The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - November 12, 1974

Being all of seven years old at the time of its original release, it should come as no surprise that I have zero memory of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. My introduction to the film came post Salem's Lot (1979), The Funhouse (1981), and Poltergeist (1982). 

The first time I watched it was on home video, that grainy and somewhat fuzzy looking transfer courtesy of Wizard Home Entertainment, and found the film to be every bit as unnerving and intense as its lurid title implied it would be. Although that spell was broken when my dad strolled into the living room, just as Sally Hardesty jumps through a window and gets chased across the front lawn by Leatherface, and asked me, "What the hell are you watching?"

"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," I told him.

He sighed, shook his head, and muttered, "Figures it'd be Texas." Then he turned and walked out of the room.