Summary
The Texas Chain Saw Massacrewas among the most influential horror movies ever made, and in the years since its release, there have been countless imitators and copycat movies. Director Tobe Hooper created a new type of horror as he depicted the unstoppable serial killer Leatherface, which would signal the dawn of a new era of over-the-top violence and the use of power tools as a murder weapon. While some rip-offs ofThe Texas Chain Saw Massacrewere blatant cash grabs, others truly added to its concept and led to movies that could be enjoyed on their own merits.
The best rip-offs ofThe Texas Chain Saw Massacreranked amongthe best horror movies of all time, as the influence of the original 1974 film bled into the entire horror genre. As serial killers such as Michael Myers took on some of the innate qualities of Leatherface, it was impossible not to notice striking similarities in later films. While it will always be difficult to top the sheer carnage of the original, for better or worse,lots of subsequent movies ripped offThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
The Butcher
Cast
The Butcher (2006) is a crime thriller directed by Jesse V. Johnson. The film stars Eric Roberts as Merle Hench, an enforcer for a mob boss who is double-crossed and embarks on a violent journey of revenge. As Merle seeks redemption, he confronts corrupt figures within the criminal underworld. Co-starring Robert Davi and Keith David, the film blends action and dramatic elements through its gritty narrative.
While manyTexas Chain Saw Massacrerip-offs added something new to its concept,The Butcherwas an unfortunate low-budget rehash that just did not live up to its inspiration. With a well-worn narrative about college students fighting for their lives in a remote farmhouse,The Butcherwas just not up to scratch when it came topaying homage to 1970s horrortropes. With cheap-looking shots and poor sound quality, everything aboutThe Butcherwas subpar.
While the acting inThe Butcherwas not terrible and the special effects were perfectly acceptable, the script was just not strong enough to rise above its many faults. As a mashup betweenThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre,The Hills Have Eyes, andWrong Turn,The Butcherjust didn’t have anything new or interesting to say. It’s a horror movie that probably shouldn’t have been made, and there have been plenty of far superior alternatives more worthy of horror viewers’ attention.
9Escape From Cannibal Farm (2017)
Directed by Charlie Steeds
While the best ripoffs ofThe Texas Chain Saw Massacretook influence from the film while embuing it with something new, the British horrorEscape From Cannibal Farmwas such a blatant rehash that it was hard to enjoy on its own merits. When a family’s camping trip was cut short after they were pursued by a chainsaw-wielding killer farmer, it’s impossible not to groan at how unashamedly this concept has been unceremoniously copied.Escape from Cannibal Farmwent further than merely paying homage and just felt like all its ideas had been stolen from other films.
This outright thievery could be partly forgiven ifEscape from Cannibal Farmwere a better movie, but sadly the acting, directing, and script were just not up to scratch. With as many plot holes as there were senseless violence and lackluster special effects, this movie just fell flat on its head. For those looking for something that captures the spirits ofThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre, look elsewhere.
The House of the Devil
The House of the Devil is a Horror film starring Greta Gerwig, Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov, and Jocelin Donahue. The film was released in 2009 and was written and directed by Ti West. Blending together the “haunted house” and “slasher film” genres, this Horror ride takes place in a remote mansion and follows a student named Samantha Hughes that accepts a babysitting job and gets more than she bargained for.
Much likeThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre,The House of the Devilclaimed to bebased on a true story, although director Ti West revealed this had more to do with the satanic panic during the 1980s than any singular event (viaFilmmaker.) However, the sense that this story of a babysitter spending the night in an isolated house could be true made the viewing experience all the more unnerving. With elements of slasher and haunted house genres,The House of the Devilwas a truly fear-inducing film that cleverly pays tribute to horror movies of the past.
With a slow-building creepy atmosphere, in many ways,The House of the Devilwas far more subtle than 1970s classics likeThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre. As the fear that pervaded America during the 1980s was explored, it was clear that West had a real reverence for horror movies of the past and paid tribute to them through his mature and accomplished direction. While it’s uneven at times and not nearly as impactful asThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre,The House of the Devilhad plenty to offer for horror lovers.
Eaten Alive
Combining creature feature chills with a redneck horror movie vibe, Eaten Alive! centers on a psychotic hotel owner terrorizing rural Texas. Said hotel owner has a secret: a giant crocodile he keeps as a pet in the swamp next to his hotel, who he feeds anyone who crosses him to.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacredirector Tobe Hooper continued developing his directing skills with his follow-up filmEaten Alivein 1976. Much like what came before it, this was a horror film about a deranged killer who, unlike Leatherface’s passion for skinning his victims, instead fed their remains to his large pet crocodile in the swamp beside his hotel. In the same way thatThe Texas Chain Saw Massacretook inspiration from the real serial killer Ed Gein, this time the inspiration was loosely based on the real Texan killer Joe Ball.
Eaten Aliveshared many similarities withThe Texas Chain Saw Massacreand faced censorship in the UK for what was deemed gratuitous violence (viaWaddell.) While not nearly as successful as its predecessor,Eaten Alivealso maintained the Southern Gothic atmosphere ofThe Texas Chain Saw Massacreas it addressed the dark underbelly of rural American society.Eaten Alivewas well worth checking out for those looking for some shocking 1970s horror.
Motel Hell
Motel Hell is a 1980 horror film directed by Kevin Connor, featuring farmer Vincent Smith and his sister Ida, who run a motel and farm where they kidnap travelers, fatten them up, and harvest their bodies for their renowned smoked meats.
The comedy horrorMotel Hellwas not just a blatant rip-off ofThe Texas Chain Saw Massacrebut also a satirical look at other horror films such asPsycho. With a unique blend of humor and wit, similar toThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre, the story involves a deranged rural man who hunts and kills his victims for his own sadistic glee. This farmer, butcher, motel manager, and meat entrepreneur named Vincent Smith trapped travelers with the goal of harvesting them into human sausage.
As a low-budget horror with plenty of ambition and intensely disgusting sequences,Motel Hellcertainly wouldn’t have existed without the influence ofThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre. As imitations go,Motel Hellwas an artistic success that imbued the horrific atmosphere of Tobe Hooper’s original film with a wickedly deranged sense of humor.Motel Hellhas built up a cult following over the years and was an enjoyable early 1980s horror comedy.
House of 1000 Corpses
Rob Zombie steps into the world of filmmaking with House of 1000 Corpses, the first film in the Firefly trilogy. In the film, a group of teenagers heads across the country to compile a book of strange and unique roadside attractions. Unfortunately for them, they happen upon “The Museum of Monsters & Madmen,” which may be their last stop.
With a story about a group of teenagers captured and tortured by a psychotic family, Rob Zombie’sHouse of 1000 Corpsesowed a lot to the legacy ofThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Featuring a talented cast that included Walton Goggins and a pre-OfficeRainn Wilson, this enjoyable black comedy received negative reviews upon release but has since gained a cult following. With Sid Haig as the killer clown Captain Spaulding, the character would appear in the rest of theFireflytrilogy inThe Devil’s Rejectsand3 From Hell.
House of 1000 Corpseswas Zombie’s directional debut as he carved out a new career as a filmmaker outside of his role as the frontman of the heavy metal group White Zombie. As a homage to the style and spirit of 1970s horror,House of 1000 Corpsescaptured much of the innate terror of Tobe Hooper’s original film. With an eerie atmosphere and plenty of jump scares,House of 1000 Corpsessignaled a new major voice within horror as Zombie proved himself an interesting new director.
Halloween
Halloween is a horror film released in 1978 that centers on the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois, as a masked serial killer terrorizes it. Over a decade after the brutal murder of Judith Myers by her brother, Michael, Michael escapes from the local Sanitarium to continue his silent killing spree- with teenage Laurie Strode being his new potential victim.
John Carpenter’sHalloweenwas a definitive slasher film that borrowed a lot fromThe Texas Chain Massacre. As the almost supernatural, unstoppable babysitter killer Michael Myers single-mindedly pursued Laurie Strode, it was impossible not to think of the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface. However, despite their similarities,Halloweenalso carved out its own unique identityand helped popularize the final girl trope within horror cinema.
Halloweenushered in a new era for slasher movies, and the influence ofThe Texas Chain Saw Massacrehelped lay the template for these developments within the genre. Much likeThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre,Halloweenalso acted as the dawning of a major franchise that has been endlessly rebooted and reimagined with varying timelines and mythologies. Both films had a lot in common, but there’s no denying thatHalloweenalso brought something new to the table.
The Funhouse
The Funhouse is a 1981 horror film directed by Tobe Hooper. It follows a group of teenagers who decide to spend the night inside a carnival funhouse, only to encounter a monstrous presence and a night of terror. The film stars Elizabeth Berridge, Shawn Carson, and Cooper Huckabee, and blends suspense with horror in a carnival setting.
With the incredible success ofThe Texas Chain Saw MassacreandEaten Alivebehind him, director Tobe Hooper helmed his first major production withThe Funhouse. WhileThe Funhousewas a commercial disappointment, Hooper carried forward many of the lessons he’d learned from his previous movies and delivered a highly unnerving and claustrophobic horror about teenagers tracked in a carnival ride. Much like the unstoppable terror of Leatherface,The Funhousealso included a mentally deranged killer determined to kill his young victims.
One theme that connectedThe FunhousetoThe Texas Chain Saw Massacrewas the repressed nature of American families, as the killer carnieGunther Twibunt was yet another dark representation of the dark underbelly of the United States. With style and suspense,The Funhousehad an interesting narrative that helped it rise above more by-the-numbers horror films from this era. While there are elements of Hooper’s gory past, the suspenseful style ofThe Funhousealso owed a lot to the work of Alfred Hitchcock.
Wrong Turn
Chris Flynn is en route to an interview when a car accident strands him in the West Virginia woods with a group of friends on a camping trip. Their plan to find help leads them deeper into the forest, where they discover a cabin inhabited by a grotesque family of cannibals. As night falls, Chris and his companions must use their wits and survival skills to evade the bloodthirsty residents.
The first entry in theWrong Turnseries owed a lot toThe Texas Chain Saw Massacreas it followed a group of five friends stranded in the woods and pursued by a cannibal family. As a homage to 1970s horror movies,Wrong Turnfelt like one of the better rip-offs to hit theaters throughout the 2000s. While the plot was a predictable retread of a storyline that horror lovers have seen countless times before, there were enough gore and in-your-face scares to keep this engaging for jaded horror viewers.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer’sEliza Dushku did a great job in the lead role, alongside Desmond Harrington as her boyfriend, as a no-nonsense young woman ready to push back against the would-be killers. With unnerving tension,Wrong Turnplayed its story straight and did not fall into the trap of so many other horror films of this era by leaning too heavily into ironic parody. With an impressive sense of style, this first entry was definitelythe best release in theWrong Turnseries.
The Hills Have Eyes
The Hills Have Eyes is a 2006 horror film directed by Alexandre Aja. It is a remake of Wes Craven’s 1977 classic, focusing on a family who becomes stranded in the Nevada desert and falls prey to a group of murderous mutants. As they struggle for survival, they are forced to confront their deepest fears and fight for their lives against relentless, bloodthirsty attackers.
Director Wes Craven has not been shy about admitting the influenceThe Texas Chain Saw Massacrehad onThe Hills Have Eyesand has even described it as among his favorite movies of all time (viaEsquire.) With a plot involving the suburban Carter being pursued by a family of cannibal savages, both movies were categorized by a building sinister energy. With themes of moral depravity and a derision of class inequalities in America,The Hills Have Eyeswas a layered horror that can be enjoyed on many different levels.
AlongsideThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre,The Hills Have Eyesstood as one of the most influential horror movies of the 1970s. With highly terrifying imagery that led to the development of an entire franchise,The Hills Have Eyesblended its intense narrative with a healthy dose of self-aware humor. As a true must-watch horror film,The Hills Have Eyeswas one of the few rip-offs ofThe Texas Chain Saw Massacrethat can boast a legacy almost equal to its predecessor’s influence.
