat. Still, it’s probably not as gory as you remember. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a fictional story. In the summer of 1973, newbie director Tobe Hooper—who passed away on August 26, 2017 at the age of 74—and a group of unknown actors ventured out into the Central Texas heat to make a … It feels like you’re actually watching a group of people going insane, and that’s because … well, maybe you are. Years later, Hooper sarcastically referred to the experience as an “interesting summer.". Confining himself to a room off of the kitchen, Ed became obsessed with reading about Nazis and cannibals. More than four decades after its release, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre still shocks and thrills audiences with its realistic imagery, unhinged tone, and “based on a true story” marketing—and its status as one of the ultimate cult classics shows no signs of fading. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre True Story. “Before I came up with the chainsaw,” Hooper said, “the story had trolls under a bridge. Nine months, a check for $28.45. “At this point I was so crazy that I just wanted to get the film over with,” he later said. Homeless Person Living In Person’s Cabinet, The Strange Surreal Sculptures Of Shary Boyle. However, Gein lived in Wisconsin and he operated alone. Partain’s commitment worked just as well behind the camera as it did in front of it. The full extent of what he was up to on his family farm would not be revealed until over ten years later. Perhaps the trait that mostly links Ed back to Leatherface was his fondness for turning human skin into apparel. Sorry, there is/was no such person as "Leatherface", nor was there ever a real Texas Chainsaw Massacre in Texas or any other location in the world for that matter. The idea actually came from a doctor I knew. “Six months, no check. For all its brutality, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre also made use of the natural beauty of its location to produce some truly stunning images, including one shot that almost didn’t happen. To make matters more complicated, Bryanston Distributors—which acquired the film for release in late 1974—was declaring revenue for the film was much, much lower than the millions it raked in at drive-ins and midnight shows. The inspirations for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre are surprisingly diverse, ranging from director and co-writer Tobe Hooper’s attempt to make a modern retelling of Hansel and Gretel to real-life Wisconsin murderer and corpse defiler Ed Gein. “I did a rack focus to the saws, and I thought, ‘I know a way I could get through this crowd really quickly.’ I went home, sat down, all the channels just tuned in, the zeitgeist blew through, and the whole damn story came to me in what seemed like about 30 seconds. The film does make a connection with the crimes of Ed Gein. Among the other remains, the police also found a corset, leggings, masks, and a dress all made from the skin of young women. The best protection, even still, is experience. It was apparently the first time he had seen Hansen in full costume. Though the real crimes of Ed Gein did influence Hooper and Henkel in their writing, the idea that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is itself based on a true story is something that grew out of the marketing of the film. While The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is often seen as one of the most disturbing horror movies of the ‘70s, Tobe Hooper originally wanted the picture to be rated PG.Since the PG-13 rating wasn’t invented until 1984, Hooper wanted his film to be PG so that it could reach a wider audience.. The brothers were also reminded on an almost daily basis that they would never be loved by a woman. This behind-the-scenes observance actually produced some intense onscreen results. In 1974, director Tobe Hooper revolutionized horror with his film “inspired by a true story,” THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. Despite its reputation for gruesome mutilation and gore, much of the violence in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is suggested rather than directly depicted. Determined that would not happen again, his follow-up effort, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), would shake up the world of cinema, forever change the face of horror, and spawn a billion dollar franchise. I remembered that he’d once told me this story about how, when he was a pre-med student, the class was studying cadavers. Certainly there was no real family of cannibalistic chainsaw murderers slaughtering people in Texas, nor any actual series of chainsaw-related killings. Fond of preaching from the Old Testament, Augusta instilled the fear of God as well as a fear of sexuality and a general mistrust of women in Ed and his brother Henry. Despite this, there was an actual skin-wearing maniac that was the film’s inspiration. Although never proven, many suspect Ed played a role in his brother’s death. However, a second trial regarding his sanity found that he was once again not guilty by reason of insanity. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) & Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006) The poster for the 2003 remake was sinister, dark and had genuine menace despite the somewhat sad eyes of Leatherface, this time played by Andrew Bryniarski in both movies. Because The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (or, as it was originally known, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre) never happened. Of all the cast members, it was Ed Neal—the hitchhiker himself—who would have the most amusing reaction from fans. Now, I’ll be honest and state I did actually like both of these films. For as much information I have poured into this web site, people still e-mail me asking me where/if it really happened. With no idea where the deadly power tool would land, Hansen just covered his head and hoped for the best. The dinner scene near the end of the film in which Sally (Marilyn Burns) is terrorized by Leatherface and his family is one of the most intense sequences in all of horror cinema. The hitchhiker, the older brother at the gas station, the girl escaping twice, the dinner sequence, people out in the country out of gas.”. Both Henry and Ed were strictly forbidden from having visitors and were punished for even making friends. Nowhere. The events depicted in the movie never actually happened. McMinn once recalled picking up a hitchhiker with a friend (which is ironic, given the film’s relationship to hitchhikers) and listening to him describe how scary the film was to her until she asked if he recognized her. Sort of. Austin Chronicle : It's been 24 years since The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was released, and in that time it's become … Ed Gein and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre at Reel-Faces. The knife blade used in the scene was dulled by a piece of tape which also held a rubber tube attached to a “bulb” full of fake blood concealed in Hansen’s palm. The scene in which Sally’s finger is cut so that her blood can be fed to Grandpa was supposed to rely on a very simple special effect. He was buried at the Plainfield Cemetery where his grave was routinely vandalized. Ed was arraigned on November 21, 1957 where he pleaded “not guilty” by reason of insanity. According to Hooper, though, the light bulb moment that really ignited the film came at a department store during the Christmas 1972 shopping rush. As a result, the cast and crew worked for 27 straight hours to finish a scene that takes up only a few minutes of the film’s runtime. That’s the thing about The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which came out on Oct. 11, 1974: In many ways, it represents, both then and today, something larger than simply the movie on celluloid itself. To make matters worse, the production endured a Texas summer with temperatures in excess of 100 degrees (including 115-degree heat for the un-air conditioned interior shots), a single bathroom shared by more than three dozen people, costumes that could not be changed because the actors only had one set of clothes, and the constant presence of the bones and rotting meat used as props. There has never been a "chainsaw massacre" in Texas committed by a family of degenerate cannibals. While shooting at Leatherface’s house, Hooper and cinematographer Daniel Pearl conceived a shot that would track under the swing in the yard and follow Pam (Teri McMinn) at a low angle as she walked toward the house, which would grow menacingly in the background until it towered over her. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is actually a true story! The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American slasher film directed by Tobe Hooper and written and co-produced by Hooper and Kim Henkel. John Larroquette, then an unknown actor who was referred to Hooper by a friend. Ed Gein was one of two sons born to George and Augusta Gein. Ed's father, George, was a hard working farmer. The Texas Chainsaw House is located in Kingsland, Texas, on the grounds of The Antlers Hotel. The blade of the saw was just inches from actor William Vail’s head for the scene in which Leatherface begins carving up Kirk’s body, and Hooper and Pearl had to carefully dance around Hansen to shoot the film’s final moments as Leatherface swings the saw around. The answer to these questions is that the leading character in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is loosely based on the real life man, Ed Gein. Never mind flying under the radar. In 1974, director Tobe Hooper revolutionized horror with his film “inspired by a true story,” THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. And, while Gein was convicted of murdering two women, most of his crimes had to do with the fact that he stole corpses from the local cemetery. Though it's easy to think of the film as a straight-up horror movie, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre also belongs to the New Hollywood movement … Hansen—who stood six-foot-four and weighed 300 pounds—won the role from Hooper on sight. For example, when Jerry (Allen Danzinger) discovers Leatherface’s slaughter room and then meets the man himself, the scream he lets out is genuine. In addition to the excessive heat and odor in the dining room during filming, the sequence was given another challenge: It had to be completed in a single day because John Dugan, the actor who played Grandpa, refused to endure the 10-hour process of getting his makeup applied a second time. One of his most unnerving habits was to randomly laugh out loud as though someone had told a joke that only he could hear. July 6, 2016. The inspired events were also said to have taken place on August 18th, 1973. Some even say that they knew Leatherface for themselves or they knew the victims. For the role of Franklin, Sally’s wheelchair-bound brother who draws the ire of the audience when he grows angry with his more able-bodied friends simply because he can’t share in their fun, actor Paul Partain opted to take a very Method approach to his work. When I first read the part, I could see that nobody wanted this guy to be there. Check Out This Killer Custom-Painted TEXAS CHAINSAW VCR! The idea of a mask made of human skin actually came to Hooper far more directly, and creepily. A severe alcoholic who could not hold a job, Ed’s father, George, was despised by his wife, creating a heavy amount of tension in the home. The real-life model for terrifying horror movie psychos like Leatherface, Buffalo Bill, and Norman Bates was a man named Ed Gein, whose actual exploits were even more shocking than the movie plots they inspired. Though his name would suggest a singular horrifying visage, Leatherface actually wears multiple masks in the film—the rationale being that they were the only way he could truly express himself. “They finally asked me not to come back anymore,” Neal said. At one point he and Burns stopped speaking to each other between takes, and Hansen later recalled that Franklin was the only character he was actually happy to kill. Even this guy had to be screened by the TSA on the security line. At its best, its horrors … The saw landed just a few inches away. The cemetery from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in November 2011 The cemetery scenes were filmed at the Bagdad Cemetery in Leander, Texas, at the intersection of North Bagdad Rd at Old Farm to Market Rd 2243, Leander, TX 78641. Why the discrepancy? Regardless, this left Ed as the only outlet for his mother’s insane devotion until her death on December 29, 1945. It's a 1974 cult classic horror movie that spawned a series of sequels and remakes from 1984 to 2003. From marathon shooting days to flying chainsaws to mafia money problems, here are 20 facts about one of the greatest slasher films of all time. Then the original Leatherface quit. The house isn’t there anymore, but if you head west of Austin into Kingsland you can find the actual home, restored and now in use as a restaurant. In the end, the cast saw very little money for their work. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was produced on a budget of $60,000 raised by Bill Parsley, a Texas Tech administrator and former member of the Texas Legislature who fancied himself a film producer. Almost immediately after the film’s release, rumors began to circulate that there was an actual chainsaw wielding madman living with his deranged family in the town of Poth, Texas. The story is VERY LOOSELY based upon Ed Gein, a man from Plainfield, Wisconsin in the 1950's, who murdered only a few women and used parts of their bodies for clothing and furniture. To make matters a little more difficult, though, he also dealt with an interesting character technique that his victims engaged in. On a further search of the property, authorities also found various human remains including a trashcan made out of a human skull, chairs covered in human skin, and skull bedposts. When he first heard that the film was being made, Hansen—then a graduate student in Austin—was told he’d be “great” for the role, but that it was already cast. Couple kids were running around when they encountered a chainsaw … Where did the "REAL" Texas Chainsaw Massacre Happen? No this did not happen, though the story was based off of a killer named Ed Gein who robbed graves for recently dead body's and also killed at least 2 women. There’s the plain killing mask he wears for most of the film, the “grandma” mask he wears while preparing dinner to show his “domestic side,” and the makeup-covered mask he wears to sit down to dinner, complete with a suit in the Southern tradition of dressing up for the evening meal. “As you watch the film, notice there’s probably about two ounces,” Hooper later joked. The producers eventually took Bryanston to court, but by then the distributor’s financial situation was so dire that they had no demonstrable assets to sue for. But did “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” really happen? It’s hard to imagine anyone but the massive Gunnar Hansen, who passed away in 2015, behind the Leatherface mask in the original film now, but he was apparently not the first person cast in the role. Hidden away on the family’s secluded farm, the family kept to themselves. On November 7, 1968, doctors determined that Ed was capable of standing trial, and he was found guilty on November 14th. 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