‘Chain Reactions’ Review – Still Buzzing Over ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’

Even if you’ve never seen the movie, there is little doubt that you haven’t at least heard of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The seminal horror classic from director Tobe Hooper unquestionably impacted the modern horror genre. Before Michael Myers stalked Haddonfield, or Freddy Krueger tormented our dreams, there was the buzz-buzz of Leatherface’s chainsaw. A twisted, gory, and unrelenting film that paved the way for a new wave of horror. In a new documentary by Alexandre O. Philippe, Chain Reactions, we hear musings and insights from five artists, as well as a beautifully gory celebration of the nightmare fuel that will forever be The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

“Texas Chainsaw feels eternal.” Those are the words from actor Patton Oswalt, one of the five interviewees part of this documentary, which is less a documentary and more a loving tribute to the film that many consider the ultimate horror film. In addition to Oswalt, horror author Stephen King, film critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, and filmmakers Takashi Miike (Ichi The Killer) and Karyn Kusama (Jennifer’s Body) lend their voices for both praise and analysis on the film.

On the surface, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a gorefest. Initial reactions to the film ranged from mixed to panned. Yet, like many classics, the more people saw it, the greater the buzz, and eventually the appreciation. The five voices in this film describe their reaction, some visceral, to seeing the movie for the first time, to its ultimate legacy. From the disturbed and borderline sympathetic Leatherface to the convulsive exploitation of the violence, the film left its signature on movies, particularly the genre for which it remains a staple.

The most interesting voices in the film are the thoughts from Stephen King and Karyn Kusama. King, as the ‘king of literary horror,’ is like a kid in a candy store. He relishes the fervent attention to detail that Tobe Hooper encapsulates in a remarkably short film. King’s event equates Texas Chainsaw to an archetypal Beatles song, like “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” In the same manner as the song, the movie comes in and delivers its message and gets the job done.

We often equate (at times) that the longer the movie, the more impactful its theme. A sprawling epic story weaves a narrative that is diverse and winding. Yet, when we revisit such modern horror classics as Halloween or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, these are relatively short films — under two hours. These films are products of the independent era and mindset. There is no studio breathing down the director’s neck. There is a scrappy, almost home movie vibe that works in terms of efficiency and charm.

When we look at The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, we marvel at the creativity despite a shoestring budget. As we hear expressed in the film, there is a feeling of entering hell on earth. The minute we follow the rag-tag band of hippies into the house of the diabolical monsters, all bets are off. No scene is lost. The camera moves in an eccentric manner, which is both jarring and equally inviting. Hooper is crafting his own cinematic language to tell a story that works on both traditional scare-fest and an entirely different level: a primal story.

As noted earlier, like King, Kusama has some of the most impressive insights and reactions in Chain Reaction. In a way, the film saves the best for last; here she speaks as a filmmaker to the movie’s motifs, but also its larger expression of Americana. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is many things, but it is a quintessential expression of the American zeitgeist in 1974. Further, it is a prescient call on the future, which is both unsettling and revealing.

Horror holds a mirror up to society, and reflection casts the feeling at the time. In The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Hooper is commenting on the destruction of a certain American way of life as seen through Leatherface and his family. He is capturing a point of transition and a savage exposé on desperation and terror. Often, horror movies reflect the current moment, but in Texas Chainsaw, Hooper is working in tandem to show a country in turmoil and quite likely past the point of return.

Kusama sees parallels in the film with the use of the sun compared to other horror films. Typically, sunlight is the beacon of destruction in a horror film. Think Dracula or Nosferatu. Yet, here the sun acts less as a destruction of evil, but as a revelation. In the iconic final scene, where Leather is swinging his chainsaw madly at the break of dawn, there is a feeling that the horrors are exposed. While in the same beat, also expressing that, in the light, there is a ray of hope.

Therein lies the beauty of horror movies, or movies in general. Audiences can experience a different reaction to the same experience. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is unquestionably a scary movie, but scares are part of the trick. How audiences perceive the scare or how it affects them is what makes the film legendary. We, like the voices in this film, are still reacting to the wicked buzz of the chainsaw fifty years later. In part because of our collective desire to be scared, but further because we see a twist on that of Freud’s expression, sometimes a cigar is a cigar. Towit: sometimes a chainsaw is more than a chainsaw.

Chain Reactions is for the horror-junkie, but also for the appreciator of films. The treatment of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s legacy is poignant. Despite being a grizzly and stomach-churning film, it is a testament to indie filmmaking and innovative storytelling, and the documentary here pays loving homage and tribute to that fact.

Chain Reactions will debut exclusively in theaters in NY and LA on September 19, 2025, courtesy of Dark Sky Films. The film will expand to additional markets in the following weeks.