Fifty years ago, Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre exploded into horror history—blunt, brutal, and absolutely unforgettable. Now, a new documentary is digging beneath the screams, the chainsaws, and the sweat-soaked madness to explore just how influential this film has been on the genre and its lasting legacy in horror.
Lightbulb Film Distribution has officially announced the UK & Ireland release of Chain Reactions, a feature-length documentary that explores the cultural scars left behind by The Texas Chain Saw Massacre—arriving on DVD and Digital on October 27.
Directed by Alexandre O. Philippe (Lynch/Oz, The Origins of Alien), Chain Reactions offers a unique look into the creative legacy of one of horror’s most infamous films. Featuring insight from five iconic voices in the genre—Patton Oswalt, Takashi Miike, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Stephen King, and Karyn Kusama—this is not just a documentary about the making of Chain Saw. It’s a close-up on what it did to us. This isn’t just a film that scared people—it scarred them. Fifty years on, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre still radiates unease like heat off asphalt. It’s not nostalgia—it’s a trauma you return to. A roar in the dark that reshaped horror from the inside out.
Chain Reactions doesn’t treat the film like a relic. It treats it like a saw that’s still revving, unpacking how Hooper’s grindhouse nightmare rewired the genre with rusted metal, human skin, and pure, unapologetic dread. It didn’t modernize horror. It mutilated it—and nothing has been clean since.
With never-before-seen outtakes from the original film and festival credentials that include Venice, BFI, Sitges, MIFF, and Night Visions, expect a documentary that’s as intellectually sharp as the saw itself.
“Chain Reactions takes a deep dive into one of the most significant independent films of all time and is a must-watch for horror fans,” says Lightbulb’s Commercial Director, Matthew Kreuzer. “As a huge fan of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which I first watched on a beaten-up VHS tape, it’s a dream come true to work on this project.”
Check out the trailer for Chain Reactions below and get ready to step back into the madness—and remember why The Texas Chain Saw Massacre might just be one of the most powerful horror films ever made.
