The Surprising Comedy in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

      Is there a significant amount of humor associated with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre? Absolutely, my friend. Which institution did you manage to escape from? But seriously, there really is.

      Many enthusiasts of the original movie are aware that Gunnar Hansen, the actor who portrayed Leatherface, accidentally injured the lead actress during the dinner scene, and that the filmmakers used actual animal carcasses to adorn the Sawyer home since they couldn’t find fake roadkill. Additionally, thanks to the wildly inaccurate season of Monsters, many people have learned that Ed Gein played a partial role in inspiring the film (although, the show exaggerates his influence).

      Some might also know that the "dinner party" scene took an exhausting 26 hours to film under dreadful conditions. Heavy shades blocked out natural light, which, combined with the sweltering Texas heat and numerous lamps, raised the temperature in the room to over 100 degrees. One of the results of this suffocating atmosphere? Several cast members ended up getting sick.

      To make matters worse, director Tobe Hooper "encouraged" the actors to skip showers, adding to the already unpleasant odor from all the animal remains. Many of these facts are already well-known, and hardly laugh-inducing. However, there’s some behind-the-scenes information that is less recognized yet genuinely amusing, though some of it also carries a macabre edge (surprise, right?). This writer has some interesting insider details about a cast member’s peculiar behavior years after filming.

      Not enough people are aware of these specifics, perhaps because they have better things to do than read every memoir they can find. Yet, you might stumble upon unexpected information—like in Kane Hodder’s memoir (the actor famous for playing Jason Voorhees), where he confesses to a playful tradition of urinating in his fellow cast members' rooms. Not in the bathroom, mind you, but in their living spaces—on walls or beds. What a prankster! But let’s return to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

      Let’s begin with the role of drugs. Marijuana had a substantial presence off-camera during the film’s production. Film aficionados might know that the movie’s narrator, John Larroquette, was even compensated with marijuana. Produced on a shoestring budget yet raking in significant profits, the cast saw none of the earnings—most of the money ended up with the mob, who had financed the film. Some individuals just lack integrity.

      Tobe Hooper certainly didn’t win over the cast, who reportedly despised him for his penny-pinching ways, such as buying real skeletons from India. These skeletons emitted a "foul odor" when subjected to heat (more on Hooper’s resourceful filming techniques later). Hooper also isolated the cast, and that instruction to avoid bathing didn’t help matters.

      However, the cast did get lucky while filming: they found a large marijuana patch on the property, left by the previous “hippie” tenants. According to Hansen’s memoir, *Chain Saw Confidential: How We Made the World’s Most Notorious Horror Movie*, the cast was informed they could partake in the crop but couldn’t remove it from the premises. He notes that at that time in Texas, marijuana was classified as a felony. The sound technician’s wife made sure to use the marijuana from the patch, whipping up numerous marijuana brownies for the crew. Did this alleviate some of the stress of the grueling filming schedule and extreme heat? Quite possibly, though it would have been more helpful if the cook had informed the cast about the brownies’ ingredients. It’s the little things that count, right?

      Hansen recalls that before the scene where he breaks through the front door while chasing Sally—played by Marilyn Burns—he was so high that a friend reported him repeating, “time has no meaning, time has no meaning, time has no meaning.” Hansen also mentions that Dorothy “Dottie” Pearl, the makeup artist, remarked, “We are all dead, and sitting in hell.” Just some light-hearted banter while high. If you want to witness the effects of the brownies, watch the sequence of Leatherface breaking through a door. The character pauses noticeably there—not as an acting choice, but because Hansen was so out of it he forgot his next move. Operating heavy machinery while under the influence—what a great idea.

      There’s some inconsistency regarding whether Hansen knew the brownies were laced with marijuana; he suggests in his memoir that Pearl might have told them it was her special marijuana recipe. Moreover, Hansen claims it was the caterer, Sally Nicolaou, who prepared the treats. Conflicting reports arise: some say the edibles were offered on the last day of shooting while others (including Hansen) assert they were available frequently. If Hansen was aware of the brownies containing pot, one wonders why he’d intentionally consume them before operating a chainsaw. Hansen, who is quite self-aware, notes the shot “