Stephen King Recalls Seeing ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ for the First Time in ‘Chain Reactions’ Clip

Stephen King recalls his first viewing of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in a clip from Chain Reactions debuted by Variety.

“I never saw Texas Chain Saw Massacre when it came out. I saw it in 1982 in Colorado. I was a young father, and I was writing to stay ahead of the bill collectors,” King explains.

“I was in the theater almost by myself. That’s when a movie really has a tendency to work on you, to get its cold little fingers under your skin. It had that kind of washed-out ’70s look, for want of a better term. You could tell that this print had been around for a while, and it’s better for it, because it just looks fucking real.”

He continues, “It works because there’s no artifice about it, there’s no buildup, there’s no character nuance. I mean, there are scenes in the graveyard… They’re not extras, they’re not Hollywood people at all. They look like they came from the nearest little Texas town. It’s fantastic.”

King is one of five artists who wax poetic about Tobe Hooper’s 1974 horror masterpiece in Chain Reactions, alongside actor/comedian Patton Oswalt (Ratatouille, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire), Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike (Audition, Ichi the Killer), Australian film critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, and director Karyn Kusama (Jennifer’s Body, The Invitation).

Directed by Alexandre O. Philippe (The People vs. George Lucas, Memory: The Origins of Alien), the documentary opens in New York City and Los Angeles tomorrow, September 19, before expanding nationwide on September 26 via Dark Sky Films.

Daniel Kurland wrote in his review, “Chain Reactions is a love letter to Texas Chain Saw Massacre and its grander impact on horror and film. It’s also such a glowing celebration of the power of cinema and its ability to open minds and bring people to new worlds, as glib as that may seem.”