--- title: "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre" critics_score: 81 critics_reviews: 12 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974): what the critics said Critics' score 81 from 12 reviews: 11 positive, 0 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics find The Texas Chain Saw Massacre an intensely effective horror film, with eleven of the twelve reviews positive. Praise centres on Tobe Hooper’s documentary-style realism and the use of sound, editing and framing to sustain dread. Several reviews stress how much violence is suggested rather than shown, crediting the grimy surroundings and oppressive atmosphere with making anticipation as distressing as the attacks themselves. The differences concern what that terror achieves, and whether its relentlessness is enough. Some critics read the film as a response to industrial decline and American social anxiety; others admire it chiefly as a precisely staged exercise in fright, with occasional gallows humour. The lone negative review, at RogerEbert.com, acknowledges the technical skill and effective performances but finds little purpose beyond disgust and fear. That dissent leaves a broad positive consensus with a sharp disagreement over whether accomplished horror needs any further justification. ## Slant Magazine — Eric Henderson Rating 4/4. 24 May 2003. The critic praises the film's anarchic gallows humor and its evocation of Vietnam-era social dread through a cannibal family narrative. He singles out the juxtaposition of horror and comedy, along with the suggestive power of its grimy, verité style over explicit gore. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-texas-chainsaw-massacre/) ## Empire — William Thomas Fi1m's normalised score 95/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The most purely horrifying horror movie ever made. Hooper's sick, inventive film remains as disturbing, suspenseful and shattering as ever, with horror scenes staged with unforgettable force using the soundtrack and unsettling details. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/texas-chainsaw-massacre-review/) ## Radio Times — Alan Jones Rating 5 out of 5 stars. The critic describes it as a seminal classic whose shock value has not dimmed. They single out Hooper’s masterful use of documentary-style realism combined with the horror of anticipation and suggestion. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-lrrd3m/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre/) ## The New Yorker — Jackson Arn Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 13 August 2024. Fifty years on, the film reads like sociology about how assembly lines, technology, and unemployment derange the working class and leave them hungry, with killing and family loyalty intertwined. It praises the film's tautness, visual beauty in decay, and haunting quality over mere scares. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/in-the-texas-chainsaw-massacre-feeding-your-family-comes-first) ## The Telegraph — Robbie Collin Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 11 October 2024. The piece presents the film as a shoestring slasher and masterful critique of post-industrial capitalism that transformed horror cinema, establishing the final girl trope while drawing on real-world influences like Ed Gein. It praises the editing, documentary-like quality, and inimitable impact that still resonates 50 years later. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/texas-chain-saw-massacre-50th-anniversary/) ## The Guardian — Derek Malcolm Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 18 November 1976. The critic finds the film a formidable piece of directorial artifice and a minor tour de force, a horror comic brought to the screen with frenetic energy. It effectively plants most of the violence in the audience's minds and delivers sweat-inducing sequences that lead the imagination without pretending to be anything more than a scare. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/18/texas-chainsaw-massacre-review-archive-1976) ## Time Out — Tom Huddleston Rating 5 out of 5 stars. 21 September 2024. The critic calls it a punishingly literal horror that retains its single-minded power decades later. They single out the sheer relentlessness of the chase scenes and the rancid dinner scene for creating an oppressive, skin-crawling sense of inhuman nastiness. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-1999) ## Variety — Variety Staff Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 1974. Despite heavy gore, Tobe Hooper's film is well-made for an exploiter of its type, with a professional look, skillful dolly shots, sharp composition, and acting above par for the genre. It notes the thin color but highlights the atmospheric effects and detail. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1973/film/reviews/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-1200423121/) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 1974. The film is a grisly, violent Grand Guignol exercise in terror with no apparent purpose beyond creating disgust and fright, yet it is technically well-made, well-acted, and effective in its own weird way. The critic gives grudging admiration to the craft and performances but finds the movie unnecessary overall. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-1974) ## HeyUGuys — Sam Inglis Rating ★★★★★. 21 April 2023. The critic calls the film a pure masterpiece and the most finely tuned dread machine in cinema history. They single out its deceptive use of implication and atmosphere over explicit gore, particularly in sequences like the intense family dinner scene. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-1974-4k-limited-edition-review/) ## Collider — Kelcie Mattson Rating 9/10. 11 October 2024. The film is a haunting and unflinching horror masterpiece worthy of its acclaim. The critic praises its documentary-style camerawork, minimal score, and production design that create a haunting mood, along with the way it emphasizes atmosphere and psychological violence over explicit gore. [Read the review](https://collider.com/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre-review/) ## Den of Geek — Ryan Lambie Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 October 2019. The critic celebrates the film's raw power and timeless horror achieved through low-budget ingenuity and intense atmosphere, singling out its use of sound, editing, and framing over gore, and its unflinching depiction of fear in 1970s America. The piece highlights how the difficult production contributed to the movie's authentic terror. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-texas-chainsaw-massacre-how-low-budget-filmmaking-created-a-classic/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre.md