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The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Stephen King reveals the horror movie that got “its cold little fingers under [his] skin”

Nick Staniforth

20 September 2025

The writer of IT and Carrie was still left horrified by this absolute classic

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(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

It’s an impressive feat to give one of the most revered horror writers in history the chills. Well, it turns out that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre did just that for Stephen King, as revealed in a recent confession from the author that gave the world killer clowns and a kid who could see dead girl ghosts.

In an interview with Variety, King recalled the first time he saw Tobe Hooper’s revved-up fearfest that even now still makes fans’ blood freeze. The dirt and grit from this horrifying backwater tale stuck with the writer, who managed to get his own accidental private screening when he finally sat down to see it.

“I should say that I never saw Texas Chainsaw Massacre when it came out,” King recalled. “I saw it in 1982 in Colorado. I was a young father, and I was writing to stay ahead of the bill collectors. I was in the theater almost by myself. That’s when a movie really has a tendency to work on you, to get its cold little fingers under your skin.”
Considered one of the greatest of horror movies ever, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre shocked King for its realism, which was only aided by the version he remembered sitting through at the time. “It had that kind of washed-out ’70s look, for want of a better term. You could tell that this print had been around for a while, and it’s better for it, because it just looks fucking real,” explained King. “It works because there’s no artifice about it, there’s no buildup, there’s no character nuance. I mean, there are scenes in the graveyard … they’re not extras, they’re not Hollywood people at all. They look like they came from the nearest little Texas town. It’s fantastic.”

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The best Stephen King adaptations ranked, from Carrie to The Long Walk

The 30 best horror movies that will haunt you long after the credits roll

Stephen King says “there’s a case to be made for Mike Flanagan being the Quentin Tarantino of horror” after finally watching The Fall of the House of Usher

Admittedly, since then, the legacy of Leatherface and his messed-up family has had its ups and downs with sequels, reboots, and legacyquels not quite cutting the same way as the original. That might all be about to change, though, given that the rights for the IP are up for grabs and several creatives are keen to get their hands on the chainsaw and give it a swing themselves, including someone who has actually dabbled in King’s works recently.

Whispers from the Sawyer house have revealed that a new Texas Chainsaw Massacre TV show may be in the works from A24 and The Long Walk screenwriter, J.T. Mollner, and backed by Glen Powell, who has been eyeing the franchise for a while. When they do, let’s hope it gets the nod of approval from someone who knows their way around a horror story. Speaking of King, get a look at our ranking of every movie and show that’s adapted his work here.

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Nick Staniforth

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Contributing Writer

Nick is a freelancer whose work can be found at Screen Rant, The Digital Fix, and Looper. He loves movies, TV, DC, and Marvel. He also believes that the best Robin Hood is still a talking fox.

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The best Stephen King adaptations ranked, from Carrie to The Long Walk

The 30 best horror movies that will haunt you long after the credits roll

Stephen King says “there’s a case to be made for Mike Flanagan being the Quentin Tarantino of horror” after finally watching The Fall of the House of Usher

A new Texas Chainsaw Massacre TV show may be in the works from A24 and The Long Walk screenwriter

Stephen King names his favorite movies of all time, excluding his favorite Stephen King adaptations

The Long Walk screenwriter says he had to “go through the motions” to adapt the upcoming dystopian horror thriller: “We had to ask Stephen King if he was OK with it, and thank God he was”

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