A documentary that provides interesting gory details but lacks ambition the way its subject does not.
★★★☆☆
How does art bleed into the psyche? Are some films engineered to capture the zeitgeist, or does it happen by accident? When circumstance and the right crew come together everything fits into place, creating a ripple effect that can change cinema forever. This is very much the case with Tobe Hooper’s 1974 shocker The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The film set a chaotic high bar in exploitation horror, with a madness that reflects America from the 70s all the way through to the modern day.
The horror classic is the subject for Alexandre O. Phillipe’s new documentary, the brilliantly titled Chain Reactions. The director is already known for similar film essay style pieces like his debut 78/52 (2017), which focused on Psycho’s infamous shower scene. Here he sits down with five artists, Patton Oswalt, Takeshi Miike, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Stephen King and Karyn Kusama, as they each explain how the film has influenced their work and psychology. This method has a strong start, drifting back and forth from the artists, sat in a creepy barn-type structure not unlike the house in Texas Chainsaw Massacre, to clips of the film with voiceover commentary. This begins to falter towards the end, as the format doesn’t allow much room for manoeuvre or the type of invention we see evident in the imagery.
The first two interviews with Oswalt and Miike are the most successful. Oswalt’s passion for the film shines through and we get footage of an early stand-up routine in which he mentions the title. He comments on the adrenaline of the film’s low budget and how this perhaps created a grungier and more authentic look that allowed Hooper to ramp up the shock value, which rings true. With Miike coming straight after, the cultural difference is an interesting juxtaposition. Celebrated for some of the goriest offerings in cinema history, Miike speaks in a mild mannered and contemplative register. It speaks to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s wide-reaching extremity that it influenced much of the rise in 90’s J-Horror. It’s the film that separated the true horror fans from the part timers; you get through this, and you’ve passed the test.
Later, while Heller-Nicholas, King and Kusama all add brilliant insight, the film begins to sag. This isn’t through much fault of their own, as they all have intelligent things to say about the film, but down to the repetitive nature of watching someone sit in a room and discuss the same film for more than 90 minutes. It is a shame O. Phillipe decides not to do more with the form, he has the evocative set but never commits to doing much with it. That’s not to say the film isn’t entertaining—there are plenty of obscure and fitting film references to quench a cinephile’s thirst, and everyone’s infectious enthusiasm goes a long way, but that can’t do all the heavy lifting.
The documentary tries to explore our morbid fascination with the mundanity of violence. Leatherface, as stated by the interviewees, does not know what to do with the people that come across his house. There is not necessarily a rhyme or reason for the barbarity on screen, and this makes it even more scary. That unpredictability isn’t translated into the documentary, leaving it a pale companion to its subject. Through extended interviews we certainly understand why the film is such a revered horror touchstone, but it doesn’t always come across in the actual filmmaking.
The Verdict
Chain Reactions should do enough to please fans of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and horror alike and might even tempt scaredy cats to take the plunge.
Words by Oscar Aitchison
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