GRADE: 9
Two siblings and three of their friends en route to visit their grandfather’s grave in Texas end up falling victim to a family of cannibalistic psychopaths and must survive the terrors of Leatherface and his family.
Director: Tobe Hooper
Country: USA
THOUGHTS:
Even though it turns from gritty and raw to over-the-top towards the finale, this movie has a visceral impact that took me by surprise. Leatherface, the big, clumsy, faceless menace is truly the stuff of nightmares, but his younger brother, a menacing, inscrutable, murderous thrillseeker is horrifying in his own right. Only during the “family dinner” scene does the film let up, turning from genuinely frightening to comically macabre. The final sequence with Leatherface twirling wildly in the morning scene is grim but magnificent: an impressionist bit of horror that burns itself into your brain and lingers.