Bad Omens

This chapter examines the first scenes of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974). The Texas Chain Saw Massacre begins with a title crawl and a narration which tells the audience exactly what is going to happen and to whom. The first minute of the film projects not only a strong sense of doom but of reality, of a sense of authenticity. The implication of the narration is to establish a trusting relationship with the audience in that what they are about to witness is in fact real, a cinematic retelling of an actual event. Consequentially, even before the actual film itself has started, a strong sense of horrific anticipation is intimated. But, in sharp contrast to this implied documentary mode, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre begins proper as the date fades down to black and a truly mad and macabre montage of sound and image follow.