Tobe Hooper's independent classic is one of the finest horror movies ever made. From early on, as the young protagonists find themselves being terrorized by the slaughterhouse geek, TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE presents us with a bleak tone of foreboding; we sense that they are fated to meet a violent end. The climactic ending, featuring the cannibal family terrorizing the one survivor who, just barely, gets away, masterfully brings the movie to closure. Throughout, the grainy cinematography and somber tone, along with the imagery of leatherface and his chainsaw, all add to the film's overall effectiveness.
One thing about the period of the early 1970s, when this movie was made, which the van scene made me think of was that of youthful, naive student-types stumbling coming upon forces beyond their control. This was also the period in which hitchhiking came to be seen as a high risk behavior. I also think, at the risk of overanalysis, that the film's dark, rural location and depiction of nastily backward country folk suggest a kind of poetic take on the burgeoning political/cultural reactionary direction the U.S.A. was heading toward, i.e., the end of the "Age of Aquarius."
One thing about the period of the early 1970s, when this movie was made, which the van scene made me think of was that of youthful, naive student-types stumbling coming upon forces beyond their control. This was also the period in which hitchhiking came to be seen as a high risk behavior. I also think, at the risk of overanalysis, that the film's dark, rural location and depiction of nastily backward country folk suggest a kind of poetic take on the burgeoning political/cultural reactionary direction the U.S.A. was heading toward, i.e., the end of the "Age of Aquarius."