The mask, the gore, the true crime inspirations—altogether, they make The Texas Chain Saw Massacre one of the best and most spine-chilling horror movies of all time.
Directed by Tobe Hooper, who co-wrote the independent film with Kim Henkel, the slasher classic roared into theaters in October 1974 with its terrifying tale of Sally (Marilyn Burns), her brother Franklin (Paul A. Partain) and their friends as they're terrorized at an old farmhouse by the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen), said to be loosely based on the real-life murderer Ed Gein. And out of all of cinema's cold-blooded killers, from Ghostface to Hannibal Lector, none gave me the creeps growing up quite like Leatherface.
Celebrating its big 50th anniversary this month, the classic horror flick continues to serve as inspiration throughout the scary-movie genre and also kicked off a decades-spanning franchise that furthered the story of Leatherface and his family through sequels, prequels, a remake, comic books and video games.
And to commemorate that ghastly golden jubilee, you can tune into The Texas Chain Saw Massacre—both the original as well as the remake—online and on TV this week. The O.G. 1974 film is available to stream any time for those with a Peacock subscription; you can get Peacock Premium for $7.99 monthly or Peacock Premium Plus for $11.99 per month.
And if you want to continue with the direct sequel, 2013's Texas Chainsaw 3D, you can tune in with various airings on SyFy this week, starting with Tuesday, October 15 at 4:45pm. (There's another airing on Wednesday, October 16 at 10am.)
You can also experience a reimagining of the Leatherface story with airings of the 2003 remake The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, directed by German filmmaker Marcus Nispel and starring Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, Mike Vogel, Erica Leerhsen and Eric Balfour as a group of young adults traveling through rural Texas when they encounter a mask-wearing murderer and his equally sinister family. You can watch the remake on AMC on Tuesday, October 15 at 7:30pm, or Wednesday, October 16 at 3:45pm.
Both SyFy and AMC are usually included in most cable packages. However, if you've cut the cord, you can access both channels via live-streaming subscriptions like Hulu + Live TV, FuboTV, DIRECTV and Sling TV.
