by Cecilie Stenak

In Tobe Hooper’s horror film, the viewer follows a group of friends who are on their way to visit an old homestead in Texas. What they thought was going to be a fun road trip ends up being a bloody, macabre and ungracious journey to their death. They fall victim to a family of cannibalistic psychopaths who lives in a white country house. The five teenagers are forced in to a never-ending nightmare when they meet the cannibals. One at a time, they are murdered in horrifying ways. 

In The Texas Chainsaw Massacre the use of camera portrays the contrasting gender representation shown in the murder scenes; the camera depicts a more detailed and painful murder of the female character Pam, than the male character Kirk. The camera shots reveal more pain, anxiety and suffering from Pam, where Kirk’s fearful emotions are non-existing. Furthermore, the lighting used inside the house exposes the female character’s face, while the male character’s face is covered in deep shadows. There is also used blocking in the male character’s murder scene, which hide details from the viewer. Additionally, Pam is dressed in a very sexy and revealing way. Feminist critics claim that “the use of the close-up function in film present women as visual and erotic objects for the contemplation of a male audience.”^[1]On the other hand, Kirk is presented and dressed in a masculine and superior way. Feminist theory claims that male characters are often represented as figures with “exaggerated prowess”^[2]and “a little introspection.”^[3]

Gender Representation 

The contrasting gender representation is expressed through the use of camera in the scene where Leatherface kills Kirk and hooks Pam up. Prior to this scene, Kirk and Pam stumble upon a white country house in their search for gas. 

Kirk’s Murder: 

The viewer sees a high-angle full shot of Pam sitting at the stairs at the porch, while Kirk is knocking at the door, “Hallo, is anybody home?”^[4]The next shot shows a medium close up of a tooth with a big, black cavity on the porch floor. Kirk picks it up as the camera tilts up. Followed is a full shot showing Kirk examines the tooth, then he bends down towards Pam. The next shot shows a close up Pam’s palm as the camera zooms in to an extreme close up of the tooth in her hand. Another high-angle full shot of the porch reveals that Pam is throwing the tooth away as she walks out of the shot, while Kirk is laughing and turns around and knocks on the door again. 

The door opens by itself as he knocks, which lead to a match-on-action cut from the inside of the house showing Kirk standing on the porch. The viewer sees a full shot of the masculine, brown-haired guy whose blue button-down-shirt reveals most of his hairy chest. The next shot is a medium shot showing a frustrated Pam who sits down on a bench swing in the yard. The attractive female character is shot from behind, which makes her look almost naked as she is wearing a backless top. The following shot shows another full shot of Kirk who walks over the doorstep into the dark house. The next shot shows a point of view shot, where the viewer sees a door opening and a red painted wall with animal skulls hanging. The color red symbolizes blood and danger. The following shot shows a medium shot of Kirk standing in the doorway with deep shadows on his face. 

Another point of view shot of the inside of the house is shown, which quickly zooms in on the door opening with the red wall. After a few seconds it zooms even further into the door opening. These zooms make the viewer aware that something is going to appear in that door opening, and it also makes the viewer focus on the animal skulls. Next is shown a medium shot of Kirk looking back at the yard, but he decides to walk into the house. Followed is a low-angle full shot that shows Kirk running towards the camera. The next shot shows another full shot of Kirk, which is shot from behind where he stumbles into the door opening with the red painted wall. Leatherface appears in the shot and Kirk looks him straight up in the face. Next is a low-angle point of view shot, which is panning up in a fast pace showing a medium shot of Leatherface holding an axe in his hand. Followed is a full shot showing Leatherface hitting Kirk, and he falls down to the floor. The viewer only sees the back of Kirk when the axe hits him, which means that the viewer doesn’t get to see any details of the action of the killing. A medium close up shows very shortly Kirks bloody face. Thereafter a shot of Kirk’s shaking body is shown. Then another full shot is showing Leatherface dragging Kirk into another room, and thereafter shuts a metal door closed. 

Kirk is inside the house for 45 seconds in total, and the viewer barely sees him suffer. The use of camera portrays Kirk in a superior and masculine way. The viewer doesn’t get to see him being scared at any point in the scene. There are deep shadows on Kirk’s face when he is inside the house, which makes it hard for the viewer to see his facial expressions, and thus no emotions are revealed. 

Pam’s Murder: 

The viewer sees a medium close up of Pam sitting outside on the swing bench, “Kirk? Kirk?”^[5]Next is a low-angle tracking shot following her from behind as she is walking towards the house. This shot reveals Pam’s full body, especially focusing on her butt in tiny shorts and her bare back, arms and shoulders. She looks topless from behind, which portrays the female character as an erotic object. Followed is a medium close up shot showing Pam’s face through the door screen. Thereafter a medium shot shows her opening the door and walks into the house. Followed is a point of view shot of Pam scanning the room, and the viewer sees the shut metal door. Next is a full shot of Pam with deep shadows walking into another room at the house, where the viewer only sees the shape of her searching for Kirk. The camera pans right as Pam draw two door curtains aside. This leads to a match-on-action cut where the viewer sees Pam from the other side of the curtain, tripping intro the room filled with bones on the floor. 

Next is a close up shot using hard lighting, which is clearly revealing Pam’s scared face. Next is a point of view shot, which is zooming in on a living hen in a cage. Thereafter, another close up of Pam is shown, which reveals her sweaty, anxious face. Followed is a shot where the camera pans through the room, starting with an extreme close up of a bone and then it zooms out to reveal several human bones. Next is a full shot of a gigantic bench made of human bones and skulls. Followed is a medium close up of Pam sitting huddled up on the floor as she looks around the room with fear in her eyes. Next is a shot zooming in on a skull with a bullhorn through its mouth. Thereafter a full shot is showing Pam’s anxious body language. This shot makes Pam look powerless and weak while sitting in the room full of bones. Followed are several shots showing more human bones, animal bones, and the living hen. Next is a medium shot showing Pam throwing up on the floor; she is having an anxiety attack as she coughs and breaths heavily. 

Thereafter several shots from different angles of the room are shown of Pam trying to stand up as she screams. Followed is a full shot showing Pam running out of the room and into the next. This scene leads to a match-on-action cut, where the viewer sees the room with the metal door as Pam runs into it. A low-angle full shot reveals Leatherface coming out of the metal door as Pam turns around and sees him. This low-angle shots is used to create fear as it shows to the viewer the characters intimidation. Next is a shot from behind showing Leatherface chasing Pam through the hallway. This scene also leads up to a match-on-action cut, where the viewer sees Pam flee out the door as Leatherface grabs her from behind. A medium shot is showing Pam screaming, panicking, shaking, as Leatherface carries her through the hallway. Followed is a full shot showing Leatherface bringing Pam through the metal door.

Next is a high angle full shot using depth of field, which shows two meat hooks in the foreground and Leatherface with a hysterical Pam in his arms in the background. The use of depth of field makes the viewer aware, that the hooks in the foreground play a role in her killing scene. Next is a low-angle shot showing Leatherface lift Pam up towards the hook. Followed is a shot lasting less than a second showing the back of Pam and the sharp hook that is about to be pierced through her body. Even though this shot has a short duration it makes the viewer create a picture in their mind of what Pam is going to go through. Followed is another shot using depth of field showing Kirk laying on a countertop in the foreground as Leatherface impales Pam on a meat hook in the background. Next is a close up of Pam’s face revealing severe pain as she screams. Thereafter is a full shot showing Pam hanging in the background as she suffers, while Leatherface is looking at Kirk’s dead body, which has deep shadows. 

Thereafter is a shot showing Leatherface turning on his chainsaw as the camera zooms in on the aggressive chainsaw. Next is a shot of Pam’s feet hanging off the ground as the camera tilts up to a medium shot of her, showing her suffering face as she is hanging on the hook. Followed is a full shot of Leatherface cutting through Kirk’s face as the viewer sees Pam on the hook in the background. However, Kirks face is not shown in this scene because it is blocked by equipment standing on the table, which means that the viewer doesn’t see any details of Leatherface cutting in Kirk. Another full shot is showing Leatherface working on Kirk as the camera zooms in on Pam in the background who is screaming in pain. 

Pam is inside the house for 3 minutes and 56 seconds in total, which means Pam’s torture is longer than Kirk’s. The camera shots used in her murder scene make her look powerless and weak. Furthermore, the lighting is bright on Pam’s face when she is inside the house, which clearly reveals her anxious facial expressions. 

Conclusion

Pam’s torture is longer than Kirk’s, and the viewer sees in details how she suffers at the fearsome house in Texas. The camera shots used in the film make her look powerless and weak, compared to Kirk who is portrayed in a superior way. The viewer doesn’t get to see him being scared at any point in the scene. Furthermore, the lighting is bright on Pam’s face when she is inside the house, while there are deep shadows on Kirk’s face. The use of lightning reveals more fear and anxiety from the female character. Pam’s suffering takes minutes while Kirk’s murder is over in a few seconds. There is also used blocking when Kirk is being cut by the chainsaw to hide his face, while throughout the murder of Pam her face is fully available for the viewer to watch. Pam is dressed in a very sexy and revealing way, which portrays her as an erotic object. 

Works Cited

Tobe Hooper. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. New Line Cinema, 1974

Prince, Stephen. “Movies and meaning.” An introduction to film. Boston: Pearson, 2015. 

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^[1]Prince, Stephen. “Movies and meaning.” An introduction to film.Boston: Pearson, 2015. p. 451. 

^[2]Prince, Stephen. “Movies and meaning.” An introduction to film.Boston: Pearson, 2015. p. 451.

^[3]Prince, Stephen. “Movies and meaning.” An introduction to film.Boston: Pearson, 2015. p. 451.

^[4]Tobe Hooper. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. New Line Cinema, 1974.

^[5]Tobe Hooper. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. New Line Cinema, 1974.