A group of young folk go looking up the old homestead. Alas they come across the family that likes nothing better than to chop people up.

Manages to transcend its miniscule budget and remains genuinely disturbing. Has dated somewhat, but still king of the unsettling horror moment when Leatherface makes his screen/scream debut.

Banned for many years in the UK although it did get a special X rating for London only and did show up on the Film Society circuit, where this author saw it in 1983.

Probably the best horror movie of the period in the late 60s and early 70s when low-budget filmmaking was at its peak. A nasty, harrowing, film, free of gore but full of violence, both visual and aural (indeed, this film has an amazing soundscape, something which often goes neglected in the visual medium). Scooby Doo as seen through the heat haze of a brutally hot Texas summer, four hippies and their dog (in this case, Franklin) being terrorized by men in masks. Only this time, they aren't insurance scammers, but much much worse.