Blood, brutality and the iconic American horror movie that Europe needed to ban from cinemas
Having your film banned always has two sides to it: you’re probably disappointed by the rise of authoritarian policies, but on the other hand, you already know that kids in the future will look at it as a certification that the movie is badass.
Horror as a whole has probably suffered from this to a greater extent than political cinema, which is ironic because the latter more often than not fails to get the exposure required to make a splash as big as a good ol’ horror flick with gore and sex. You want to make a documentary about Pol Pot’s genocidal regime? Film festivals will welcome you with open arms. Wait, it’s actually a horror film where decapitated ghosts hold severed penises in protest as a metaphor for the generational pain and trauma? Get instantly banned by the American Association of Christian Moms in Columbus, Ohio.
That’s why films like Cannibal Holocaust and A Serbian Film have gotten a second wind in the age of the internet, having their names constantly spammed in the sweatiest of chatrooms when somebody asks, ‘Guys, what movie blew your mind away?!!’ It’s also a sign that they’re not really great movies, but that’s not their purpose either. They’re here to shock you and make you question why you have eyes.
You always expect the list of such banned projects to feature the most obscure titles you’ve never even heard of, but here’s one for you: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. That’s right, Tobe Hooper’s genre-defining masterpiece might be screened in universities and schools now, but at one point, countries around the world banned it completely because they thought it was an evil influence.
One of the chief complaints was that no film with that much gore and blood should have a place in the public consciousness, with policymakers looking at the words “chainsaw” and “massacre” together and thinking that there were villains wading through oceans of blood with chainsaws slicing through scattered organs. It was banned in several European countries, including the UK, Finland, France, Sweden and Norway, and even outside Europe in places like Brazil and Singapore.
But as Hooper clarified himself, that wasn’t really justifiable because there wasn’t a great deal of blood in the movie to begin with. “It was banned for 25 years,” Hooper reflected in an interview, talking about the UK ban.
“But, you know, there’s relatively little blood in the film. When Pam is hanged on the meat hook, you don’t see penetration. You don’t see blood splatter.”
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre might not have a lot of blood, but what it does have is an intimate knowledge of the craft of horror filmmaking and pure cinematic genius, as Hooper replicates the narrative structure of a nightmare in an unforgettable commentary about contemporary America and the political landscape in general, featuring cannibalism and murder.
Now, if politicians had the guts to declare outright that it was politically unsettling for them to watch a critique of their own actions, and that’s why they banned it, at least you could respect the honesty. But the horror genre has always faced censorship under deceptive conditions, with claims that the contents are not suitable for the well-being of audiences.
Well, more than 50 years later, horror fans are just fine when they rewatch The Texas Chainsaw Massacre for the 236th time while slurping on pork ramen, and if you’re one of them, just know that what you’re watching once turned Guillermo del Toro into a vegetarian because he couldn’t stomach it.
