Spring Break
Texas-sized terror
Chainsaw series captures horror fans' imaginations
By: Robert Saucedo
Issue date: 10/6/06 Section: Aggielife
The fact that director Tobe Hooper shot his film in documentary style make the film's events very believable, Harden said.
"People make stuff up in their heads and then tell their children or siblings to get a reaction," he said. "When somebody tells a person that their family is wrong and that the movie is not real, it's hard to believe."
Operating out of Round Rock, Harden runs Texas Chainsaw Tours, a guided tour of the movies' filming locations.
"I would get e-mails from people all over the world asking if I would mind showing them the places where the film was shot," he said. "I would turn them down because to see a lot of the places would mean having to jump through barbwire fences and drive over 100 miles."
It took a request from a man from Australia to convince Harden that Texas Chainsaw Tours could be a profitable activity.
"He wanted to pay for a plane ticket and fly all the way to America just to see the places," Harden said. "He asked how much it would cost to get me to show him around, and I just threw out a dollar number. He wrote back asking if that was all."
As part of the tour, Harden takes customers to various filming locations, providing informal lectures.
"Sometimes there is 300 miles worth of travel with not much else to do," he said.
With increasing popularity of the films, it seems Leatherface isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
"I've got word that New Line is considering a mini-series," Harden said. "As new generations are exposed to the films, new fans are created."
It's the believability of the films that keeps the franchise fresh, Wende said.
"It's the fact that they're set in an old country town in Texas," he said. "Texas is a big state. It's easy to understand how little towns in this big state can be isolated and certain instances don't make it out of the area very easily."
"People make stuff up in their heads and then tell their children or siblings to get a reaction," he said. "When somebody tells a person that their family is wrong and that the movie is not real, it's hard to believe."
Operating out of Round Rock, Harden runs Texas Chainsaw Tours, a guided tour of the movies' filming locations.
"I would get e-mails from people all over the world asking if I would mind showing them the places where the film was shot," he said. "I would turn them down because to see a lot of the places would mean having to jump through barbwire fences and drive over 100 miles."
It took a request from a man from Australia to convince Harden that Texas Chainsaw Tours could be a profitable activity.
"He wanted to pay for a plane ticket and fly all the way to America just to see the places," Harden said. "He asked how much it would cost to get me to show him around, and I just threw out a dollar number. He wrote back asking if that was all."
As part of the tour, Harden takes customers to various filming locations, providing informal lectures.
"Sometimes there is 300 miles worth of travel with not much else to do," he said.
With increasing popularity of the films, it seems Leatherface isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
"I've got word that New Line is considering a mini-series," Harden said. "As new generations are exposed to the films, new fans are created."
It's the believability of the films that keeps the franchise fresh, Wende said.
"It's the fact that they're set in an old country town in Texas," he said. "Texas is a big state. It's easy to understand how little towns in this big state can be isolated and certain instances don't make it out of the area very easily."
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