Guest writer Kara Gray Ramirez reflects on teen angst, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and how Leatherface helped her through her first break-up!
The year 2007 stands out in my memory for several reasons — and Leatherface is one of them.
It was a tumultuous year for teenage Kara, filled with hard life lessons, heartbreak, and emo music. I found myself all alone on Halloween, mourning my first bad break-up. I was 15 years old and felt like someone had ripped my heart out. I dated the farmer boy everybody warned me about and I was feeling the impact of my choice; I just couldn’t shake him from my mind. The end of a first love is a unique experience, and I felt numb to everything at this time. To put the cherry on top of the worst day, I was home sick from school and couldn’t go out. I have always considered myself to be a Halloween Queen, and having no plans felt like pure torture. I looked around my quiet living room and my eyes caught my parents’ VHS copy of the original 1974 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, directed by Tobe Hooper.
I felt like hot garbage, and watching a horror movie I hadn’t been brave enough to watch yet by myself felt like a dare. At this point I loved to be scared, but was timid about the violence in horror movies. Generally, I covered my eyes at the gnarliest parts, but today felt different. I was filled with morbid curiosity and I welcomed this 83-minute distraction to my senses.
The film began with an ominous warning of death and destruction to a group of young people in Texas. Loud camera flashes show a terrifying and appalling corpse someone had dug up as loud, sharp sounds trilled in the background. My eyes widened with excitement as the hairs on the back of my neck began to stand up; I was invested. The characters were just ordinary young adults having a carefree day in the 1970s; they never could have imagined that Leatherface was waiting for them.
My memory paints a picture of my younger self sitting much too close to my big living room TV in Upstate New York, watching this story unfold. I carefully watched as Sally and her friends picked up a ridiculously suspicious looking hitchhiker in their groovy van. The hitchhiker’s name is Nubbins Sawyer (Edwin Neal), and I will learn later in the film he is the brother of Bubba “Leatherface” Sawyer (Gunnar Hansen.) This fella could not possibly look more deranged, and once he is seated in the van, everyone’s facial expressions dropped.
His personality is childlike, while agitated, hyper, and violent. He talks about working in the slaughterhouse with his family in incredibly disturbing detail, while intentionally provoking Franklin. He cuts his own hand open, sets a Polaroid on fire, and digs his blade into Franklin’s arm, unprovoked. The gang of friends erupt in panic and throw him out of the van, leaving everyone shaken. The scene is delivered so well because of Hooper’s use of sound design and cinematography, and you feel like you are watching a home video you aren’t meant to see.
As Kirk (William Vail) made the mistake of wandering into a strange Texas house asking for fuel, I could feel the tension rising. I could not believe my eyes as Kirk was ignorant enough to wander into this stranger’s house to ask for help after the attack they just received from the hitchhiker. Leatherface’s first appearance as he catches Kirk in his home, is the most memorable bout of brief violence I had ever seen. The terror is built brilliantly in this moment as the camera very quickly pans to Leatherface’s terrifying mask, and he immediately bludgeons Kirk.
The sound effect is incredibly nightmarish and realistic. You don’t see much blood in this scene, but the meat hammer Leatherface strikes him with makes a distinct squelching sound, and Kirk’s body jerks around into a twitching death dance before his body stills, and Leatherface slams the metal door shut with brute force. Moments later, Kirk’s girlfriend Pam (Teri McMinn), is met with an even worse demise as Leatherface catches her and fastens her to a meat hook. These scenes left my jaw on the ground, and I was hooked (no pun intended.)
After I recovered from this masterful scene of violence and terror I was ready for more. I received some comic relief from the most annoying character of all time, Franklin (Paul A. Partain) and his empathetic sister, Sally (Marilyn Burns.) Franklin suffers from paraplegia and heavily leans on his sister and her friends for just about everything. Franklin is tough to empathize with, as he is incredibly whiny, negative and constantly complaining about everyone around him. I later learned Paul Partain chose to method act as Franklin and he drove everyone on set insane with his whining. Franklin has a lot of paranoia and is constantly worried about everything around him, which made him the perfect target for Nubbins earlier in the film. Once Leatherface springs out of nowhere in the night and mauls Franklin with his chainsaw, Sally is left to her own devices.
Watching Leatherface chase Sally though the dark woods with his chainsaw changed me. This is the first time I had truly felt genuine panic watching a victim run from their attacker in a film. The camera angles that fall upon the moonlight in these scenes look gorgeous, and it is a chilling match to the horror unfolding. Marilyn Burns is absolutely relentless as she loses her mind running from the evil Sawyer family. When she rushes into the Sawyer home and reaches the upstairs, she sees the unforgettable sight of barely-alive Grandpa Sawyer in his rocking chair. Sally does what any sensible human would do, and dives straight through the window, shattering the glass and falling two stories.
In this moment, a bad bitch was born in my eyes and I was mesmerized.
As The Texas Chainsaw Massacre came to its conclusion, I was blissfully disturbed. I could not believe how bizarre I felt after that viewing experience, but in a thought-provoking way.
I had so much more to think about now, aside from my broken heart. There was so much to love about this film, but I found my very favorite things were the infamous “Pretty Woman” mask Leatherface dons while he chases a bloodied Sally into the street, and the performance by Edwin Neal as the hitchhiker, AKA Nubbins. His performance feels like a genuine portrayal of someone mentally ill and prone to violence. It truly felt like his performance was not meant to be seen, and it has always stuck with me.
I now have his signature proudly penned on his famous van scene hanging in my dining room. I proudly display the “Pretty Woman” mask replica next to my TV, along with a piece of the wood from the movie’s original gas station, (all gifted to me by my dad.)
I feel so lucky to have feasted my eyes upon this classic at a time when I needed some love. I have since expanded my love of horror greatly, as it has become a great passion in my life.
Meet Kara!
Kara Gray Ramirez is a proud wife and mama, as well as a writer and horror fanatic.
Since falling in love with All Hallows Eve in 2013, Kara has built a substantial Art the Clown collection. In 2025 and 2026 Kara wrote for Dread Central.
She previously worked in the animal industry for 7 years as well, and loves cats, as well as playing bass and singing.
You can follow her on Instagram at @Karuh13 and check out her Letterboxd profile here.
