Eaten Alive.

Review #2281: Eaten Alive.

Cast: 

Neville Brand (Judd), Mel Ferrer (Harvey Wood), Carolyn Jones (Miss Hattie), Marilyn Burns (Faye), William Finley (Roy), Stuart Whitman (Sheriff Martin), Roberta Collins (Clara Wood), Kyle Richards (Angie), Robert Englund (Buck), Janus Blythe (Lynette), and Crystin Sinclaire (Libby Wood) Directed by Tobe Hooper (#348 - Poltergeist, #1297 - The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, #1909 - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, #2134 - Lifeforce)

Review: 

"I like the unknown and strange, bizarre things. It's really weird because I've had people ask me about making these films. Do they scare you when you're making them? No, it's not at all scary. When you shoot these things and you see that they work, you're laughing, and it becomes a comedy to you."

It sure is weird to get a runaway classic on your second try as a director. In 1974, Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel wrote the screenplay to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which you already know would be Hooper's crowning achievement. However, less people might know of his next effort with this film, one that was written by Henkel, this time co-writing it with Alvin L. Fast and Mardi Rustam. The movie apparently took inspiration from the serial killer Joe Ball, who killed at least two people in the 1930s and had an alligator pit (he apparently didn't throw people in there, but "Alligator Man" was one nickname applied to him anyway) in his place in Texas. The film apparently has had several alternate titles (probably because Mars Productions didn't exactly make a killing on original release), such as "Death Trap", "Horror Hotel", and "Starlight Slaughter". Incidentally, Hooper grew up to a family that operated their own theater. Hooper had a few disagreements with producers (supposedly leaving the production before it finished), with the money that had come to do the film apparently only coming with the stipulation that he would do the film, which had a bit of handwringing in writing. However, he would keep busy in the next couple of years, directing a TV miniseries of Salem's Lot in 1979 before he got his first prominent studio film with The Funhouse (1981).

It's funny, if you make a hokey little movie with some commitment to gore or at least one energetic performance, you have my attention. Of course, this is a movie that decides to start itself off with a hooker rejecting the advances of a man trying to get behind for his services, so one has a feel that this is going to be a weird one. With a film filled with a key eccentric performance and a few sticking points of would-be and known names to go along with one strange set piece, you have the stage for a curious bit of low budget sleaze hokum. I actually kind of like this ridiculous movie. The whole film was shot on a sound stage at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood, complete with a large pool that doubled for the swamp. Hooper aimed for a "surrealistic, twilight world" with the hotel in terms of lighting, which is amusing to see play out for such a delightful exploitative film that would be right at home for people who liked, say, Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964), complete with little to really say about the characters beyond mayhem. Brand went through the gamut of acting as a heavy (Western or otherwise), tough-guy roles and the occasional lead for film and plenty of TV. Here he clearly was given the light to just go nuts and have fun, complete with getting to use a scythe at one point. He makes for a capable unstable monster worth following along with, a terror in his own square of squalor that seems to like his space and his gator. The movie isn't really that big on showing the alligator, showing it only for scenes involving, well, the body count, but I don't mind too much (others might be weirded out by one pet death, but, well....). You have your mix of actors of varying experience of familiarity like Burns (returning to work with Hooper in probably her second most known film role), Jones (in her penultimate film role), Ferrer (a career vet on the mend), and Englund and Richards (in the horror film before each became more well known, although Englund did work with Hooper twice more with Night Terrors [1993] and The Mangler [1995]). Burns probably comes out the best when it comes to reacting to terror, although there is something amusing about seeing Englund play a sleazeball with ease (Jones is more a cameo than anything). The 91-minute runtime might not be the easiest sit for everybody when it comes to weird and alluring sleaze, but there is something curious about the whole affair that keeps me going even when it just looks like a vehicle for death, mostly because that hotel set really is quite striking to get stuck looking into. As a whole, Hooper was a curious director that used his fascination with the strange and murky things to make a film that works for a specific kind of interested horror fan that goes in knowing Hooper was more than just a one-trick pony. In that sense, it might be for you.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974).

Review #1297: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

Cast: 
Marilyn Burns (Sally Hardesty), Allen Danziger (Jerry), Paul A. Partain (Franklin Hardesty), William Vail (Kirk), Teri McMinn (Pam), Edwin Neal (Nubbins Sawyer - The Hitchiker), Jim Siedow (Drayton Sawyer - The Proprietor), Gunnar Hansen (Leatherface), John Dugan (Grandpa Sawyer), and John Larroquette (Narrator) Directed by Tobe Hooper (#348 - Poltergeist)

Review: 
When it comes to raw and authentic pieces of slasher horror, there really is nothing like this film. Sure, there had been previous films that had linings of what you could call a slasher (such as Psycho or Peeping Tom from 1960), but this one certainly stands out in a decade that burgeoned an era of horror films with a crazed killer and certain bladed tools (which is true for Black Christmas as well, released in the same month as this film) that had its influence from serial killers. It is a discomforting film that is unflinching in its method of madness when it comes to horror, right down to its grisly imagery that starts from the very get-go, lingering in terror in a manner that stands just as tall as it did over four decades ago. Hooper utilized his idea of making a film about isolation and darkness to go along with graphic coverage utilized on news outlets of the time, co-writing the screenplay with Kim Henkel. The budget has been estimated to be around $80,000-140,000, with unknown actors utilized for the roles, who had to deal with humid conditions that once peaked at 110 degrees. 

It manages to be such an unsettling film with its gritty imagery and the moments that surround its title massacre, where being isolated in the backwoods almost seems scary enough before encountering creeps like these. It comes together at its own pace for 83 minutes without leaving the horror mind begging for more, giving one quite a fear already without having to go for the gut every time. That's not to say that this film is restrained in any way, it just means that the film works so well without even having to show such a big body count or with having to build its deaths up to high levels. When it needs to let itself into the madhouse, it does so without too much trouble. Of the castmates that we are introduced to early on, Burns comes out the best, proving capable with the opening parts that soon settle into much creepier elements, such as watching someone talk about their former job in the slaughterhouse or faced with having to have dinner with some disturbing people and the screams that come with it. It might not take much to seem convincing when it comes to having to deal with terror for a movie, but she sure does a pretty good job in making it seem real enough to resonate with its audience. Neal and Sideow are creepy enough when the time is needed, and Hansen (who wore just one mask throughout the whole film due to fears over damaging their only costume) is excellent with a role that requires only to make a lumbering chainsaw-wielder have some sort of voice that doesn't usually come from these particular movies. It never lets go on suspense and the looming horror by being grisly yet effective with its choices from Hooper. 

It should prove no surprise that there were follow-up films released in the years to come. Twelve years later, Hooper returned to direct a sequel, which mixed slasher and black comedy elements. There were two following sequels released in 1990 and 1995 (the latter directed by Hinkel) before a remake was released in 2003, which inspired its own prequel three years later. After that followed Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013), which acted as a direct sequel to only the first film. Naturally, another prequel to the series followed with Leatherface (2017). On the whole, this is a film that can be credited as a key influence for the slasher genre along with being a great horror film that delivers most on its intent of showing terror in the woods with a chainsaw and imagery to go with it.

Thankful to have done five reviews in the span of a week for Halloween - The Week After, the first themed-week of any kind in years for this show. It was interesting to think of what should and should or shouldn't be included while making sure they were (mostly) written on time. I don't usually tell what a following review will be, so that's a new one. Actually, I can say what the next one will be, since I pushed it to be after this theme week ended. Hope you enjoyed it.

Next Review: They Live.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.