The horror genre continuously shifts from one focus of horror to the next. After the psychological horror of the 1960s came the slasher films of the 1970s. This shift demonstrates a clear break from psychological horror to mutilation and destruction of the body (Wadenius). The slasher film genre is unique in its own and is defined clearly by Carol Clover’s five basic conventions of the slasher film. This formula she composed reveals the true basis to any slasher film. These conventions include: the killer, weapon, terrible place, victims/ final girl, and shock value. One of the most prominent films of the slasher genre is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) directed by Tobe Hooper. This cinematic performance clearly follows Carol Clover’s slasher …show more content…
From the outside the home looks like any normal, secluded run down farm house. The inside however tells a completely different story. As the film progresses the spectator begins to see more of the house. It is decorated with the bones of former victims and the furniture that should offer comfort to the home is now replaced with hand made furniture from the bones of humans and animals. “Each piece of the macabre decor magnifies Pam’s fear and trepidation. It’s uncomfortable because you’re watching and waiting to see someone die” (Wright). There are no family pictures on the wall, no comforting objects that make a home what it is. The halls of the house are also dark and the home is equipped with its own kill room with meat hooks, weapons, and a giant freezer to keep the meat fresh. Marilyn Burns, who plays Sally, described the home in an interview as, “it was just like just like the family should live there… You felt uncomfortable, itchy, you didn’t want to touch anything” (Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Shocking Truth). Although she knew it was just a set its made her so uncomfortable to even be in the room because the decor seemed all too real. The home seems so aesthetically real that it easily cause fear and discomfort in the spectators. Clover explains that the terrible place “may at first seem a safe haven, but the same wall that promise to keep the out …show more content…
These moments cause anticipation of what is to come. They are often moments of silence preceding a swift burst of loud music as the killer unexpectedly jumps out. There are several examples of shock value throughout The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. One of the most early examples is when Hitchhiker cuts his hand with a blade with no signs warning the viewer of what is to come. This moment shocks the viewer because no considerably normal person cuts their hand for fun and personal enjoyment. William Vail, who plays Kirk describes the scene where he is laying on a table while Pam is screaming on a meathook as “the most frightening thing” in the film and that he occasionally had to leave the room multiple times because it disgusted him so much (Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Shocking Truth). Leatherface offers the most examples of shock value throughout the film. In several instances he come out of a dark hiding spot and proceeds to kill his victims. This can be seen when comes out of the hallway and kills Kirk and Jerry or when he comes out behind a tree and kills