Question about Texas Chainsaw Massacre
 

Hey Everyone,
Is the movie Texas Chainsaw Massacre based on a true story. I heard that it was, and I got on the internet and did a search. But i still need a second opinion! Is it, or is it not? E-mail me at [email protected]

signed
Untouchable

No, the movie is only based on true events, it isn't a true story.

TCM
 

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, along with 20 other movies, is very loosely based on the life of murderer and cannibal Ed Gein.

There's a made-for-cable movie about Ed Gein called "In the Light of the Moon". I caught it on HBO or Showtime one night. It's slow-moving at parts and doesn't have any real scary bits, but it does tell Gein's story decently. It spends some time on his background, focusing on his weirdly dependent relationship with his psychotic mother. I think there was speculation (I forget if it was ever proven) that Gein killed his own brother, but I can't remember if that turned out to be true or not. In the movie, they show him to be his brother's murderer.

Like avenger00soul said, Gein was the basis for a whole slew of horror characters, including Norman Bates and James 'Buffalo Bill' Gumb from "Silence of the Lambs".

There's also a movie aptly entitled Ed Gein (which I believe is the alternate title to In the Light of the Moon) and a cooler older one called Deranged that tackle the same subject matter.

If you do a Google search for "Ed Gein" you'll find a lot of info. Also, here is a good story about it from Crime Library:
http://www.crimelibrary.com/gein/geinmain.htm

Here is a picture of him, from another website:
http://www.macalester.edu/~psych/wha...eddie_gein.gif

so what's the actual difference between 'based on a true story' or it being a 'true story'?

Well, one thing that is different from what happened for real in Ed's case and what the movie shows is..Ed tend to kill women around his mother age(at least that is what I understood from the stuff I've read on him,I could be wrong but this is the way I understood it) which would put the women in their 40''s or 50's. But, in the movie they show killings of teeny boppers..Plus he lived by himself and was a private person in the movie there is a family crew there.. And before he started killing ppl he started as a grave digger..collecting gender parts off of ladies and skin,lips, ect.....

Like what Avenger said it is basically "based on true events.. " some of the stuff in each of these movies really happend in real life. Like making stuff from human bones, making masks out of human flesh, being obssessed with your mother, etc... something being a true story is totally different from something being based on true events.. :D

I think in the trailer for the original Texas Chainsaw it reads "based on true events", but in the trailer for the new Texas Chainsaw it reads "based on a true story". I wonder what's the difference?

There is no difference. Based on a true story/event means they took something that really happened and used what elements they wanted and made up what they needed. That's how I look at it.

Me being a smart ass here but I do know that "based on true events" means what i said above.. and no i did not hear this from TCM remake trailer.. in fact i have only seen one trailer and I was drunk while watching it LOL but I think that "based on a true story" should be straight up what it means... Movie makers and promoters will sell any damn thing espcially if they have the money... I mean damn I could make a movie if I had millions of dollars and promote it and say it is "based on a true story" and people would come to see it.......

I wanted to add
Everybody just use your common sense... if something like that in TX actually happend you all know we would know about it.... since we all are horror freaks... :D :D

You said exactly what I was thinking Ritualistic. They add that "based on a true story" tag so it attracts more viewers. Just another way Corporate America earns their dollars.

Speaking of "Ed Gein", it airs in 3 minutes where I live in San Diego. This'll be my first time ever watching it.

Let us know what you think about it...

Anyone else noticed that the trailers are now saying "Inspired" by True Events?

The "Ed Gein" movie was alright. Not really what I expected. It did get 3/4 stars through my cable company's rating system though.

very true :D

Cool
 

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Just checked out your site. Vampires, Crackheads, Pirates, and Ninjas huh? Sounds...interesting. Haha.

The tagline "Based on true events" or "Based on a true story" is used by the makers of the movie to get people in the seats and up the realism. The Coen brothers used it for Fargo, the original TCM used it as well as the "remake," and numerous others since the beginning of film making. When you see the word "BASED," you should automaically asume it is a very loose interpretation of certain events. Like others have said before, the TCM flicks, as well as Psycho, are based on the murders of serial killer Ed Gein. Naturally, when we think it's a true story, we tend to become more emotionally tied into it. Shit, just look at the stir it caused when Blair Witch came out. Everyone I knew thought it was real.