Tobe Hooper Reconsidered

I've heard a lot of shit talked about Tobe Hooper over the years. Truth is, I've done my own share of it. But see, I recently read and absolutely loved his novel, Midnight Movie, and I've been thinking about the man and his career ever since.

Of course he started out with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. What can I say about this movie that hasn't already been said before? Well, I will say that it is one of the most terrifying movies ever made, and that it is one of the very few perfect films I can think if. I wouldn't change a word or a frame of Chainsaw. Not only is this a great film, it has one of the greatest titles in movie history. Few that ever heard the name, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, ever forgot it. And unlike far too many movies in exploitation history, Hooper's film lives up to its name. In spades.

Contrary to what many believe, Texas Chainsaw was not Tobe Hooper's feature film debut. The first is the little-seen indie production, Eggshells. I sure wish that someone would release this one. Even if it does suck. The curiosity factor alone makes it an item of interest.

But no one can deny that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre put Hooper on the map. His followup production WAS Eaten Alive. This one didn't match Chainsaw in intensity, but it's still a twisted little movie with very interesting sets and innovative lighting techniques. His infamy from Chainsaw got him some name actors this time: Nevile Brand,Carolyn Jones, Mel Ferrer, William Finley, and Stuart Whitman. Not exactly A-List talent, I admit, but these were all solid pros with recognizable faces. Sadly, it was not as successful as Chainsaw.

There was a debacle in the making of a science fiction horror movie called The Dark. Hooper left the production and was replaced by a guy with less than half of his skill: John "Bud" Cardos. Too bad he wasn't allowed to finish it. It's not like The Dark could have ended up much worse. But in that same year, 1979, Tobe Hooper was the director of one of the biggest productions of his career.

There's this horror writer out of Maine. You may have heard of him. His name is Stephen King. Back in '79 King was just gaining momentum. No one could have foreseen just how successful he would become in later years. At this point only one film had been made from one of King's works: Carrie, directed with flair by Brian DePalma. Stanley Kubrick wouldn't release his controversial film of The Shining until the following year, 1980. Tobe Hooper was given the directing job for the 'Salem's Lot miniseries.

'Salem's Lot was a huge production and Hooper and his cast and crew did a bang-up job with it. The miniseries captured the small town life that King has written about so often, and it also features some of the scariest vampire footage ever. It was an unqualified success. Tobe Hooper was on the move.

Hooper scaled back for his next movie, the underrated gem, The Funhouse. This movie is innovative and shows the Giallo influence like so many other slasher films do. And before the Slasher Police break my door down, I realize that The Funhouse isn't exactly a slasher movie, but it is a product of its time and that was the heyday of the slasher movie. It features many of the same elements and for me it's close enough.

Then came what should have been the beginning of the really big time for Tobe Hooper. It was announced that he was directing a haunted house movie for none other than Steven Spielberg. Poltergeist had a large budget and a lot of heavy promo, but unfortunately there was more controversy behind the scenes. See, Hooper has this reputation of being rather difficult on his sets. Endless speculation about who did the actual directing of Poltergeist has been made. Some claim that Spielberg ran Hooper off the set and finished directing it himself. Both men deny this. As near as I can determine, Hooper directed the entire thing on his own, but it was taken out of his hands during the editing process. As everyone knows, a movie is really made in its post-production editing process. That could be why I always hated the movie.

Tobe got into a three-picture deal with Cannon that did not prove to be lucrative for either party. And in all three cases he said that the studio interfered with his work. The first picture was an adaptation of Colin Wilson's intellectual (no, really) science fiction novel, Space Vampires. Don't let the pulpish title mislead you: This is a smart, philosophical novel. But then anyone that has ever read anything by Colin Wilson already knows that.

The adaptation, Lifeforce, is mostly remembered for a beloved scene of a butt-naked, voluptuous female walking through a space ship. But there's more going on in it than that. People dump on it, but I always liked Lifeforce. Sadly, it was a box office failure.

Next was a remake of the cool 50's SF thriller, Invaders from Mars. Hooper was able to get some good talent for this one. Hunter Carson, fresh from his work in Wim Wenders' triumphant Paris, Texas, starred as the boy who becomes aware that aliens are taking over people's bodies. The cast is rounded out with familiar faces like Karen Black, Laraine Newman, Timothy Bottoms, Bud Cort, Louise Fletcher, and James Karen. Sadly, while Invaders From Mars is engaging enough in its first half, it falls apart in its second and loses itself in incomprehensibility. I still sort of like it.

Since Lifeforce was unsuccessful while Invaders From Mars was in development, the budget for the remake was slashed and the film suffered for it. When will they learn? This was especially disappointing to those that were excited that the Invaders remake was co-written by Dan O'Bannon.

The third and final film that Tobe Hooper did for Cannon was also the only one of the trio that turned any sort of profit. Every horror fan worth his or her salt was excited to see Hooper's Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequel.

And most were disappointed. I could not see why. The original Chainsaw was so mercilessly intense and shocking that the only real way to go was with comedy. So-called serious fans were outraged. But many were delighted. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 is funny, gory, surprising, and it has fantastic music in it.

Part of the problem was the time. We revere the 80's nowadays, but it was far from a perfect time for horror movies. The MPAA has been much more lenient in later years with allowing explicit horror obtain an R-Rating. Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 went out without a rating, and many theaters did not carry such releases. The midnight movie craze was just about over and that did not help matters either.

Posterity has been kind to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2, I think. Most fans I've spoken to now feel great affection toward it and the film has enjoyed a healthy life on home video. And one other thing: Someone in the promo dept. at Cannon has the absolutely brilliant idea to do a photo of the cannibal clan from the film posed out in the same way as was used in advertising for The Breakfast Club! Pure marketing genius! And a lot of people never even realized it.

After that came a string of mostly disappointing releases from Tobe Hooper. It brings me no joy to write that. There were a couple of highs, as with his stylish remake of The Toolbox Murders. And there were lows, as with his execrable Crocodile.

I had seen copies of Tobe Hooper's relatively recent movie, Mortuary, available at places for a pittance. For years I could not bring myself to watch it, but I finally did last night. Admittedly it's not very good, but there are traces of Hooper's keen cinematic eye and humor in it. For the most part, however, it's a loser.

My interest in Tobe Hooper's career was rekindled recently when I read his absolutely brilliant novel, Midnight Movie. I adored this book and it put Hooper in a whole new light for me. God, why can't some producer give the guy enough moolah to make Midnight Movie into a good film? I'm not talking megabucks. I can't see Tobe Hooper flourishing under the kind of money that it takes to make a Transformers movie. But ten, fifteen million at his disposal? My bet would be that if Tobe Hooper were left alone with a tidy little budget, he would surprise a lot of people. Maybe even himself.