1. ANALYSIS OF
TEXAS
CHAINSAW
MASSACRE

2. EDITING
- Jumpcuts
- Slow-paced – makes you wonder when things
are going to happen, creates
suspense, something may jump out to scare
you
- Fast-paced – makes the film jumpy, this
speeds up the action (people getting stabbed
and sawed)

3. MISE EN-SCENE
Lighting
- Harsh, dark lighting
Make-up
-Blood EVERYWHERE!
Props
-Weapons – chainsaw, knife, gun, axe
- Bear trap (treating him as an animal)
Costume
-Girls – tight, white, t shirts, tight jeans, shows belly, hair down, pretty girls
(conventional) – male gaze
-Police outfits – power, status
-Chainsaw guy dressed in black with a mask (we can’t see him, creates enigma)
Location
-Woods
-Isolated Building
-Abandoned House

4. SOUND
Diegetic
- Ambient – weapons etc
- Footsteps – creates shock
- Screaming, screeching – creates terror/fear
- Heavy breathing – creates panic
- Chainsaw
Non-Diegetic
- Sinister, slow paced background music
- Happy music with the teenagers in the car at
the beginning (equilibrium)

5. SOUND CONTINUED
Contrapuntal
-”hush little baby” lullaby playing while at the
same time the guy is being beaten up – sinister
music is also playing at the same time (makes it
more horrific for the viewers)
Sound Bridge
- He’s cleaning her, then she screams, then it
cuts to the long shot of the house and the
scream continues (this creates a lasting
effect, meaning that the viewers will be more
terrified)

6. CAMERA ANGLES
- Handheld camera – in the car near
beginning, this creates realism, feeling
of terror, unknown
- Low angles – on sheriff, we are looking
up to him, this emphasizes his power
and control over the characters and
us, as viewers
- High angles – girl on floor, low status
and very weak

7. THEORY
Laura Mulvey’s Theory
- The girls are sexually objectified at the
beginning, kissing etc
- Active, passive – active males, we identify
with males and then active, passive
switches, shifts after crash and we begin to
identify with females.
Claude Levi-Strauss
Narrative matched with pairs of binary
opposites (eg. Good vs evil)

8. COMPOSITION
-Sally under the table watching the
chainsaw guy making his mask (he is
higher up) – Sally is positioned as low
status and the chainsaw guy is shown to
be of higher status and obviously in
control of the situation

9. SHOT TYPES (DISTANCES)
-Long shot – We can see the
surroundings, it sets the scene
-Depth of field on the police guy –
makes it harder for the audience to see
what will creep up behind (creates
suspense) – chainsaw guy