The scariest movie of all time is more than half a century old, and it’s now available on Netflix
The scariest movie of all time is more than half a century old, and it’s now available on Netflix
By Chris Snellgrove | Published: 2025-10-28 17:17:00 | Source: GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT
Written by Chris Snellgrove | Published
Modern filmmakers constantly stumble to deliver the scariest movie ever by doing everything from elevating the venerable horror genre (like the Scream franchise) to covering the screen in buckets of blood (looking at you, horrifying). Unfortunately, no modern director has been able to top a film released more than half a century ago, which remains the scariest film in Hollywood history. This movie is Tobe Hooper Texas chain saw massacreand you can now stream this classic historical horror film on Prime Video.
Road trip from hell
hypothesis Texas chain saw massacre is that a group of road-tripping teenagers are stuck in a rural Texas town when they run out of gas, and the only nearby station runs out of gas. They end up checking out a creepy old house (never a good idea in a horror movie) and encounter a monstrous man wearing a mask made of human flesh. Incredibly, the only thing scarier than a chainsaw-wielding Leatherface is his creepy family, a family dedicated to ensuring that this road trip will be the last one for this helpless group of terrified teens.
Cast Texas chain saw massacre Really adds to the horror of the film, including Marilyn Burns (known outside of this franchise for Helter Skelter miniseries) as someone who could be the first final horror girl if of course she manages to survive in this terrifying family. Allen Danziger (known outside of this film as… Hacker) plays her boyfriend and leader of a group that is never going anywhere again. Meanwhile, Paul A. Partin (known outside of this film as… Rolling thunder) has the dubious honor of playing the most annoying character in horror history, one you can only hope will be killed off sooner rather than later.
There are other great performances, starting with Edwin Neill’s eerie rambling, and John Larroquette’s earnest narrator. But the most memorable performance comes from Gunnar Hansen as Leatherface: transcending the character’s brutal makeup, Hansen uses everything from his height to his uncannily subtle body language to bring horror’s most terrifying villains to stunning life. While this first film spawned many subsequent films, it’s fair to say that there has never been another Leatherface actor channeling pure white horror quite like Hansen.
Publication through box office
Regarding its budget The Texas Chainsaw Massacre It is one of the most successful horror films in the history of horror. Against a budget of $80,000 to $140,000, this rudimentary film grossed $30.9 million at the box office, and its success was a testament to how hungry audiences were for a bloody, brutal, and refreshingly raw film. This huge box office performance led to a series of sequels and reboots, but none of the subsequent films matched the violent verve and bloody brilliance of the original (though the 2003 film remains one of the best horror reboots ever to grace the Silver Scream… that is, the screen).
when Texas chain saw massacre It made its way into theaters, leaving a bloody trail of deeply impressed critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of 84 percent, and critics praised the film for its intelligent writing and engaging storytelling. They also praised the documentary style, which enhanced the film’s horror by making every bit of gore and bizarre scares seem very real.
For me, I’m a huge horror fan, and I’ve seen most of the Texas Chain Saw Massacre series, from the flawed but fun early installments to the later reboots (complete with branching timelines that even Doc Brown couldn’t easily explain). All of these subsequent films fall short of the original for many reasons, including the fact that the first part of the series always leaned toward the unexpected. Leatherface’s first and last appearances are truly shocking and terrifying, and this character (not to mention his crazy family) never does exactly what you expect them to do.
The terror of the unknown
In a way, this is why most subsequent films failed: they tried to build a big-screen mythos out of characters designed to be agents of absolute chaos. They are not predictable supervillains, but instead a group of wall-eyed killers whose motives are known only to themselves. Nothing induces a more terrifying terror than the unknown, and Leatherface and his entire cannibalistic clan constantly defy explanation or examination, even as they hack, slash, and saw their way through one hapless victim after another.
Would you agree to that? Texas chain saw massacre Is it the scariest movie ever made, or is this venerable, violent film one you’d want to take the chainsaw to? You won’t know until you’re standing next to the couch and streaming it on Prime Video, Netflix, or Peacock. Just be careful not to show it to any guy in your life unless you want to turn them into traumatized couch potatoes.
Or worse, lifelong horror addicts!
(tags for translation) Allen Danziger
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