By: Allison Ambuehl

Texas Chainsaw Massacre the horrifying thriller that changed independent films’ reputations forever, proving they can compete against full on productions.

The movie was made in 1974 on a $140,000 budget and a dream. Their budget proved to be no problem when compared to its success, as it rose to gross $30 million dollars. The return on investment makes the original the most profitable film in the $252.7 million dollar franchise.

However, one question has lingered in my mind while researching Texas Chainsaw Massacre: how much of the movie is fictional and how much is following the heinous crimes of serial killer Ed Gein?

At the beginning of the original film, the words “One of the most bizarre crimes in the annual of American history”, are disclosed by the narrator, leaving many to rightfully believe the events that happened are based on a true story.

This line was not a thoughtless choice thrown in just to make the following events more thrilling; it was a deliberate tactic to get viewers talking about the film.

A simple conversation stater, “Hey, did you know Texas Chainsaw Massacre, that horror movie that just came out, is a real story?” The person hearing this information is immediately intrigued, their curiosity gets the better of them and they cave.

They purchase a ticket, maybe two, so they can bring a friend, and the cycle repeats.

The opening statement purposefully leaves out details of how accurate Texas Chainsaw Massacre is to the true story.

Ed Gein was an incredibly heinous serial killer and grave robber from Wisconsin, and he is also the man that inspired Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

His crimes stood out to the public not just because he gruesomely murdered multiple women, but because of the odd tendencies he was rumored to have.

A popular belief was that he cross dressed as a woman while killing his victims and then wore their skin. Although he used human remains in other atrocious ways, there has never been any solid evidence that he had any transsexual fixation or desire for womanhood that was the sole reason he commited these murders. He never cross-dressed or wore his victim’s skin, that belief was made popular by the public.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre capitalized on the media’s idea of Ed Geins identity, and made a movie based on this fantasy persona. Due to the film’s popularity, Ed Geins crimes were ramified and heavily over-dramatized even further.

Now, let’s get into what crimes he actually committed. Gein started out grave robbing in 1947 from cemeteries near his home, which was roughly six miles away from Plainfield Wisconsin.

After stealing people from their eternal resting spots, Gein used their remains to make furniture. He made bowls of human skulls, upholstered chairs with human skin, and a multitude of more household items.
Gein didn’t make his first kill until 1954, when he cruelly murdered a woman named Mary Hogan, and used her remains to decorate his home.

He struck again in 1957 with a woman named Bernice Worden, who ended up being his last known kill because he was arrested later that year in November.

When he was tried in court after the arrest, Gein was proven to not be mentally fit, so instead of spending the rest of his life in jail he was sent to Central State Hospital for the Criminally Insane.
Gein spent the majority of his life there until he was later transferred to Mendota Mental Health Institution in 1968 until he passed away from cancer in 1984.

The way Texas Chainsaw Massacre capitalizes Ed Geins crimes is sickening. Making a movie based on a nightmarish, unjustified attack that ended multiple human beings’ lives, and embellishing it, making it seem as though the original story isn’t gruesome and horrible enough.
Unfortunately, Texas Chainsaw Massacre isn’t the first movie to do something like this and won’t be the last.

Next time you’re watching a horror movie and something along the lines of ‘based on a true story’ pops up, take some time to research the real story, and think long and hard about what horrible things had to happen in order for you to sit comfortably in the dark with a bowl of popcorn, watching a heavily dramatized version of someone else’s worst night of their life.

Image curtesy of IMDb

By: Allison Ambuehl

Buffy the Vampire slayer is a classic seven season television show that ran from 1997 – 2003. Although you might have watched it on a bulky, 20-inch analog television as a kid, it’s still wildly successful and amassed 100 million dollars in streaming revenue as recent as 2020.

Even though there are tons of new audience members who help bring those numbers up, a lot of the watchers are millennials who followed along with the show when they were in school. The cultural impact of Buffy the Vampire Slayer to kids who were in middle and high school during its air is something only comparable to the Twilight Saga from the 2010s.

Due to its incredible success, there is a wide variety of different opinions, perspectives, and connections brought to life curtesy of the fanbase.
But how about bringing you one more angle to think about when re-watching?

How did Buffy’s inability to make her own choices due to being chosen as the slayer impact her psyche throughout the series?

Buffy is the fearless and carefree main character of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The show follows her from her sophomore year at Sunnydale High, to her career as a counselor at that same high school. You watch her grow up, mature, make mistakes, and fight for her life every episode.
She’s a role model for woman and young girls everywhere, she is proof you can be strong and resilient, but you don’t have to do it all alone and relying on people makes her stronger as a person and slayer.

For the duration of the show, you see into her mind and empathize with her choices, even if they don’t have the desired outcomes.
Buffy is a strong and independent young woman, who has many responsibilities that come with being a slayer, and she carries that weight flawlessly, proving everyone wrong.

Underneath all that, she is still a teenage girl for a majority of the show and deals with the struggles of high school, love, figuring out her future and self, along with mental health.

The struggles of being a teenage slayer and how they affect Buffy specifically become prevalent as soon as the first couple episodes, when Buffy must miss out on things that are important to her. Like the school dance, dating, and even doing something as simple as hanging out at The Bronze with her friends Xander and Willow.

In addition, grief is a horrible demon itself and because of Buffy being a slayer, the vampires tend to target the people closest to her.
Buffy herself also died multiple times throughout the series, and as you can imagine it is incredibly traumatic and further reinforces the impending doom of death looming over her, impacting every choice she makes regarding her future.

These instances and the traumatic experiences she has suffered due to her being a slayer have proven to affect her mental health and cognitive functioning.

While I’ve only watched until season four, it is clear these instances have already affected her mentally and will later lead to even more destructive behaviors. I am looking forward to finishing this entrancing, roller coaster of a show, and further analyzing Buffy as a character.

Image curtesy of Alpha Coders