Episode 141: Spooky Canon Month I (THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, 1974)

Who Will Survive, and What Will Be Left of Them? We kick off our annual "Spooky Canon" month with a pick from Simon (which coincidentally just celebrated its 50th anniversary), the iconic 70s horror THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE. Joining John, Simon, and Curtis for this discussion is special guest Tobi, who loyal listeners will remember from our previous John Carpenter Watch Series. We spend some time going over the influence of the film; its acrid, apocalyptic vibe; what the film has to say about 1970s America; and more. Before that, we go over some brief news and what we watched this week. Next week we're back with John's pick, discussing the horror comedy classic THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD. TIME STAMPS 00:00:00 Introduction 00:03:13 Paul Schrader is looking for a new assistant on Facebook 00:03:48 Notable RIPs (Kris Kristofferson, John Amos, Maggie Smith) 00:06:19 New Releases (Salem's Lot; V/H/S/BEYOND; Frankie Freako; Joker: Folie à Deux; Will and Harper) What We Watched This Week: 00:15:33 The Substance (Simon) 00:21:27 Sleepaway Camp 3: Teenage Wasteland (John) 00:24:20 Shakedown (John) 00:26:20 The Pee Pee Poo Poo Man (John) 00:30:22 Megalopolis (John) 00:33:23 Smoke Signals (Curtis) 00:34:40 Salem's Lot [2024] (Curtis) 00:35:30 The White Lotus [Season Two] (Curtis) 00:39:17 Knock Knock [2015] (Curtis) 00:40:48 Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos (Tobi) 00:44:22 TEXAS CHAIN SAW discussion 01:35:10 Our Ratings for TCM 01:41:00 Coming Up Next! CREDITS AND PLUGS Intro: Opening text crawl from "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" Outro: The Ramones - Chainsaw Follow John on Letterboxd—@johnnycakes91 Quinn: @seatstruckreviews https://www.youtube.com/@seatstruck Curtis: https://www.the-back-row.com/ - check out 'Runstedler's DVD Pick of the Month' https://curtisrunstedler.ca/ Check out Tobi's podcasts: https://impressionsofamerica.com/ and, the recently concluded "The Golden Age of Murder: A True Crime Podcast", available on podcast platforms everywhere.