My family's always been in meat.
August 27, 2017 3:36 AM Subscribe
RIP Tobe Hooper, director of the classic horror film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
He also directed Poltergeist and the delirious Lifeforce (NSFW no clothes on these space vampires) plus the well regarded television adaption of Stephen King's Salem's Lot.
AV Club interview
Eaten Alive: the bizarre true story behind Tobe Hooper's alligator horror movie
Tobe Hooper "Masters of Horror" part 1 part 2
Tobe Hooper on Meeting Stanley Kubrick
He also directed Poltergeist and the delirious Lifeforce (NSFW no clothes on these space vampires) plus the well regarded television adaption of Stephen King's Salem's Lot.
AV Club interview
Eaten Alive: the bizarre true story behind Tobe Hooper's alligator horror movie
Tobe Hooper "Masters of Horror" part 1 part 2
Tobe Hooper on Meeting Stanley Kubrick
i was just commenting to a friend this past week, that Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of my top 10 faves.
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posted by lapolla at 4:08 AM on August 27, 2017
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posted by lapolla at 4:08 AM on August 27, 2017
Chainsaw (after a short release) was banned in the UK until the late 90s... not only was the film itself banned but the actual word 'chainsaw' was banned from being used in any subsequent film titles. Quite an impact for a film that didn't really have any explict gore (especially compared to the other video nasties.)
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 4:16 AM on August 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 4:16 AM on August 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
There's a movie called Funhouse that came right before Poltergeist and that I thought was pretty cool. Here's The Funhouse Blog which takes the movie apart scene by scene; quite nicely done.
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posted by sapagan at 4:39 AM on August 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
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posted by sapagan at 4:39 AM on August 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
A salute to Lifeforce, which for me continues to stand as the most bewildering/quotable/joyful film I've ever had the pleasure to watch. And remember: "Gentleman, that last remark is not for publication. This is a D-notice situation."
posted by specialbrew at 4:44 AM on August 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by specialbrew at 4:44 AM on August 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
The tv movie Salem's Lot is worth seeing too. He did a good job with that.
posted by chocolatetiara at 4:54 AM on August 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by chocolatetiara at 4:54 AM on August 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Chainsaw is a landmark and an adrenaline shot.
Salem's Lot was groundbreaking for American tv.
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posted by doctornemo at 5:04 AM on August 27, 2017
Salem's Lot was groundbreaking for American tv.
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posted by doctornemo at 5:04 AM on August 27, 2017
The tv movie Salem's Lot is worth seeing too. He did a good job with that.
It basically scared the life out of me when I saw it as a kid... I still sometimes get unnerved by uncurtained windows at night
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 5:17 AM on August 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
It basically scared the life out of me when I saw it as a kid... I still sometimes get unnerved by uncurtained windows at night
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 5:17 AM on August 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
I am not a horror fan and I have never seen and never will see most of the movies mentioned here. But Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a really important film that is instantly recognizable.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:35 AM on August 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Dip Flash at 5:35 AM on August 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
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posted by dannyboybell at 6:15 AM on August 27, 2017
posted by dannyboybell at 6:15 AM on August 27, 2017
💀
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:29 AM on August 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:29 AM on August 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
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Today is a day that is making me want to go right back to bed, and it's only 6:30, and there's a lot of shit going down everywhere and he was getting on a bit but it's still an extra knife twist in the guts.
Anyway, good luck to him in whatever spooky netherworld dimension he chooses to explore, or weird soul catching eldritch spaceship or whatever, he will be missed here.
posted by Artw at 6:36 AM on August 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Today is a day that is making me want to go right back to bed, and it's only 6:30, and there's a lot of shit going down everywhere and he was getting on a bit but it's still an extra knife twist in the guts.
Anyway, good luck to him in whatever spooky netherworld dimension he chooses to explore, or weird soul catching eldritch spaceship or whatever, he will be missed here.
posted by Artw at 6:36 AM on August 27, 2017 [5 favorites]
Chainsaw is amazing, and when he put David Soul and Lance Kerwin together in Salem's Lot, he both answered many of my young-girl dreams AND provoked all kinds of nightmares. Yep, that window...
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posted by allthinky at 7:26 AM on August 27, 2017
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posted by allthinky at 7:26 AM on August 27, 2017
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Poltergeist was the first movie I saw alone.
I was 12.
posted by mikelieman at 8:07 AM on August 27, 2017
Poltergeist was the first movie I saw alone.
I was 12.
posted by mikelieman at 8:07 AM on August 27, 2017
Salem's Lot. SO much better than what I expected from a David Soul TV movie. Not a fan of horror in general, but I really liked this adaption.
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posted by evilDoug at 8:08 AM on August 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
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posted by evilDoug at 8:08 AM on August 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
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Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 isn't a beloved film. But where else are you going to see Dennis Hopper in a double fisted chainsaw duel with Leatherface while singing Bringing in the Sheaves?
posted by cazoo at 8:08 AM on August 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 isn't a beloved film. But where else are you going to see Dennis Hopper in a double fisted chainsaw duel with Leatherface while singing Bringing in the Sheaves?
posted by cazoo at 8:08 AM on August 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Heh. I was just going to mention how nutty great Texas Chainsaw Massacre II was. A response of sorts to the Reagan era pushed to extremes.
As for the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, if you haven't seen it, you may well have seen films inspired by it, Alien being the most notable. Ridley Scott has made no secret of Texas Chainsaw Massacre's influence on Alien, and once you look at it that influence is obvious as the structural blueprint for the two movies is basically identical, though much more polished in the Scott's film compared to the rawness of Hooper's.
Tobe had an odd career. A few really good films, a bunch of so-so ones, and overall far less work than one would have imagined for someone so inventive early on.
posted by gusottertrout at 8:25 AM on August 27, 2017
As for the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, if you haven't seen it, you may well have seen films inspired by it, Alien being the most notable. Ridley Scott has made no secret of Texas Chainsaw Massacre's influence on Alien, and once you look at it that influence is obvious as the structural blueprint for the two movies is basically identical, though much more polished in the Scott's film compared to the rawness of Hooper's.
Tobe had an odd career. A few really good films, a bunch of so-so ones, and overall far less work than one would have imagined for someone so inventive early on.
posted by gusottertrout at 8:25 AM on August 27, 2017
It's been a while since I saw the movie, and it's interesting he mentions his family worked in slaughterhouses (though perusing the links I didn't find that quote but I was skimming a bit).
I have read a lot about the nature of violent work on subsequent crimes
and how training people to witness violence and suffering without mercy even in animals can impact empathy towards all suffering. This is something slaughterhouse workers carry day in and day out for everyone else who gets to look away, laugh, say bacon is tasty and ignore the literal horror and pain of what happens every day to these animals. What if the tables are turned and humans are on the menu? Suddenly we find ourselves less capable of saying it's ok if it's tasty. And choosing to make the villians a family adds the banal reality of the slaughterhouse industry... it's not big scary villians.
It's us.
We're the monsters.
And for a lot of us we don't even have the decency to do the monstering ourselves and own it but tuck it away and let ourselves feel like it's all ok and explainable somehow. I eat meat so this is not a judgement of others, as a harm reductionist it's just something I hope we eventually outgrow and a portion of us aren't called to slaughter gentle emotional living beings day in and day out.
posted by xarnop at 8:29 AM on August 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
I have read a lot about the nature of violent work on subsequent crimes
and how training people to witness violence and suffering without mercy even in animals can impact empathy towards all suffering. This is something slaughterhouse workers carry day in and day out for everyone else who gets to look away, laugh, say bacon is tasty and ignore the literal horror and pain of what happens every day to these animals. What if the tables are turned and humans are on the menu? Suddenly we find ourselves less capable of saying it's ok if it's tasty. And choosing to make the villians a family adds the banal reality of the slaughterhouse industry... it's not big scary villians.
It's us.
We're the monsters.
And for a lot of us we don't even have the decency to do the monstering ourselves and own it but tuck it away and let ourselves feel like it's all ok and explainable somehow. I eat meat so this is not a judgement of others, as a harm reductionist it's just something I hope we eventually outgrow and a portion of us aren't called to slaughter gentle emotional living beings day in and day out.
posted by xarnop at 8:29 AM on August 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Patrick Stewart is fond of telling the story that Lifeforce was his very first on-screen kiss, and that it was with a man. Pretty great for a movie from 1985, even if it was about energy vampires from space.
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posted by tzikeh at 8:35 AM on August 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
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posted by tzikeh at 8:35 AM on August 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
As a little kid, I was addicted to Fangoria Magazine. Imagine my surprise when other kids in grade school *weren't* excited about INVADERS FROM MARS coming out. They had never even heard of Tobe Hopper! I know it was his least popular film and did terrible box office, but that movie was perfection in the "adults are completely useless" genre that was happening in the '80s. (See also EXPLORERS, TIME BANDITS)
But trying to explain why "it's from the guy who made TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE but it's for kids" to other 4th graders.
Ever since my dad worked on the FUNHOUSE poster (he's the evil clown on the VHS box), there hasn't been anything Tobe Hooper's done that I haven't seen--even the notably terrible stuff. Which, to his credit, is still incredibly entertaining.
So long and thanks for all the rubber flesh, Mr. Hooper.
posted by Gucky at 8:40 AM on August 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
But trying to explain why "it's from the guy who made TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE but it's for kids" to other 4th graders.
Ever since my dad worked on the FUNHOUSE poster (he's the evil clown on the VHS box), there hasn't been anything Tobe Hooper's done that I haven't seen--even the notably terrible stuff. Which, to his credit, is still incredibly entertaining.
So long and thanks for all the rubber flesh, Mr. Hooper.
posted by Gucky at 8:40 AM on August 27, 2017 [11 favorites]
For some reason my parents let me go see Poltergeist with my brother around age 6-7. I have not seen it since but the bathroom sink scene is still one of the most horrifying memories of my life.
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posted by cmfletcher at 8:54 AM on August 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
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posted by cmfletcher at 8:54 AM on August 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
The tv movie Salem's Lot is worth seeing too. He did a good job with that.
It basically scared the life out of me when I saw it as a kid... I still sometimes get unnerved by uncurtained windows at night
It scared the hell out of me as a full-fledged, office-working adult.
posted by Chitownfats at 10:07 AM on August 27, 2017
It basically scared the life out of me when I saw it as a kid... I still sometimes get unnerved by uncurtained windows at night
It scared the hell out of me as a full-fledged, office-working adult.
posted by Chitownfats at 10:07 AM on August 27, 2017
Lifeforce was the first movie I ever thought I got ripped off in the ticket price, but it has acquired the kind of reputation that makes me think I should give it a rewatch.
"This right here isn't going to bother him, because he's insane."
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posted by rhizome at 10:18 AM on August 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
"This right here isn't going to bother him, because he's insane."
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posted by rhizome at 10:18 AM on August 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
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posted by Joey Michaels at 10:26 AM on August 27, 2017
posted by Joey Michaels at 10:26 AM on August 27, 2017
Hooper somehow transcended his limitations to create an eerie and genuinely frightening film which would define the genre for years to come.
Hooper's segment in the otherwise so-so "Masters of Horror" documentary is interesting - he and Wes Craven were way out ahead of most of the rest of their generation of US directors in understanding horror psychology, and in making use of the social and film economy freedoms of the 70s to put that on the screen. He is hugely under-credited as an influence, maybe just because his influence is so ubiquitous now that it's almost invisible.
posted by ryanshepard at 10:37 AM on August 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Hooper's segment in the otherwise so-so "Masters of Horror" documentary is interesting - he and Wes Craven were way out ahead of most of the rest of their generation of US directors in understanding horror psychology, and in making use of the social and film economy freedoms of the 70s to put that on the screen. He is hugely under-credited as an influence, maybe just because his influence is so ubiquitous now that it's almost invisible.
posted by ryanshepard at 10:37 AM on August 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
The slasher horror film genre exists to this day thanks to the The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Salem's Lot is STILL the best made for broadcast horror adaptation ever. I also have a deep and abiding love for Lifeforce, even if it is a bit of a mess (but, oh, what a glorious mess!). Invaders From Mars is also a much better movie than it is usually given credit for by most fans.
But I can't give Hooper full credit for Poltergeist. I'm not going to rehash the whole controversy but that film can only be generously described as a collaborative co-directing effort between Hooper and Speilberg, not matter what the credits say.
Nonetheless, Hooper was one of my favorite directors and O always appreciated the sense of fun he took when making his films.
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posted by KingEdRa at 10:46 AM on August 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
But I can't give Hooper full credit for Poltergeist. I'm not going to rehash the whole controversy but that film can only be generously described as a collaborative co-directing effort between Hooper and Speilberg, not matter what the credits say.
Nonetheless, Hooper was one of my favorite directors and O always appreciated the sense of fun he took when making his films.
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posted by KingEdRa at 10:46 AM on August 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Poltergeist really shaped a lot of what I still consider to be scary today. I'm 36 years old and I still hate when it's windy outside and I hear a tree scratching against a window or the shadows cast by a lightening storm. Really mundane types of scares but the kind that are menacing to a young child.
posted by Fizz at 11:16 AM on August 27, 2017
posted by Fizz at 11:16 AM on August 27, 2017
I only found out today that the great Salem's Lot TV adaptation I loved as a kid was Hooper's. He was one of the greats.
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posted by vibrotronica at 11:42 AM on August 27, 2017
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posted by vibrotronica at 11:42 AM on August 27, 2017
There's this great picture from the set of Poltergeist (from this interesting tidbit at The A.V. Club). I saw Poltergeist at a much too impressionably young age and Texas Chainsaw Massacre after that. It was my gateway drug to more video nasties.
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posted by fregoli at 1:22 PM on August 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
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posted by fregoli at 1:22 PM on August 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
That's the kind of nightmare fuel I had in my brain after watching Poltergeist at too young an age. Haha, great share fregoli.
posted by Fizz at 2:35 PM on August 27, 2017
posted by Fizz at 2:35 PM on August 27, 2017
There's a movie called Funhouse yt that came right before Poltergeist and that I thought was pretty cool. Here's The Funhouse Blog which takes the movie apart scene by scene; quite nicely done.
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I had my first death in a nightmare thanks to that damn movie.
posted by Samizdata at 4:19 PM on August 27, 2017
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I had my first death in a nightmare thanks to that damn movie.
posted by Samizdata at 4:19 PM on August 27, 2017
(Not for me, but for a friend): Lifeforce was exciting for a young gay man who was a teeny excited over the sight of male butts in space.
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posted by pjmoy at 5:11 PM on August 27, 2017
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posted by pjmoy at 5:11 PM on August 27, 2017
I just discovered that he directed the video for Billy Idol's Dancing With Myself, which is here. And also pretty bonkers.
posted by suetanvil at 5:13 PM on August 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by suetanvil at 5:13 PM on August 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
I just discovered that he directed the video for Billy Idol's Dancing With Myself
I am knocked backwards off a rooftop whilst wearing an outfit made of binbags by this news.
posted by Artw at 7:26 PM on August 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
I am knocked backwards off a rooftop whilst wearing an outfit made of binbags by this news.
posted by Artw at 7:26 PM on August 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
I saw Lifeforce in the cinema as a teenage boy, and I found it entirely delightful.
posted by misterbee at 7:48 PM on August 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by misterbee at 7:48 PM on August 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
I just discovered that he directed the video for Billy Idol's Dancing With Myself
I am knocked backwards off a rooftop whilst wearing an outfit made of binbags by this news.
CHA!
Billy does very little in the way of dancing in that video, strangely.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 3:01 PM on August 28, 2017
I am knocked backwards off a rooftop whilst wearing an outfit made of binbags by this news.
CHA!
Billy does very little in the way of dancing in that video, strangely.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 3:01 PM on August 28, 2017
I am not a horror fan... But Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a really important film that is instantly recognizable.
Same here. I saw it at the end of a triple bill one Halloween many years ago and thought the other two films (Night of the Living Dead and Freaks) pretty forgettable. But Chainsaw was remarkable.
Thanks to – in addition to the director’s talents – the work of Leatherface, aka Gunnar Hansen. This is the second time fearfulsymmetry has gotten to use this post title.
posted by LeLiLo at 7:46 PM on August 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Same here. I saw it at the end of a triple bill one Halloween many years ago and thought the other two films (Night of the Living Dead and Freaks) pretty forgettable. But Chainsaw was remarkable.
Thanks to – in addition to the director’s talents – the work of Leatherface, aka Gunnar Hansen. This is the second time fearfulsymmetry has gotten to use this post title.
posted by LeLiLo at 7:46 PM on August 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
I can't watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre because if I do I will die. One of the character's names is my first name, and another character's name is my last name. That's some bad mojo.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:57 PM on August 28, 2017
posted by kirkaracha at 9:57 PM on August 28, 2017
This is the second time fearfulsymmetry has gotten to use this post title.
Yeah, I did notice as I was putting the post together - It came into my brain instantly but I had forgotten I used it for the Hansen one (I think I'd forgotten I done the Hansen one at all tbh). I did look for other suitable quotes (including Lifeforce) but could not find anything as good so let it stand.
Years ago I first read a book by Kim Newman and Neil Gaiman, Ghastly Beyond Belief, which is a collection of quotes from sf/fantasy/horror books and films with some humorous commentary on them. The 'meat' one was the sole contribution from Chainsaw. It stayed with me over the years... Especially as when I had read it I had not seen the actual film. Chainsaw, along with the other banned films The Exorcist and Clockwork Orange, became epic in my imagination based on reading about them over the years without being able to watch them. When I finally got to see them The Exorcist and Clockwork Orange were, to be honest, a bit disappointing but Texas Chainsaw Massacre wasn't. Different, yes... less gory, a different look and feel to what I was expecting. But a disappointment? Oh no.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 7:50 AM on August 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Yeah, I did notice as I was putting the post together - It came into my brain instantly but I had forgotten I used it for the Hansen one (I think I'd forgotten I done the Hansen one at all tbh). I did look for other suitable quotes (including Lifeforce) but could not find anything as good so let it stand.
Years ago I first read a book by Kim Newman and Neil Gaiman, Ghastly Beyond Belief, which is a collection of quotes from sf/fantasy/horror books and films with some humorous commentary on them. The 'meat' one was the sole contribution from Chainsaw. It stayed with me over the years... Especially as when I had read it I had not seen the actual film. Chainsaw, along with the other banned films The Exorcist and Clockwork Orange, became epic in my imagination based on reading about them over the years without being able to watch them. When I finally got to see them The Exorcist and Clockwork Orange were, to be honest, a bit disappointing but Texas Chainsaw Massacre wasn't. Different, yes... less gory, a different look and feel to what I was expecting. But a disappointment? Oh no.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 7:50 AM on August 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Tobe Hooper Gutted Film with THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (Pseudo-selflink... Not my writing, but I run the site.)
posted by brundlefly at 2:50 PM on August 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by brundlefly at 2:50 PM on August 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Re watched Lifeforce last night... it proved to be even more deranged than I remembered. Apparently Hooper created it as a deliberate tribute to Hammer, which explains a lot.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:39 AM on September 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:39 AM on September 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
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posted by On the Corner at 4:10 AM on September 2, 2017
posted by On the Corner at 4:10 AM on September 2, 2017
Lifeforce - the destruction of Tucktonia [NSFW] - flickr set and movietonews.
posted by unliteral at 7:42 PM on September 3, 2017
posted by unliteral at 7:42 PM on September 3, 2017
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