Was The Original 1974 Texas Chainsaw Massacre Really Banned? The Truth About The Film, Explained

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre from 1974 is a standard of horror, and it was such a shocking and violent film that several countries banned it from being screened upon its initial release. Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is the first and original film in the sprawling Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise and kicked off Tobe Hooper's career as a horror director. Though he may never have reached the heights of this early movie in his oeuvre, few horror directors can claim anything as influential as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Horror movies have been ripping off The Texas ChainsawMassacresince it came out, and the original Hooper film is so good, that even the ripoffs are excellent and have had ripoffs of their own. From the masked villain, the common tool used for violence, hitchhikers, a final girl, sinister musical cues, and an unexplained backstory, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre introduced or popularized numerous horror tropes, and did it all with a shockingly gruesome and vicious story. It was so affronting, that several countries had it banned.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Was Banned

11 Countries Had The Film Banned At One Time

When The Texas Chainsaw Massacre first went to the MPAA, Hooper hoped the film would receive a "PG" rating because there was no visible blood in the film (via FreedomEntertainment). Instead, his movie earned an X rating. Hooper removed several minutes from the film to bring it down to an "R". Still, the film was met with disgust and anger by many viewers. Two theaters in Ottawa, Canada were advised by local police to remove the film or face morality charges (via OttawaCitizen).

Countries That Banned The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Countries	Years	Reason
Brazil	1974	Banned for content
France	1974-1977	Banned for violent and sadistic content
Germany	1974-1978	Banned in West Germany for extreme violence
Australia	1974-1984	Censors refused to rate the film until 1984
Finland	1974-1996	Banned for graphic violence
Norway	1974-1997	Banned for violence
Great Britain	1974-1998	Led to ban of the word "chainsaw" from movie titles
Sweden	1974-2001	Banned for violence, gore, and cruelty
Singapore	1974-2004	Banned for violence
Canada	1976	Banned from two theaters in Ottawa
Iceland	1985-1999	Banned for violence, though a censored version was released

The movie ended up being banned in 11 countries for anywhere from one to 30 years. In some countries, like Canada, the film was only banned in one or two towns, while in others, it faced a total ban (via BannedLibrary). The ban has been repealed from every country that ever put it on a list, but its time on those lists has only increased the legacy of the film as an iconic horror movie.

Why The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Got Such A Strong Reaction

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Feels Real

Sally (Marilyn Burns) bound to a chair at the dinner table in Texas Chain Saw Massacre — Marilyn Burns bound to a chair at the dinner table in Texas Chain Saw Massacre

The number one reason given for the different bans includes graphic and sadistic violence throughout, and in that, the censors are correct. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is filled with particularly sadistic and graphic violence. The violence in the film feels very real. The horror the innocent characters face seems like something captured on a home video, and that can certainly make it hard to stomach. It's a mean movie. Kind characters are unceremoniously brutalized, and no explanation is given for their fates.

One of the most frightening moments in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise comes during the first film and is representative of this "angry" horror. Kirk (William Vail) wanders into the abandoned house to ask for gas, only for a sliding door to suddenly open to reveal the hulking Leatherface, who smashes Kirk with a hammer. It's almost soundless and there's little time to process what's happening. His shudders on the ground are like those of an animal at a slaughterhouse, and would certainly be particularly affecting to audiences unused to that type of violence.

How The Rest Of The Franchise Compares

No Texas Chainsaw Massacre Movie Matches The Terror Of The First

Bill Moseley as Chop Top cackling in Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 — Bill Moseley as Chop Top in Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

As violent as the rest of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies are, none achieve the same brutality as the first. That's because none of these films can surprise like the first film. It came out of nowhere, whereas the follow-ups will always have expectations attached to them with the Texas Chainsaw Massacre moniker. The best of these have leaned into the ridiculousness of the violence and shock because none of them can match the original in terms of real terror.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Created by: Tobe Hooper, Kim Henkel
Cast: Marilyn Burns, Gunnar Hansen, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, Dennis Hopper, Caroline Williams, Bill Moseley, Bill Johnson, Viggo Mortensen, William Butler, Renée Zellweger, Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, Jordana Brewster, Taylor Handley, Alexandra Daddario, Dan Yeager, Stephen Dorff, Lili Taylor, Olwen Fouéré, Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, Mark Burnham
First Film: Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Latest Film: Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)
Movie(s): Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, Texas Chainsaw 3D, Leatherface, Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)
Video Game(s): The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a multimedia franchise that began with Tobe Hooper's 1974 horror film, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. After the film's initial release, there were a total of eight additional films added to the franchise, as well as comic books from various publishers, including Avatar Press and Wildstorm Comics. In 2023, the video game The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was released on PlayStation 4/5, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox X/S.