The Texas chain saw massacre (D)

Loosely based on the grizzly exploits of American serial killer Ed Gein (also a model for Norman Bates in “Psycho”), Tobe Hooper’s “The Texas chain saw massacre” rightly deserves its place as a horror classic. Five teenagers travelling through Texas (two of them brother and sister investigating the mysterious desecration of their grandfather’s grave), pick up a creepy hitchhiker and find themselves embroiled in a macabre and nightmarish reverse of southern hospitality. From its eerie opening images to its shocking finale, “The Texas chain saw massacre’ was initially considered a cheap drive-in exploitation film but, through strong critical appraisal, went on to be screened as part of the director’s fortnight at Cannes and the American Museum of Modern Art now has a print of it in its permanent collection. Cast includes Marilyn Burns, Allen Danziger and Gunnar Hansen as Leatherface.