Greetings again from the darkness. OK, so this tribute to the 50th anniversary of THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE may seem a year late, but it was actually an award winner at the 2024 Venice Film Festival. This documentary has now gained distribution and will finally show for an audience that remains so loyal and respectful of that original film from director Tobe Hooper (who passed away in 2017). Documentarian Alexandre O Phillippe has a nice track record of exploring popular films, including his superb 78/52 (2017), which surgically analyzed the iconic shower scene in Hitchcock’s masterpiece, PSYCHO.
Fittingly, this documentary opens on a clip of Hooper’s original film from 1974. It then takes a unique approach by dividing this into five chapters, each with insight and observations from one particular person of interest.
Chapter One features comedian-actor Patton Oswalt describing his first viewing of the film. With his rare brand of humor, Oswalt provides a surprisingly in-depth perspective on the film, while making some spot-on comparisons to the original NOSFERATU, and the Bulgarian classic, MAN BITES DOG. He even opens our eyes to some similarities to the staircase scene in GONE WITH THE WIND … the first time I’ve ever heard “Chain Saw” and GWTW mentioned in the same sentence. Especially worth noting is Oswalt emphasizing the importance of the fantastic Art Direction from the late Robert Burns’.
Chapter Two puts Japanese filmmaker Takashi Mike in the spotlight. Best known for his films, ICHI THE KILLER (2001) and 13 ASSASSINS (2010), he explains how his younger self was a huge fan of Bruce Lee, which developed his interest in cinema. He then recalls a fascinating tale of showing up to a sold-out screening of Chaplin’s CITY LIGHTS, and how fate took him around the block to his first-ever viewing of “Chain Saw”. This opened his eyes to how movies could be dangerous … and then he details the technical aspects of shooting on 16mm and blowing it up for the big screen to achieve the ‘grainy’ look.
Chapter Three brings us Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, a renowned film critic from Australia. She provides a bit of a history lesson, recalling the “Chain Saw” was banned for years in Australia, and when she finally saw it, the source was a well worn and yellowed version which she compared to the heat of the Outback. In her discussion, she mentions Peter Weir’s fantastic classic PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK (1975). Both can be labeled a bit avant-garde as films that make you FEEL something.
Chapter Four could have been the most entertaining section, but unfortunately, the great horror writer Stephen King spent entirely too much time talking about other films. Rather than focus on THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, Mr. King rattles off other great film titles like THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, THE SHINING, THE HAUNTING, THE INNOCENTS, and POLTERGEIST. Fortunately, he does bring Edgar Allan Poe into the conversation.
Chapter Five, the final section, finds filmmaker Karyn Kusama (GIRLFIGHT, 2000; DESTROYER, 2018) focusing on the primal nature of Tobe Hooper’s film, while also educating us on the landscape of myth. Ms. Kusama makes an excellent observation about the opening crawl in “Chain Saw” … it really does plant the seed of “a true story” in our mind.
In 1974, director Tobe Hooper released what would shockingly become an American Masterpiece, THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE. All these years later, the film still frightens viewers and continues to influence new generations of filmmakers. With an unusual approach, documentarian Alexandre O Phillippe pays tribute to the filmmaker and his work by giving artists a platform to explain what the film means to them. Good stuff … except for that meat hook (gets me every time)!
This documentary opened in New York and Los Angeles on September 19, 2025 and expands nationwide on September 26, 2025
Posted by David Ferguson 
Greetings again from the darkness. Most of us scoot through life never being labeled as “the prettiest” anything. That’s fine. We accept it. Still, we apply the label periodically and it was Bunny Yeager who was known as “the world’s prettiest photographer”. Not many would argue with the designation as Ms. Yeager was an incredibly talented photographer, while also being described as a bombshell … a pinup model and actress herself.
Greetings again from the darkness. Having one’s name or work associated Hitler typically (but somehow not always these days) marks one as a pariah or persona non grata. For artists, the rules can be a bit blurred, and filmmaker Andres Veiel takes on the story of Leni Riefenstahl, in hopes of removing some of the blur.
Greetings again from the darkness. Ben Masters’ follow-up to his outstanding documentary, DEEP IN THE HEART: A TEXAS WILDLIFE STORY (2022) is even more stunning, more remarkable, and more important. Narrated by environmentalist, model, and actress Quannah Chasinghorse, the breathtaking photography is complemented by a history lesson and cautionary warnings about where things are headed.
Greetings again from the darkness. Is it possible to be a rock star that no one has heard of? Well, in a way, that’s what happened to Marc Bolan. In Great Brittain, Bolan and his band T. Rex drew huge crowds and had a massive fan base, whereas in the United States, they had only a small cult following (which meant very little record sales or radio airtime). Ethan Silverman (he of previous short films and music videos) conceived of this record album/documentary combination, and in 2020 set out to make the project come to life.
Greetings again from the darkness. There’s just something kind of cool about a band whose first number one hit single is entitled “Shine”, and here they are 32 years later still touring and taking the time to participate in a documentary. Cinematographer and Music Videographer Joseph Rubinstein has put together an intimate film that allows the band members to tell their story using their own words. The result is that we see a group of guys who get along well, and also seem to be good dudes that we wouldn’t mind getting to know.
Greetings again from the darkness. It seems somewhere along the way intelligence has fallen out of favor. However, I continue to be fascinated by deep thinkers who share their knowledge and ideas. One such man is Robert Reich, and this documentary from Elliot Kirschner provides a worthy look at a man who has not only been an integral part of United States politics for decades, he has also spent 42 years as what he terms ‘a professional teacher.’
Greetings again from the darkness. Even the title is a form a trickery. First of all, there was no Pee-wee Herman other than the character portrayed by Paul Reubens. Secondly, much of what this documentary presents is not from Pee-wee, but rather from Paul Reubens ‘himself’. And it goes directly to the point – the public adored Pee-wee Herman, while Paul Reubens was a bit more complicated. Documentarian Matt Wolf (SPACESHIP EARTH, 2020; the excellent RECORDER: THE MARION STOKES PROJECT, 2019) presents a two-part documentary for HBO that strives to clarify the line between man and character.
Greetings again from the darkness. It was 1988, and when this group of students proclaimed, “We will be heard!”, it took on additional importance. The anger of these students represented 124 years of repression. Student protestors were from Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. It’s the only university for deaf students, and its history dates back to the time of Abraham Lincoln.
Greetings again from the darkness. Fourteen years spent teaching advanced degree architectural students at Columbia led to her being denied tenure, so Ada Karmi-Melamede did what any self-respecting and incredibly talented architect would do … she quit the job and bet on herself. It’s a bet that has resulted in numerous high-profile projects in her homeland, Israel.
Movie Reviews from the Dark 