This is because Hooper was hoping for a PG rating so that the film could reach a wider audience (there was no PG-13 at the time) and was told by the Motion Picture Association of America that he could help his cause if he limited the amount of onscreen blood. The film follows a group of friends who fall victim to a family of cannibals while on their way to visit an old homestead. “As you watch the film, notice there’s probably about two ounces,” Hooper later joked. 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 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. Regardless, this left Ed as the only outlet for his mother’s insane devotion until her death on December 29, 1945. Ed was arraigned on November 21, 1957 where he pleaded “not guilty” by reason of insanity. After inspiration struck, Hooper and co-writer Kim Henkel hammered out a script over several weeks and gave it the eerie title Head Cheese (named for the scene in which the hitchhiker details the process of how that particular pork product is made). For example, when Jerry (Allen Danzinger) discovers Leatherface’s slaughter room and then meets the man himself, the scream he lets out is genuine. This behind-the-scenes observance actually produced some intense onscreen results. The concept for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre came to Hooper in the early '70s, as he was directly inspired by much of the … The original location used as the house of Leatherface and his family was located in Williamson County, Texas, in what is now the Round Rock area. But did “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” really happen? His mother was overbearing. It's not even based on a true story. Despite this, there was an actual skin-wearing maniac that was the film’s inspiration. Hooper will present The Texas Chainsaw Massacre this Friday, October 30 at the Alamo Drafthouse as a benefit screening for the Austin Film Society. 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. “Six months, no check. 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. Found mentally incompetent, Ed was sent to the Central State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Robert Bloch used him as inspiration for his 1959 novel PSYCHO, which went on to be adapted for the screen in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 film of the same name. Because of its realism and “true story” marketing, Texas Chainsaw created the opportunity for some interesting encounters between fans and cast members. 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. Now, I’ll be honest and state I did actually like both of these films. George died on April 1, 1940 of alcohol-related heart failure. It was apparently the first time he had seen Hansen in full costume. 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. He was buried at the Plainfield Cemetery where his grave was routinely vandalized. It’s called the Grand Central Café, and though the owners proudly include its cinematic heritage on their website, you won’t find any human bones as part of the décor. 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. 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. 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. 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. Check Out This Killer Custom-Painted TEXAS CHAINSAW VCR! 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. Not bad for a little film that drove the cast and crew insane during production. 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. Austin Chronicle : It's been 24 years since The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was released, and in that time it's become … 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. But not quite. So, basically, the cannibal crew in Texas Chainsaw Massacre is actually an amalgamation of lots of creepy IRL men, which definitely makes the entire movie much more … 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. However, a quick check of that date reveals that the film had just wrapped four days’ prior, making it fairly difficult to base a film on an actual event that had yet to occur. With no idea where the deadly power tool would land, Hansen just covered his head and hoped for the best. 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. Ed Gein was one of two sons born to George and Augusta Gein. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a HUGE urban legend known by many people around the world. Nothing was found and on the records, it was concluded that the massacre Sally described did not happen. The story of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is loosely based on two real-life events (it's more of a melding of both events). 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. The Texas Chainsaw House is located in Kingsland, Texas, on the grounds of The Antlers Hotel. Where did the "REAL" Texas Chainsaw Massacre Happen? “At this point I was so crazy that I just wanted to get the film over with,” he later said. Police searched the family farm where they found Bernice’s decapitated body hanging upside down inside the barn. 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.. 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. Because of its low budget, many of the stars of Chainsaw took ownership shares in the film rather than a salary, but their shares were actually percentages of Vortex, the company set up by Henkel and Hooper to produce the film. “Two weeks later,” Hansen recalled, “the same guy calls and says, ‘The guy who was hired as the killer is holed up drunk in a motel and won’t come out. Today's chainsaws show all a number of safety features to protect the operator. 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. In the film, the character Leatherface was influenced by real life killer and grave robber Ed Gein. The best protection, even still, is experience. This 1900s Victorian house was featured prominently in the 1974 film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre as the home of Leatherface and his cannibalistic family, before it was moved to this location from Williamson County in 1998. Ed Gein and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre at Reel-Faces. Ed also went on to see his likeness portrayed in the 1974 film DERANGED, as well as in Rob Zombie’s HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES and THE DEVIL’S REJECTS. Then, to capture the mental instability of the character, he went to an Austin mental hospital and studied the movements of the patients there, which he then incorporated into his performance. Why the discrepancy? “I was a young, inexperienced actor who didn’t realize that it wasn’t like theater," Partain later said. We decided Leatherface would have a different human-skin mask to fit each of his moods.”. 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. It just hit me that he was whiny.”. 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. As a large man who had to work every day in triple-digit heat while wearing a wool costume that he couldn’t change out of, Gunnar Hansen already had it rough while making The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. “During the filming, none of them would talk to me or be anywhere near me until they were dead,” he later recalled. The brothers were also reminded on an almost daily basis that they would never be loved by a woman. Ed's father, George, was a hard working farmer. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a fictional story. According to Hooper, though, the light bulb moment that really ignited the film came at a department store during the Christmas 1972 shopping rush. 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. DVD commentary by Tobe Hooper, Daniel Pearl, and Gunnar Hansen – 2003, suggested to Hooper and Henkel by Warren Skaaren. 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. In terms of ticket sales, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of the most profitable films of all time. 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. 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. That said, Texas is a big state and, sadly, we do have our share of serial killers, wackos, and dysfunctional families. The saw landed just a few inches away. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre True Story. The film does make a connection with the crimes of Ed Gein. 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. It's a work of film fiction. Not outside of a series of movies, anyway. Gein's last victim was Beatrice Worden. 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. Born to an alcoholic father, George, and a fanatically religious mother, Augusta, Ed Gein suffered heavy psychological and physical abuse at the hands of his parents. “Before I came up with the chainsaw,” Hooper said, “the story had trolls under a bridge. Sort of. I just kind of zoned in on it,” Hooper told Texas Monthly. "There were these big Christmas crowds, I was frustrated, and I found myself near a display rack of chain saws. At its best, its horrors … See pics of the real Leatherface, Ed Gein, and watch the movie trailer. Braving blistering temperatures, on-set injuries, and a shoestring budget, they produced one of the most terrifying motion pictures ever made. Never mind flying under the radar. The full extent of what he was up to on his family farm would not be revealed until over ten years later. Ed Gein found himself the subject of many interpretations. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is actually a true story! The film was marketed as being based on true events to attract a wider a… The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a fictional story. “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. Still, it’s probably not as gory as you remember. 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. In 1974, director Tobe Hooper revolutionized horror with his film “inspired by a true story,” THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. 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. When I first read the part, I could see that nobody wanted this guy to be there. Despite their abusive relationship, Ed was devastated by his mother’s death. If there ever was any "chainsaw massacre" of any kind, anywhere, it is totally unrelated, completely coincidental and had no bearing or impact on Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel's creative process during the production of their 1974 film. In 1974, director Tobe Hooper revolutionized horror with his film “inspired by a true story,” THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. 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. Classmates remember Ed as being reclusive with strange habits. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is NOT a true story. 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. Certainly there was no real family of cannibalistic chainsaw murderers slaughtering people in Texas, nor any actual series of chainsaw-related killings. Perhaps the trait that mostly links Ed back to Leatherface was his fondness for turning human skin into apparel. Augusta’s strict biblical teachings were extremely instrumental in shaping Ed’s attitude towards women. He may not have had a chainsaw, but serial killer Ed Gein was a key inspiration for the infamous Leatherface. Ed was the returned to the Central State Hospital for the Criminally Insane where he died on July 26, 1984. Of all the cast members, it was Ed Neal—the hitchhiker himself—who would have the most amusing reaction from fans. Hooper asked Larroquette to imitate Orson Welles for his reading, and while he didn’t quite get that, what the actor ultimately provided worked wonders. 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. The Shockingly Disturbing Story of the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. Confining himself to a room off of the kitchen, Ed became obsessed with reading about Nazis and cannibals. 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 horror movie. We changed that to the character who eventually became Leatherface. Virtually no member of the cast went uninjured, and the heat and stench got so punishing at one point that the actors would run to the windows of the house where the dinner scene was shot to throw up and breathe a little fresh air between takes. “I’ve had people say ‘I knew the original Leatherface,’” Gunnar Hansen, who played the killer character, recalled. Despite its reputation for gruesome mutilation and gore, much of the violence in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is suggested rather than directly depicted. Alas, the film’s intensity ultimately meant it earned an R rating. Then the original Leatherface quit. July 6, 2016. I remembered that he’d once told me this story about how, when he was a pre-med student, the class was studying cadavers. Not outside of … 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. John Larroquette, then an unknown actor who was referred to Hooper by a friend. The voice providing that menace? The idea actually came from a doctor I knew. Thanks to the rural location of the home, and it's natural eerie look, the house was a shoe-in for the 2003 Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake and it ended up playing the part of Leatherface's abode. Ed took odd jobs but remained reclusive and unsuspecting. We were angry.". Additional Sources: During the shoot, Burns and the other kids who would eventually fall prey to Leatherface avoided Hansen because they didn’t want to hang out with their killer. Both Henry and Ed were strictly forbidden from having visitors and were punished for even making friends. Ed was born in 1906 and his brother Henry was born five years before. For more information please see chainsaw safety devices. Frustrated and exhausted (this was during the 27-hour shooting marathon), Hansen ultimately stripped the tape off the knife when no one was looking and cut Burns for real. And he went into the morgue and skinned a cadaver and made a mask for Halloween. The idea of a mask made of human skin actually came to Hooper far more directly, and creepily. Some even say that they knew Leatherface for themselves or they knew the victims. 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. "You didn’t have to stay in character all the time. According to both Hooper and Pearl, producers (namely Parsley, who visited the set often and feared the film would be a disaster) didn’t want them to spend time on the shot, as it was not a part of the storyboards they worked from for much of the film. As you remember 18th, 1973 this guy had to be screened by the TSA on records... 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