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Chainsaws, which are commonly used tools in logging and woodworking, are also a common sight in popular culture.
Chainsaws have appeared in countless films being used for their intended purpose, but this rarely, if ever, is given a prominent role in the plot. More prominent, however, is portrayals of chainsaws as improvised weapons or torture devices.
Despite chainsaws having been around since the 1930s, they were not seen being used as a weapon in film until the 1960s, possibly due to Hays Code censorship restrictions on portrayals of graphic violence.[ citation needed ]
Among the earliest films to portray chainsaws as weapons are Dark of the Sun (1968) and The Wizard of Gore (1970). [1] Wes Craven's 1972 film The Last House on the Left was referred to as the "original Chainsaw Massacre" in advertising campaigns during later re-releases. [2]
In 1974, Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was released. The film, loosely based on famous murderer Ed Gein (though unlike the killers in the film, Gein did not use chainsaws), etched the chainsaw into the public mind as an object of gruesome terror. It was followed by a direct sequel, two standalone sequels, and in 2003, a remake, which received its own prequel. Following its release, many horror films, especially low-budget ones, began to incorporate chainsaw gore scenes, a trend that continues to the present day.
In 1987, Sam Raimi's Evil Dead II featured a protagonist using a chainsaw for heroic purposes. (The previous film also contained a chainsaw, but it was ultimately not used for violence). In one of the film's sequences, protagonist Ash Williams attaches a chainsaw to his stump to replace a severed hand (which he had removed with the same chainsaw), marking a point where the protagonist quits running from the demon and chooses to fight. The chainsaw hand had appearances in the film's sequel and various spin-offs, symbolizing the will to fight.
Due to the high level of gore associated with the chainsaw's use as a weapon, appearances outside of the horror genre were uncommon. One notable one was in Brian De Palma's 1983 gangster film Scarface , where a scene depicted a Colombian gangster dismembering another gangster to extract information.
In the 1996 film Forest Warrior , a scene was included depicting immortal spirit John McKenna (played by Chuck Norris) stopping a logger's chainsaw with his bare hand. The scene became memetic after being posted on the Internet, with a clip of the scene gaining over 5 million views on YouTube. [3]
In the Sharknado franchise, the protagonist is Fin Shepard who fight sharks in tornadoes with a chainsaw to protect his family.
Due to television's higher level of censorship, chainsaw violence is rare and usually only described with both the attack and the damaged body left unseen. An example of this is an episode ("Born Again") of The X-Files revolving around the ghost of a police officer dismembered with a chainsaw by corrupt colleagues; all flashbacks skip over the actual murder.
One notable exception is the series Dexter in which chainsaw attacks are occasionally seen, most notably in dreams and flashbacks regarding the protagonist's mother's death. This is due to the larger amount of content freedom given to programs created for pay television, of which the series is one. Dexter Morgan also uses a chainsaw at some points.
Chainsaws have made appearances in cartoon series, usually as a source of comedy. These have ranged from more young-adult audience fare ( The Simpsons , Family Guy ) to even children's series, for instance the series The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy contains a chainsaw-wielding character based on Evil Dead's protagonist Ash. In the manga and anime adaptation of Black Butler , a chainsaw was prominently featured as Grell Sutcliff's personalized Deathscythe. In the manga and anime Chainsaw Man the protagonist Denji can transform into a human-chainsaw hybrid by pulling a cord protruding from his chest.
CSI:Crime Scene Investigation has used chainsaws in one storyline, highlighting their potential for serious accidents. What was apparently the massacre of two victims by a third perpetrator was then revealed to be an inexperienced operator who had caused a kickback accident that killed both himself and a bystander.
In the early days of the remote-controlled robot combat shows Battlebots and Robot Wars , many robots were armed with chainsaws, because converting the tool into a remote-controlled weapon was a simple task. Their use declined as builders began developing custom-made kinetic-energy weapons that could do far more damage.
The first chainsaw appearance in a video game was the 1983 Texas Chainsaw Massacre Atari game. This game, with antagonist Leatherface chasing down victims on a highway for points, though, had low sales and limited exposure due to many stores refusing to sell it.
Chainsaws were used as weapons in the 1970s and 1980s horror film-inspired cult Splatterhouse [4] game series, and used by enemies in some "beat 'em ups" (such as the Robocop arcade game).
The Doom franchise features a chainsaw as one of the Doomguy's recurring weapons.
Some horror games in which chainsaws are used as weapons include the Resident Evil series, Dead Rising , Dead Rising 2 , [5] the Silent Hill series, Manhunt, Dead Space , Left 4 Dead 2 , [6] MadWorld , No More Room in Hell , [7] and the Evil Dead spin-off games.
Chainsaws also appear in organized crime-themed video games. These include the Grand Theft Auto series (starting with the Scarface-inspired GTA: Vice City ), 50 Cent: Bulletproof , Saints Row 2 , and Scarface: The World Is Yours . [8]
Chainsaw-inspired weapons have also made appearances in sci-fi war games. Some examples include the chainsaw bayonets in the Gears of War series, the "Ripper" chainsaw-knife of the Fallout series, and the "chainswords" seen in games based on the Warhammer 40,000 franchise. Chainsaw-based weaponry can be seen in the popular Facebook game Battle Stations, where it exists as a large-scale, ship-mounted melee weapon.
In Lollipop Chainsaw , the heroine Juliet Starling uses a chainsaw as a primary weapon of the game.
The character Dorothy in Stella Glow uses a chainsaw as one of her primary weapons.
In Shadow Warrior 2 , the player character Lo Wang can use multiple types of chainsaws, including ones resembling swords.
Although the original portrayals of chainsaw violence worked on its capacity to inflict gory damage upon a human body or sadistically produce pain, its prominence in low-budget B-movies has since produced a separate image of the chainsaw as a comedic, often campy expression of over-the-top terror.
This image is often drawn upon in cartoons, comedy series, and comedy films. It has appeared occasionally as part of the post- Scream wave of self-referential horror, for instance David Arquette's The Tripper .
A stereotype of comedic chainsaw portrayal is a chainsaw-wielding lunatic in a hockey mask (seen for example in the Simpsons episode "Cape Feare"). Horror cinema's archetypal hockey-mask killer Jason Voorhees has never actually been portrayed wielding a chainsaw in a film, though chainsaws have been used against him in some films.
The band Arrogant Worms has a song called "Malcolm", in which the title character "solves his problems with a chainsaw and he never has the same problem twice".
The Portland Timbers soccer team's mascot, Timber Joey, cuts off a slab of wood from the team's victory log using a chainsaw after each Timbers home goal. The players who scored the goal get to keep the slice of wood. [9]
Despite their substantial ability to inflict damage on living creatures, real-life chainsaw attacks and murders are uncommon. This likely is due to their heavy, unwieldy weight, loud noise, risk of user injury, and high price compared to other potential close-quarters weapons, although those same drawbacks make them weapons with a formidable value of intimidation.[ citation needed ]
One real chainsaw murder is referred to in interviews with Brian De Palma as having been the inspiration for the chainsaw scene in Scarface. The real case, which De Palma apparently saw crime-scene photos of while researching the film, involved multiple victims and bodies stuffed into metal drums. De Palma described the murder as part of his appeal that Scarface should be passed with an R certificate on the basis that graphic content was based in reality as screenwriter Oliver Stone had gleaned from months of research with both police officers (some of whom testified in the film's defense) and actual drug traffickers. [10]
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent horror film produced, co-composed, and directed by Tobe Hooper, who co-wrote it with Kim Henkel. The film stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, and Gunnar Hansen. The plot follows a group of friends who fall victim to a family of cannibals while on their way to visit an old homestead. The film was marketed as being based on true events to attract a wider audience and to act as a subtle commentary on the era's political climate. Although the character of Leatherface and minor story details were inspired by the crimes of murderer Ed Gein, its plot is largely fictional.
Scarface is a 1932 American pre-Code gangster film directed by Howard Hawks and produced by Hawks and Howard Hughes. The screenplay, by Ben Hecht, is based loosely on the novel first published in 1930 by Armitage Trail, which was inspired by Al Capone. The film stars Paul Muni as Italian immigrant gangster Antonio "Tony" Camonte who violently rises through the Chicago gangland, with a supporting cast that includes George Raft and Boris Karloff. Camonte's rise to power dovetails with his relentless pursuit of his boss's mistress while his own sister pursues his best hitman. In an overt tie to the life of Capone, a version of the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre is depicted.
A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic term for any horror film involving murder, film analysts cite an established set of characteristics which set slasher films apart from other horror subgenres, such as monster movies, splatter films, supernatural and psychological horror films.
Scarface is a 1983 American crime drama film directed by Brian De Palma, written by Oliver Stone and starring Al Pacino. It is a remake of the 1932 film, in turn based on the novel first published in 1930 by Armitage Trail. It tells the story of Cuban refugee Tony Montana (Pacino), who arrives penniless in Miami during the Mariel boatlift and becomes a powerful drug lord. The film co-stars Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Robert Loggia, Míriam Colón and F. Murray Abraham.
Survival horror is a subgenre of horror games. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical action games through limited ammunition or weapons, health, speed, and vision, or through various obstructions of the player's interaction with the game mechanics. The player is also challenged to find items that unlock the path to new areas and solve puzzles to proceed in the game. Games make use of strong horror themes, such as dark mazelike environments and unexpected attacks from enemies.
Willard Tobe Hooper was an American filmmaker, best known for his work in the horror genre. The British Film Institute cited Hooper as one of the most influential horror filmmakers of all time.
Antonio "Tony" Montana is a fictional character and the villain protagonist of the 1983 film Scarface. This character is portrayed by Al Pacino in the film and is voiced by André Sogliuzzo in the 2006 video game Scarface: The World Is Yours. Embodying the possibility of a person rising from the bottom of society to the top, Tony Montana has become a cultural icon, as well as one of the most iconic film characters of all time.
A splatter film is a subgenre of horror films that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of gore and graphic violence. These films, usually through the use of special effects, display a fascination with the vulnerability of the human body and the theatricality of its mutilation. The term "splatter cinema" was coined by George A. Romero to describe his film Dawn of the Dead, though Dawn of the Dead is generally considered by critics to have higher aspirations, such as social commentary, than to be simply exploitative for its own sake.
An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become historically important, and even gain a cult following.
Robert Sawyer, better known as "Chop-Top" is a fictional character from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise; created by Tobe Hooper and L. M. Kit Carson, Chop-Top makes his first appearance in the film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) as one of the film's villains and the main source of its black humor.
Gun fu, a portmanteau of gun and kung fu, is a style of sophisticated close-quarters gunfight resembling a martial arts combat that combines firearms with hand-to-hand combat and traditional melee weapons in an approximately 50/50 ratio. It can be seen in Hong Kong action cinema, and in American action films influenced by it.
Splatterhouse is a beat 'em up arcade game developed and published by Namco in 1988. It was the first in a series of games released in home console and personal computer formats. This game would later spawn the parody Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti, the sequels Splatterhouse 2, Splatterhouse 3, and the 2010 remake Splatterhouse, with the classic games being added to Namco Museum since 2017.
Splatterhouse 3, known in Japan as Splatterhouse Part 3 (スプラッターハウスPART3), is a horror themed beat'em up video game released by Namco for the Mega Drive/Genesis in 1993. It is the sequel to Splatterhouse 2 and was one of the first games to be given a rating by Sega's own Videogame Rating Council. In North America the game was given an MA-13 rating by the council for its graphic violence and gore. Unlike its predecessors, it was not originally released in Europe. The game was included as an unlockable extra in the 2010 remake, with new artwork replacing the digitized photographs for legal reasons.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is an American horror franchise created by Kim Henkel and Tobe Hooper. It consists of nine films, comics, a novel, and two video game adaptations. The franchise focuses on the cannibalistic spree killer Leatherface and his family, who terrorize unsuspecting visitors to their territories in the desolate Texas countryside, typically killing and subsequently cooking them. The film series has grossed over $252 million at the worldwide box office.
The popularity of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre film-series and of its main character, Leatherface, led to the publication of several comic books based on the franchise. In 1991, Northstar Comics released a miniseries titled Leatherface — a loose adaptation of Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III — that ran for four issues. In 1995, Topps Comics released Jason Vs. Leatherface, a three-issue miniseries that had Jason Voorhees of Friday the 13th fame moving in with Leatherface and his cannibalistic family.
Leatherface is a character from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre series. He first appeared in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) as the mentally disabled member of a family of deranged cannibals, featuring his face masks and chainsaw. Created by Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel, Leatherface was partially inspired by the crimes of Wisconsin murderer Ed Gein, in addition to confessions by serial killer Elmer Wayne Henley. The character has subsequently been represented in various other media, including novels, video games, and comic books; appearing in all nine films in the series.
Clive Barker's A-Z of Horror was a six-part documentary series first broadcast on BBC2 on 4 October 1997. It was written and hosted by Clive Barker and explored the history of horror, from the cinema to art. Subjects included are the influence of the Grand Guignol, the literary works of Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft, the real life serial killer Ed Gein, the horror make-up effects of Tom Savini and director George A. Romero, as well as works of artist Franz Xaver Messerschmidt and the horror film icon Freddy Krueger. A tie-in book was released featuring art work by Barker and film reviews by Stephen Jones.
Leatherface is a 2017 American horror film directed by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, written by Seth M. Sherwood, and starring Stephen Dorff, Vanessa Grasse, Sam Strike, and Lili Taylor. It is the eighth installment in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (TCM) franchise, and works as a prequel to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013), explaining the origin of the series' lead character.
A horror game is a video game genre centered on horror fiction and typically designed to scare the player. The term may also be used to describe tabletop games with horror fiction elements.
