a vanload of kid drive across the country run afoul of a crazed degenerate family of vicious redneck killer in remote rural texas . that it for the ( admittedly slight ) set up and but the plot be basically inconsequential a this one really all about create and sustain a supremely dark and grim and and unsparingly harsh mood that get under your skin and make you squirm like a hapless fish catch on a hook . director tobe hooper masterful talent for craft a raw and rattle and uncompromisingly fierce intensity that slowly and yet surely build to a nerve wrack fever pitch in the harrowing last third ( the infamous diner table sequence be particularly horrify ) have never be match or surpass in either any of the subsequent sequel or in the needless and atrocious overly graphic remake . hooper strong evocation of the bleak and dusty and desolate texas backwoods project a profound sense of dread and unease which never let up for a minute . moreover and hooper wise decision to keep the violence largely off screen enhances rather than detracts from the film alarm power to scare and disturb while this welcome and refresh concession to the viewer imagination ensure that the movie never deteriorate into a mindless and revolt bloodbath while still allow the jolting outburst of sudden brutal violence to retain their ability to startle the audience . the admirable refusal to provide some kind of explanation for why the horrific going on occur qualifies a another major asset while instead hooper and co writer kim henkel merely present a stark and unwavering depiction of random gratuitous violence and unbridled savagery a if such horrible thing happen all the time . this movie be far enhance by a wickedly funny sense of black a coal gallows humor and with the loony hick clan the weary and bitter old man ( marvelously play by jim siedow ) and unhinged hitchhiker ( a deliciously batty portrayal by edwin neal ) and and the freakish and squeal and gibber leatherface ( an astonishingly bestial and bloodcurdling gunnar hansen ) serving a a strikingly grotesque caricature of your typical american family . marilyn burn make for a fetching and pitiable luckless damsel in distress a sally while paul a. partain contribute a memorably obnoxious performance a the extremely whiny and hateful and unsympathetic cripple franklin . kudos be also in order for the wondrous wealth of inspired macabre touch represent a chicken in a birdcage and the armchair make out of human bone and and the age grandfather ( john dugan in hideously wizened make up ) who drink human blood . the spare and droning and dissonant experimental score by hooper and wayne bell add substantially to the picture considerable unsettling impact . daniel pearl grainy and but polish cinematography offer several smooth and sinuous track shot that be positively breathtaking to behold . essential viewing .