The Texas Chainsaw Massacre/YMMV

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Complaining About Shows You Don't Watch: A frequent criticism of the original is that it's gory. While certainly a grim horror movie, there's really not that much gore, as the most violent acts take place off-screen. It's relatively bloodless - especially when compared to succeeding TCM movies.
  • Complete Monster: Several of Leatherface's relatives, the most triumphant example in the series being Sheriff Hoyt.
  • Crazy Awesome: Lieutenant "Lefty" Enright from TCM 2.
  • Crowning Music of Awesome: Chainsawing a couple of idiots from the back of a moving pickup to Oingo Boingo's "No One Lives Forever"? Awesome.
  • Evil Is Sexy: Almost always avoided. Exceptions are Tex from TCM III and Darla from The Next Generation.
  • Hollywood Homely: At first appears to be played straight in The Next Generation in regards to Jenny, though at one point Heather tells Barry (who has been constantly ragging on Jenny) she's seen her naked in the shower rooms, and she's actually pretty hot. Barry is surprised... and very interested.
  • Jerkass Woobie: Leatherface.
  • Narm: A large amount of The Next Generation. Examples include the stick whacking sequence, Jenny and Vilmer fighting for control of Vilmer's robotic leg with TV remotes, the bulk of the dinner sequence, Vilmer's finger point of doom, Leatherface's mannerisms after donning his female flesh suit, and Sean's death ("Please sir, you're scaring me!")
  • The Problem with Licensed Games
  • Retroactive Recognition: That narrator in the original was a then-unknown John Larroquette.
  • Sequelitis: Opinions vary on 2 and Leatherface, but most agree that original series sunk hard at The Next Generation.
  • Vindicated by History: While the first film was a success at the box office it received negative to mixed reviews from critics. Decades later, it's now seen as a classics and respected for its bloodless depictions of the murders and seen as one of the earliest and more respectable entries in the slasher genre.
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