New Doc ALSO STARRING AUSTIN Screens Alongside TEXAS CHAINSAW 2 This Month
Few films have become so ingrained in American folklore (let alone Texas folklore) than that of the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre – Tobe Hooper’s relentless yet bloodless shocker proved more successful than many could have predicted at the time. The film cultivated an image of Texans as rural cannibals – something I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say is only partially true…
Now, the original film was shot in the surrounding areas of Austin – primarily Bastrop and Round Rock – and the difference between then and now is stark. Of course, the “W.E. Slaughter” gas station has been restored… and the “family house” has been relocated to Kingsland and, fittingly, transformed into a BBQ stop. But the land where the house once stood – and the stretch of road where Leatherface performed his iconic “chainsaw dance”? Sadly, it has all but evaporated.
In the mid-1980s, the new County Road 172 was built, leaving the former “Quick Hill Road” redundant. And in 1998, the house was relocated in relation to what has become the La Frontera project – a complex of business, retail and housing developments. The land where the house once stood is literally the only portion of the property that is still untouched, boxed in between the new County Road and Highway 45. Plans to develop that area have seemingly been put off, but who knows how long that will last? Surely, some sort of plaque is in order…
Thankfully, someone on YouTube has posted some awesome footage of the house in its original, decrepit condition… shot just before it was converted into an eatery some 50 miles away. (NOTE: The former County Road is off limits and we here at Dread Central do not condone trespassing. Have fun!)
The city’s changing landscape, which has doubled for the rural farmlands of Chainsaw to the dystopian urban environs in Hooper’s Future-Kill, is chronicled in Mike Blizzard’s documentary, Also Starring Austin. The doc isn’t horror-centric but it does feature a few Chainsaw alumni… and uses locally shot film clips to illustrate its point, including genre fare like Grindhouse and the Friday the 13th remake.
Blizzard covers the history of the Austin film community – its origins in the 1920s, followed by the rapid growth from the ’60s until now (beginning with Hooper’s debut Eggshells) – as well as a brief history of the city’s early band of outlaws, weirdos, and artists, including Chainsaw 2 star Lou Perryman and Eagle Pennell (The Whole Shootin’ Match, Last Night at the Alamo).
Hate to sound like a hipster (particularly as an outsider), but I can speak to an allure to the artistic, nitty gritty side of the city – (I’m truly very sorry to any Austinite that might read this) – and the film concurrently dispels and celebrates that “Keep Austin Weird” image.
Aside from what is possibly the last interview with the late Tobe Hooper, the film also includes appearances by Kim Henkel, Richard Linklater, Robert Rodriguez, and Willie Nelson among others. For any other outsider who is even just a bit interested in Austin’s place in film history, the doc will prove worthwhile — right down to the end credits (featuring local ’80s band The Reivers!).
For the locals out there, Also Starring Austin will be showing at the AFS Cinema on Friday, February 22nd (7:30 PM) and Saturday, February 23rd (4:00 PM). Director Mike Blizzard will be present for both shows and following the Saturday screening, Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 will be presented in 35mm!
If you’re interested in checking out this piece (which you should!), you can purchase tickets through the Austin Film Society website here and here. And if you can’t make it, do keep an eye on the Also Starring Austin Facebook page for future screenings and releases dates!
Categorized:News
