Emotional Point of View in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Abstract

abstract:The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Tobe Hooper, 1974) forcefully demonstrates an unusual technique for conveying characters' emotions, which I call emotional point of view (POV). This is a means of depicting emotions enmeshed with elements of film form, such as cinematography or mise-en-scène. Reading for emotional POV allows us to witness the distortive effect of characters' emotions on their perception. I examine three episodes of emotional POV in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: those of fear, horror, and anger.