From Lightbulb Film Distribution come this brand new The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Documentary featuring outtakes and interviews with Stephen King, Patton Oswalt, Karyn Kusama, Takashi Miike and Alexandra Heller-Nicholas as this iconic Ed Gein inspired horror movie is celebrated in this rather insightful and fun documentary.
Now out of all of the contributors above I thought Stephen King would have been the immediate favourite of mine to pick his brains about this film to explore horror film influence over but weirdly enough Patton Oswalt absolutely shines in this documentary as he beautifully compares the scenic shots of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as a stark contrast to the horror that lies within.
There’s a beautiful piece within the documentary where Patton is comparing The Texas Chainsaw Massacre to certain scenes shown within the original 1922 Nosferatu film. This encroaching death that the audience sees before the characters within the movie does and this eerie contrast of the beauty of the world papering over the cracks of the horror that lies within it.
That’s powerful stuff!
The doc had its World premiere at Venice Film Festival last year, before screening at a string of International festivals – including BFI (London), Night Visions (Finland), Sitges (Spain) and MIFF (Australia).
Chain Reactions is released around fifty years after the original Tobe Hooper classic shocked the world and it’s great to see it discussed and dissected whilst at the same time having the input of the guests dive into their own horror movie favourites and inspirations whilst linking back to what made The Texas Chainsaw Massacre so great.
“We are thrilled to be bringing Chain Reactions to audiences in the UK & Ireland. As a huge fan of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which I first watched on a beaten-up VHS tape, it’s a dream come true to work on this project. Chain Reactions takes a deep dive into one of the most significant independent films of all time and is a must-watch for horror fans!”commented Commercial Director, Matthew Kreuzer.
This documentary comes at a perfect time for me after just having experienced the UK’s first licensed Texas Chainsaw Massacre scare maze and whilst it wasn’t perfect, neither was the film but it was new, it was terrifying an sadly over the years audiences have become numb to that original concept of what made a horror great.
Filmmakers are now trying to push the boundaries in every way possible to recapture that original terror of what it was like to first go into the cinema and witness these future classics unfold for the first time before your eyes, so visceral, so real, so engrossing yet entertaining.
You’re going to rather enjoy this The Texas Chainsaw Massacre documentary even if at times it does play it a little too close to the surface, now and then it just needs an extra rev of the chainsaw to get to the bone of the topic at hand.
Our Rating
Summary
Comprehensive and insightful with a wonderful array of guests on the documentary but where the film somewhat lacks for me is that at times it stays floating at the surface rather than really cutting down to the bone of this glorious horror classic.
