Eaten Alive at a Chainsaw Massacre

The sound of chainsaws revving on “haunted” Halloween trails has evoked untold screams since Tobe Hooper’s 1974 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre hit the cinemas. Since that first take-no-prisoners horror movie, Hooper’s reputation as a master of horror has been secured by his adaptations of Stephen King (Salem’s Lot, 1978, and The Mangler, 1995), his blockbuster breakthrough Poltergeist (1982) and a variety of cult hits, from the underrated Lifeforce (1985) to the remake of Invaders from Mars (1986). This reference work is divided into five parts. Part I provides a history and overview of Tobe Hooper’s career. Part II offers entries (with synopses, complete credits, critical reception and commentaries) on every feature film by year of release. Part III provides chronological information on Hooper’s television movies and miniseries. Part IV offers entries on his episodes from horror television series. Part V is a critical essay and conclusion which places Hooper in horror film history and compares his work to all-time greats such as Romero, Craven and Carpenter.

John Kenneth Muir is an American literary critic and award-winning author. As of 2022, he has written 30 reference books in the fields of film and television, with a particular focus on the horror and science fiction genres.

John Kenneth Muir

Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 206
Bibliographic Info: 27 photos, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2009 [2002]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4461-8
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1335-2
Imprint: McFarland

Introduction     1

1 A History and Overview of Tobe Hooper’s Career     9
2 The Feature Films of Tobe Hooper     49
3 Television Movies and Miniseries     141
4 Genre Television Series     163
5 Conclusion     177

Appendix A: Recurring Characters, Imagery and Themes     179
Appendix B: Mr. Homage     183
Appendix C: Ranking the Feature-Length and Television Films     185

Notes     187
Bibliography     191
Index     195

• “Muir does an excellent job chronicling Tobe Hooper’s career”—Classic Images
• “Muir is an honest and perceptive author…a fine, well-written and well-researched book”—Destructive Music
• “zany and entertaining…recommended”—The Shy Librarian
• “enthusiastic…of interest”—Film Review
• “good…discuss[es] the failures as openly as the successes…compelling reading…horror fans will want to read this, regardless of their stance on the director”—Hitch
• “exhaustive critique”—Rue Morgue
• “accessible…good insights…valuable”—Cult Movies
• “well-written…fantastic reading…engrossing stuff…essential…a riveting analysis of an underrated film-maker”—Within the Woods