Chain Reactions examines the legacy of Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in detail over five chapters with interviews from horror legends.
Writer and Director: Alexandre O. Philippe
Genre: Documentary
Run Time: 103′
Languages: English and Japanese
BFI London Film Festival Screening: October 13-15, 2024
U.S. Release Date: TBA
U.K. Release Date: TBA
Where to Watch Chain Reactions: TBA
The year is 1974. Newcomer Tobe Hooper has spent the best part of the last three years desperate to create a feature centred around the corruption that happens in America with a backdrop of a secluded, eerie woodland. Hooper’s debut feature, Eggshells, does just that, but the message isn’t strong enough for his liking. In comes a solidified idea for a more gruesome version, with no holding back; The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He casts Texas natives, to make it as literal as possible. Could these be real things happening to real people? America is afterall a sh*tshow, both behind the scenes and right in front of everyone’s noses.
The year is now 2024. A group of four filmmakers and one critic sit down to discuss the impact of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre fifty years later. Chain Reactions explores how and why Hooper’s masterpiece influenced, and continues to inspire, so many budding filmmakers and horror fans alike.
Chain Reactions is split up into five chapters. Each chapter welcomes in a new interviewee. We begin with Peter Oswald, actor (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Ratatouille, Zoolander), comedian, TV show host. At first, it’s a mystery as to why Oswald of all people has been interviewed to talk about something so grizzly, considering he dabbles mainly in comedy, but post interview, it’s clear his passion for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is profound. Oswald is followed by Japanese horror filmmaker Takashi Miike. Miike tells tales of his first experience watching The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and how if he never stepped foot in the theatre that one day, he may not have been a director at all.
Australian film critic and author Alexandra Heller-Nicholas recounts her experience with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in chapter three. Her focus is mainly on how it shaped her as a teen. Heller-Nicholas grew up 30 minutes from the real Hanging Rock, the setting of Peter Weir’s bewildering Picnic at Hanging Rock. It’s almost in her nature to be fascinated by horror films. A unique reason for her passion for Hooper’s feature is the way she first watched it: on a grainy VHS, recorded on a tape that had been used many times before, with limited colour, only hues of yellow, like that of Australian outback films of the 70’s. Heller-Nicholas describes how she never even knew the colour blue was associated with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as it looked exactly like the golden setting in Wake in Fright.
Each interview is spliced between clips of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Sometimes Chain Reactions shows a newly restored version, sometimes it shows a grainy recording on an old VHS tape, like described by Heler-Nicholas. By the time we get to chapter four with Stephen King, we’ve basically seen the entirety of the film in clips, so it begins to noticeably repeat itself. You see the dinner scene five, maybe six times, over and over again. But in hindsight, those who were really enamoured by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre would have seen that scene twenty times already, at least, so a few more won’t become too repetitive.
If there’s one director to construct a film like Chain Reactions it’s documentary connoisseur Alexandre O. Philippe. With features like Lynch/Oz, 78/52, Memory: The Origins of Alien and Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist already under his belt, it makes sense to finally make something on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, one of the most influential horrors of all time.
Of course, many horror fans really love King so his interpretation of horror in Chain Reactions is what’s most important. His segment is insightful and absorbing, and he’s possibly the best out of the guests. At this point, we’ve seen the whole of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre twice, heard everyone say they love it, and it comes to a natural conclusion. Still, there’s one more interview left. A more recent horror icon, Karyn Kusama, most notably known for new cult classic Jennifer’s Body. Kusama ends the film nicely, again, telling her opinions on how legendary the film is.
This particular layout of horror lovers talking about The Texas Chainsaw Massacre could have been better made as a TV show. It’s something you want to dive in and out of, not all directly after each other. That way, more filmmakers could have come on board, with more interviews and more fun facts from your favourite directors about their love for the horror genre. A layout like The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs would have worked, except each week the guest would just talk about The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
If you’re interested in this kind of documentary, you probably love The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, so you’ll adore 108 minutes of people talking about how much they are inspired by the 1974 hit. It’s not a recommendation, though, for people who haven’t seen the film as it’s spoiler central, revealing every kill and every iconic line.
Chain Reactions will be screened at the BFI London Film Festival on October 13-15, 2024. Read our list of 30 movies to watch at the 2024 BFI London Film Festival!
