horror movie ever made”. Chicago Reader said, “The picture gets to you more through its intensity than its craft, but Hooper does have a talent.” Film review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 90% “fresh” rating.
Some reviewers disliked the film’s violence and gory special effects. The film’s release in San Francisco saw moviegoers walking out of theatres in disgust. In February 1976, theatres in Ottawa, Canada were asked to withdraw The Texas Chain Saw Massacre due to concern about increasing violence being associated with the film. Linda Gross of the Los Angeles Times called it a “despicable film” and described Henkel and Hooper as being “less concerned with a plastic script”. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote, “‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ is as violent and gruesome and blood-soaked as the title promises … without any apparent purpose,