The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - The Beginning - Articles - Zimbio

Unintentionally funny moments: 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'

Sat, 26 Oct 2008 17:05:00 GMT

posted by Tabloidprodigy

The original version of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974) is a cult classic in the horror film genre. It's very low budget, poorly edited, has bad acting and is peppered with many unintentionally funny moments. Check out this final scene in the film. I love how the guy stands in front of a speeding truck for about 30 seconds until he struck at 1:06. Then at 1:50 the wrench to the face. Classic! If you haven't seen this masterpiece, add it to your Netflix queue now.

Electric Or Gas Powered Chainsaws - Which is Best For You?

Thu, 14 Nov 2008 00:33:00 GMT

posted by yen03

By Jackie Lee

You have two choices when choosing a chainsaw, gas or electric powered. Which one you choose will depend on your circumstance, the jobs you have to do, and of course, your preference.

When choosing between an electric or gas powered chainsaw think about where you live, and your landscaping. Do you live in a city with only a couple of small trees on your property? You will probably be better off purchasing an electric chainsaw. However, if you live in the country and are surrounded by trees you are more likely to have larger branches on the ground after a storm and they will be further from the house.

When you purchase an electric chainsaw you always have to keep in mind where you are going to get your power from. You will be constrained to taking your saw no more than 100 feet from your power source, so if you live on three acres, you are not going to make it.

Think about the jobs you are going to be doing. Will you be doing heavy duty cutting of large branches, or cutting down trees? Are you looking for something to help prune a couple trees in your yard? These are the questions that will help you determine which chainsaw is right for you.

Both types of chainsaws have their advantages and disadvantages. If you are smaller in stature you may want to consider getting the electric chainsaw. It will be much lighter and more manageable. You also will not have to worry about lugging a gas can around, getting the gas/oil ratio correct. You will, on the other hand, have to worry about not cutting through the cord.

No matter which kind of chainsaw you ultimately decide upon, you must make sure to use safety equipment each and every time you use your saw. You also must make sure your chainsaw chain stays sharp. Using a dull chainsaw is the quickest way to have a chainsaw accident. It is imperative for safety's sake to keep your chainsaw sharp, if you don't know how to do it, take it to a professional to have it sharpened.

If you don't know how to tell if your chainsaw is sharp stop by chainsaw sharpener information and find out the signs of a dull chainsaw. There you will find information on how to tell if your chainsaw chain is dull, how to sharpen it, and how to use a chainsaw sharpener

24 Hour Film School Presents a Special Dallas Event with Hollywood Horror Directors Johnathan Liebesman and Shin Shimosawa

Sun, 6 Oct 2008 21:22:54 GMT

posted by shortfilmtexas

ATTENTION DALLAS ACTORS AND FILMMAKERS. Hollywood is coming to YOU.

24 Hour Film School is excited to present a special Dallas event featuring:
Director JONATHAN LIEBESMAN (Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning)
Writer/Producer SHIN SHIMOSAWA (The Grudge, The Grudge 2, Smallville)

Event Details:
24 Hour Film School Special HORROR Event
Saturday, October 25th
Studio Movie Grill
5405 Beltline Road
Dallas, TX 75248

Join us in spending an intimate afternoon with two accomplished industry professionals who will reveal the secrets of their successes and the lessons from their failures.

Get THE PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE that can help take your career to the next level; NETWORK with the Dallas film community as well as the Hollywood panel at an exclusive mixer; and get the dose of INSPIRATION that every actor and filmmaker needs to continue their pursuit. It’s time to experience 24 Hour Film School, horror style.

CLICK HERE to enroll online. ENROLL TODAY. EXTREMELY LIMITED SEATING.

Website:
www.24HOURFILMSCHOOL.com

WATCH THE TRAILER FOR JONATHAN LIEBESMAN’S “THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE BEGINNING” BELOW:

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The Five Best Horror Films of the 1970s

Sat, 10 Feb 2008 19:23:00 GMT

posted by rjs1138
The 5 Best Horror Films of the 1970s

The 1970s really started my introduction to horror movies. Saturday afternoon movies and the occasional Friday movie with the predominate desire to be scared or, at least, shocked and the 70's delivered some real classics.

Number 5 - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
I've always thought that this movie was the earliest precursor of the "torture porn" movie genre of today and it delivered scares and shock in equal measure. Loosely based on true events, the movie gives us the story of five teenagers who visit a house inhabited by a chainsaw wielding manic and his demented family. As gruesome as a movie can get, the kids are dispatched in seemingly escalating and horrific ways. Made on minuscule budget, this is spare, but effective filmmaking and the acting is better than the material. If it's shock and horror you want, then The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is the cure for your ill.

Number 4 - Halloween (1978)
This movie started both John Carpenter's career and gave live life to the Michael Myers franchise. Director Carpenter uses Hitchcockian techniques to full effect as he depicts a night of horror in a small town when a supernaturally empowered psycho-killer returns to his home town to wreak some unknown vengeance. Carpenter chills us with both suspense and horror as the film starts out slow and builds in tempo and impact. Another low budget movie Halloween looks more expensive than it's small budget.

Number 3 - Dawn of the Dead (1979)
George Romero's sequel to his shocking and classic Night of the Living Dead is an in-your-face gore fest in places, but also shows intelligence with social commentary. We follow a group of four survivors as they escape the big city just before everything collapses in the face of an onslaught of the living dead. The quartet find safe harbor in an indoor shopping mall and take up house there after clearing out all the zombies. Their "happy" existence is interrupted when a roving group of marauders decide they want the group has -- the mall. Filled with inventive and gruesome special effects, Dawn of the Dead is a movie for the horror lover in you.

Number 2 - The Exorcist (1973)
This is different than the first three movies in that it has a real Hollywood budget and cast. Based on the best selling William Peter Blatty novel, director Friedkin gives the story of a little girl inhabited by an unspeakable evil and her mom's attempt to do whatever it takes to free her from it's influence. What makes this film so effective is that the context around this unnatural and extraordinary happening all seems so real. It makes the extraordinary seem almost plausible. Wonderfully acted and produced, the Exorcist is a movie to keep you up at night.

Number 1 - Alien (1979)
Not strictly a horror film because of its science fiction setting, Alien delivers suspense and stark terror as the crew of a space freighter discover that they have brought something on board that is dreadfully lethal and horrible. Made by visual stylist supreme, Ridley Scott, this movie has sets and situations that seem like they could be authentic projections of the future. Sigourney Weaver got propelled to stardom playing the resourceful and courageous Ripley. What makes this film so scary is the suspense that Scott wrings out of every shot. I can say that Alien is the scariest film I've ever seen in a theater.

Honorable Mention: Jaws -- If I consider Jaws a horror film, it would have been number 2 on the list.

Nike AF1 ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ Customs

Tue, 18 Jun 2008 20:42:19 GMT

posted by SneakerObsession

These Nike Air Force Ones were designed by Sweatshop Clothing with a theme inspired after one of the most classic horror characters to ever hit the big screen. There have been Freddy and Jason custom sneakers in the past and even some Chucky customs, but one of the villains that Sweatshop Clothing never saw getting much love was Leatherface from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies. Therefore they decided to take matters into their own hands and give the Sawyer family some love on these Custom Air Force Ones. You can pretty much call these a test run, as a lot of new things were tried out for the first time on a pair of old beaters. Sweatshop Clothing already has plans for a new redesigned model using different materials and such. Theres a lot of details involved in these, such as blood splatter on the toe box and side panels, stitching all throughout the shoe and even a custom chainsaw design which replaces the Nike Swoosh. You can check out a grip of more pictures after the jump including shots of the original base, the concept artwork which led up to the customs and plenty of pictures of the final design.

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