The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American
slasher film, directed and produced by
Tobe Hooper, who cowrote it with
Kim Henkel. It stars
Marilyn Burns,
Paul A. Partain,
Edwin Neal,
Jim Siedow and
Gunnar Hansen, who respectively portray Sally Hardesty, Franklin Hardesty, the hitchhiker, the proprietor, and
Leatherface, the main antagonist. The film follows a group of friends who fall victim to a family of cannibals while on their way to visit an old homestead. Although it was marketed as a true story to attract a wider audience and as a subtle commentary on the era's political climate, its plot is entirely fictional; however, the character of Leatherface and minor plot details were inspired by the crimes of real-life murderer
Ed Gein.