THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE is, without a doubt, the granddaddy of all splatter films. Inspired by 1950s mass murderer Ed Gein, Tobe Hooper's debut feature opens with five unsuspecting teenagers driving in a van through sun-scorched rural Texas. After a terrifying exchange with a demented hitchhiker, the group ends up at an old farmhouse. At first, the house appears to be abandoned, but soon, the evil residents begin to wreak havoc on the youngsters' lives. With her friends and wheelchair-bound brother Franklin (Paul A. Partain) disappearing one by one, the terrified Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) must summon the strength to escape from the ghoulish family of mass murderers, who are led by the gruesome, chainsaw-wielding Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen).

Hooper's low-budget exploitation horror film became a cult hit and favorite midnight movie that helped define the splatter genre by introducing such standard features as the house of terror, where innocent victims meet horrible ends, and the girl in peril who survives the mayhem to become the heroine. Spawning several sequels, as well as a 2003 remake, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE remains an untouchable work of sheer terror that continues to shock audiences all over the world.