---
name: "Tobe Hooper"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/tobe-hooper"
fi1m_id: "tobe-hooper"
imdb_id: "nm0001361"
tmdb_id: 10051
wikidata_id: "Q450728"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "25 January 1943"
died: "26 August 2017"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 79
average_as: "director"
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-10-04T19:22:59.378009+00:00"
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."
---

# Tobe Hooper

## Identity

Tobe Hooper

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/tobe-hooper
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** tobe-hooper
- **IMDb ID:** nm0001361
- **TMDB ID:** 10051
- **Wikidata ID:** Q450728
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobe_Hooper, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q450728, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001361/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10051

Director. Born 25 January 1943 in Austin, Texas, USA. Died 26 August 2017.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 25 January 1943, Austin, Texas, USA
- **Died:** 26 August 2017
- **Active:** 1974–1985
- **Also known as:** 토브 후퍼, 托比·霍珀, Willard Tobe Hooper
- **Average Fi1m score:** 79, as director, over 3 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 87 (1), 1980s 74 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 79 to 71 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Horror 3, Action 1, Mystery 1, Science Fiction 1
- **Screen time:** 5 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $164m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobe_Hooper, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q450728, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001361/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10051

## Streaming the US now

- **AMC+:** [*The Texas Chain Saw Massacre*](https://film.one/film/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre.md) (87)
- **Apple TV:** [*Lifeforce*](https://film.one/film/lifeforce.md) (65)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Tobe Hooper

> Tobe Hooper makes ordinary places feel unsafe, but we value the warmth as much as the fright. *Poltergeist* shows how much stronger his horror becomes when he gives us people worth worrying about.

In *Poltergeist* (1982), Hooper gives the Freelings time to be a family before their suburban home becomes frightening. The humour allows us to enjoy their company without treating them as fools, and their expectation of safety makes the haunting easier to imagine. We were frightened because we had come to like these people and wanted the ghosts to leave them alone. That attention to ordinary life is a substantial part of his skill as a horror director.

The independent *The Texas Chain Saw Massacre* (1974) brought his breakthrough, with a rough physical intensity that became influential across horror. In the television miniseries *Salem’s Lot* (1979), he worked with supernatural and gothic material. Studio films followed with *The Funhouse* (1981) and *Poltergeist*. Across these changes, he kept returning to ordinary surroundings made threatening and situations people cannot escape.

*Poltergeist* benefits from Steven Spielberg’s story and the screenplay he shares with Michael Grais and Mark Victor. Their attention to childhood fears gives Hooper something more useful than a succession of opportunities for effects. JoBeth Williams and Craig T. Nelson keep the family persuasive while the supernatural activity grows increasingly busy. Hooper allows the household enough warmth that the performances still matter amid the commotion.

The reservation is that he sometimes lets those effects become attractions in their own right. We begin inspecting what the film can show us when we ought to be worrying about the Freelings. Some of the supernatural commotion could go without weakening the threat. It remains a frightening, affectionate film, but it gives us a useful measure of Hooper: the spectacle works better when he keeps the people in view.

The later turn towards science-fiction, satire and camp brought *Lifeforce* (1985) and *The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2* (1986), both made under his three-picture Cannon Films deal. That willingness to change the kind of horror he made deserves more attention than a simple account of decline after 1974. It is not a reason to excuse thin scripts or effects that fail to convince, recurring criticisms of the later features. Start with *Poltergeist* for the care he takes before he starts frightening us.

## Biography

Tobe Hooper was an American film director and screenwriter. He was born on 25 January 1943 in Austin, Texas, and died on 26 August 2017. He studied at the University of Texas at Austin and worked as a documentary cameraman and college professor before making his feature debut with *Eggshells* (1969).

Hooper is known for directing *The Texas Chain Saw Massacre* (1974), which he co-wrote with Kim Henkel, and *Poltergeist* (1982). Other credits include the miniseries *Salem's Lot* (1979) and *The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2* (1986).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, theguardian.com, ign.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *Lifeforce* (1985), Fi1m 65, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/lifeforce.md)
- *Poltergeist* (1982), Fi1m 84, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/poltergeist.md)
- *The Texas Chain Saw Massacre* (1974), Fi1m 87, Music, Producer, Director, Screenplay, Additional Photography, Original Music Composer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre.md)

## Complete filmography (55)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Spot* (2023), Thanks
- *Texas Chainsaw Massacre* (2022), Characters
- *AGFA Mystery Mixtape #2: Later in L.A.* (2020), as (archive footage)
- *The AGFA Mystery Mixtape Vault* (2020), as (archive footage)
- *Also Starring Austin* (2018), Actor
- *Terrifier* (2018), In Memory Of
- *Leatherface* (2017), Executive Producer, Characters
- *The Martians Are Coming!: The Making of 'Invaders from Mars'* (2015), Actor
- *Djinn* (2013), Director
- *Texas Chainsaw 3D* (2013), Characters, Executive Producer
- *Nunca más asistas a este tipo de fiestas* (2010), Thanks
- *The Damned Thing* (2006), Director
- *The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning* (2006), Producer, Characters
- *Dance of the Dead* (2005), Director
- *Masters of Horror* (2005), series, Director
- *Mortuary* (2005), Director
- *Toolbox Murders* (2004), Director
- *The Texas Chainsaw Massacre* (2003), Original Film Writer, Co-Producer, Characters
- *Taken* (2002), series, Director
- *Shadow Realm* (2002), Director
- *Crocodile* (2000), Director
- *The Apartment Complex* (1999), Director
- *Perversions of Science* (1997), series, Director
- *Dark Skies* (1996), series, Director
- *Dark Skies* (1996), Director
- *E! True Hollywood Story* (1996), series, Actor
- *The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre* (1995), Characters
- *Nowhere Man* (1995), series, Director
- *The Mangler* (1995), Director, Screenplay
- *Night Terrors* (1993), Director
- *Body Bags* (1993), as Man #2 · Director
- *The Nightmare Begins Again* (1993), Director
- *Sleepwalkers* (1992), as Forensic Tech
- *I'm Dangerous Tonight* (1990), Director
- *Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III* (1990), Characters
- *Tales from the Crypt* (1989), series, Director
- *Spontaneous Combustion* (1989), as Cigar Smoking Diner Patron · Director, Story, Screenplay
- *Freddy's Nightmares* (1988), series, Director
- *Coming to America* (1988), as Party Guest (uncredited) — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/coming-to-america.md)
- *The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2* (1986), as Man in Hotel Corridor (uncredited) · Characters, Director, Original Music Composer, Co-Producer
- *Invaders from Mars* (1986), Director
- *Amazing Stories* (1985), series, Director
- *The Equalizer* (1985), series, Director
- *Lifeforce* (1985), Director — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/film/lifeforce.md)
- *Poltergeist* (1982), Director — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/poltergeist.md)
- *The Funhouse* (1981), Director
- *Salem's Lot* (1979), series, Director
- *Eaten Alive* (1976), Director, Music
- *The Texas Chain Saw Massacre* (1974), Director, Screenplay, Producer, Original Music Composer, Additional Photography — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/film/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre.md)
- *Eggshells* (1971), Director, Editor, Writer, Special Effects, Producer, Director of Photography
- *The Windsplitter* (1971), as Joby
- *Peter Paul and Mary: The Song Is Love* (1971), Director, Director of Photography, Editor
- *Down Friday Street* (1966), Director, Cinematography
- *The Heisters* (1965), Writer, Director, Editor, Producer
- *Texas Chainsaw Massacre*, Characters

## Gallery

- ![Édouard Waintrop, Nicolas Winding Refn et Tobe Hooper lors de la projection de Massacre à la tronçonneuse (version restaurée) à la Quinzaine des réalisateurs du (2014)](https://film.one/media/person/117730/gallery-649b47cfdc45.jpg) Édouard Waintrop, Nicolas Winding Refn et Tobe Hooper lors de la projection de Massacre à la tronçonneuse (version restaurée) à la Quinzaine des réalisateurs du (2014) — Dark Attsios, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/Cannes_2014_Texas_Chain_Saw_Massacre_1.JPG/1280px-Cannes_2014_Texas_Chain_Saw_Massacre_1.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Nicolas Winding Refn et Tobe Hooper lors de la projection de Massacre à la tronçonneuse (version restaurée) à la Quinzaine des réalisateurs du Festival de Canne (2014)](https://film.one/media/person/117730/gallery-2683c0d12083.jpg) Nicolas Winding Refn et Tobe Hooper lors de la projection de Massacre à la tronçonneuse (version restaurée) à la Quinzaine des réalisateurs du Festival de Canne (2014) — Dark Attsios, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/Cannes_2014_Texas_Chain_Saw_Massacre_2.jpg/1280px-Cannes_2014_Texas_Chain_Saw_Massacre_2.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Tobe Hooper](https://film.one/media/person/117730/gallery-d90022b0d8d8.jpg) Tobe Hooper — Dark Attsios, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Cannes_2014_Texas_Chain_Saw_Massacre_3.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - 40th anniversary of the film - event at the Grand Rex September 23, 2014 in Paris, France.](https://film.one/media/person/117730/gallery-13a91acb43f1.jpg) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - 40th anniversary of the film - event at the Grand Rex September 23, 2014 in Paris, France. — Lionel Allorge, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/Massacre_%C3%A0_la_tron%C3%A7onneuse_40eme_anniversaire_Grand_Rex_23_septembre_2014_-_21.jpg/1280px-Massacre_%C3%A0_la_tron%C3%A7onneuse_40eme_anniversaire_Grand_Rex_23_septembre_2014_-_21.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Tobe Hooper](https://film.one/media/person/117730/gallery-c21596b98f82.jpg) Tobe Hooper — Image via TMDB
- ![The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - 40th anniversary of the film - event at the Grand Rex September 23, 2014 in Paris, France.](https://film.one/media/person/117730/gallery-5bd3ac23b66f.jpg) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - 40th anniversary of the film - event at the Grand Rex September 23, 2014 in Paris, France. — Lionel Allorge, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Massacre_%C3%A0_la_tron%C3%A7onneuse_40eme_anniversaire_Grand_Rex_23_septembre_2014_-_22.jpg/1280px-Massacre_%C3%A0_la_tron%C3%A7onneuse_40eme_anniversaire_Grand_Rex_23_septembre_2014_-_22.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Other awards — 1 won

- Time Machine Award 2003: Time Machine Award (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/tobe-hooper