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42 reviews for:
Chain Saw Confidential: How We Made the World's Most Notorious Horror Movie
Gunnar Hansen
4.09 AVERAGE
42 reviews for:
Chain Saw Confidential: How We Made the World's Most Notorious Horror Movie
Gunnar Hansen
4.09 AVERAGE
This is an autobiography of sorts, of The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre film, first made in 1974 and remade endlessly since then. There's yet another remake coming in 2021. This book is written by Leatherface, er Gunnar Hansen, himself. Mr. Hansen it turns out went on to a career in writing and teaching and occasional forays into B-movies. This movie chronicles the original idea for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the pre-production days and rounding up money to pay for production, and then the torturous 4 weeks of shooting the film in July in 100 degree weather in Texas. This book had been on my wish list to read for some time and I was not disappointed. The book is just brimming full of little details about how they made various props, how certain scenes were done, and just how dangerous some of the scenes actually were (crazy, life-threateningly dangerous). If you are like me and enjoy learning about how movies are made or how they were able to get that on film, you would probably like this book. I did.
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
The unfortunate part about reading this book is that I'll probably never watch The Texas Chainsaw Massacre the same way again. It has long been my favorite horror movie. I was surprised to find this book at a book store on a vacation in Bar Harbor with a sign saying that it was written by a local author. I had no idea that Gunnar Hansen lives in Maine.
This book is filled with great stories about the making of a horror masterpiece.
This book is filled with great stories about the making of a horror masterpiece.
Leatherface can write! Really well! If you are a fan of the movie (I'm not sure who else would pick this up) you will really enjoy this. Gunnar Hansen is so honest and sensitive, he is able to responsibily guide you through the painful, insane process of the filming to its ultimate end in cinematic history. My favorite section was towards the end when Hansen gives his astute interpretations on what the horror genre provides us as a society. Fascinating stuff from the man who scared me into tears when I was sixteen.
4.5⭐
"Whether or not you believe that "real" horror must have a supernatural element, Chain Saw unquestionably evokes the emotions that define horror, that are horror--the sense of dread, oppression, and emptiness, the loss of control, the glimpse of the unfathomable."
Chain Saw Confidential is fascinating look behind the scenes of the original TCM written by Gunnar Hansen, who played Leatherface. I buddy read this one with my friend Mindi, and we both really enjoyed it. It's such a wild story, and it's insane that this movie actually got made (and was eventually incredibly successful). The conditions of the set and costumes were kind of horrifying to read. It never should have worked, and it's amazing that it did.
If you're a TCM fan, I highly recommend picking this up if you can get your hands on it (it's out of print right now). This was a fun read, and this is definitely a memorable book.
"Whether or not you believe that "real" horror must have a supernatural element, Chain Saw unquestionably evokes the emotions that define horror, that are horror--the sense of dread, oppression, and emptiness, the loss of control, the glimpse of the unfathomable."
Chain Saw Confidential is fascinating look behind the scenes of the original TCM written by Gunnar Hansen, who played Leatherface. I buddy read this one with my friend Mindi, and we both really enjoyed it. It's such a wild story, and it's insane that this movie actually got made (and was eventually incredibly successful). The conditions of the set and costumes were kind of horrifying to read. It never should have worked, and it's amazing that it did.
If you're a TCM fan, I highly recommend picking this up if you can get your hands on it (it's out of print right now). This was a fun read, and this is definitely a memorable book.
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Gunnar Hansen, the man who played Leatherface, gives us a very well written account of how the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie was filmed back in the 1970s. There are many parts that are recalled differently by various staff members and he gives us all the perspectives. He goes into detail about all the major scenes, what went into them technically, artistically, how it affects the movie's story, and how the actors went about performing their roles. Many incidences happen on their set like minor injuries, financial problems, technical issues, etc. Gunnar Hansen just feeds us more and more fun facts about this film that started out as a bunch of aspiring filmmakers with almost no movie experience working hard on a motion picture that they thought might make a few viewings locally, if not scrapped entirely, to a national success and a pivotal point in the horror movie genre. Hansen also lets us into the subtle parts of the story, about the psychotic family and their psychology, about the gas shortage and food shortage happening in the 1970s and how that is represented in the film, about the slaughterhouses and why it's important to the film's story. Hansen has a great literary voice and gives us all this information in an organized and engaging way. This is a must read for Texas Chainsaw Massacre fans and horror movie fans, and may even give insight to aspiring filmmakers on how to (or even not to) make a movie on a really low budget.
dark
informative
fast-paced