The film Texas Chainsaw Massacre will forever remain one of the scariest horror movie franchises in history. It contains the most primal fear in all of mankind: cannibalistic death. Fear is nothing more than an emotion that acts as protection from threats and dangerous surroundings. It is only really present if the film represents danger to other humans because then we can relate that experience to ourselves. John Luessenhop really attempts to resell the character “Leatherface” in the 2013 sequel Texas Chainsaw 3D. This film is a contemporary follow up of the original 1974 version Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Texas Chainsaw 3D targets an audience that is already familiar with Leatherface himself. Taking out “massacre” of Texas Chainsaw really emphasizes the weapon (Chainsaw) rather than the actual violence (massacre). This allows the cover to have a completely different purpose than previous sequels. The original film needed to generate the fear from scratch, whereas the 2013 version did not need to. Instead, the designer went into greater depths to discover how he could go bigger and better. The greatest horror movie in history developed in 3D and modern film technology? Having the knowledge of how violent and gruesome this film is sounds completely terrifying in 3D intriguing many viewers.

On the cover of the movie they do a great job at getting the main point of the film in one picture. The chainsaw seems to “break the frame” so to speak to deliver the fear that will take place in the modified version. Through the use of many visual elements, they thread the parts in the image to make out one point; reveal the plot behind the new film. By looking at the Framing/ Camera Angles, Balance and contrast within the cover photo, we can see the focal point, which emphasizes the main purpose the cover is trying to display; 3D intimidation.

The designer first attracts the viewer by his unique framing techniques. The photo is a Close-up shot rather than a long shot. This is the case so we can examine the picture and notice every important detail. Being able to see the few important details in the photo is very critical to the audience’s perspective. It allows one to focus their attention to specific points like his face, clothes, and chainsaw rather than the whole picture itself. The details they want you to see is all of the contributions that make Leatherface a monster. Just by seeing him the viewer automatically remembers his old character, and imagines it in 3D extracting anxiety and intimidation. There are many important details in this picture that people would miss if the close-up shot was not taking place. You can see all the things that make him cause fear in individuals. His chainsaw, face, bloody hands and eyes staring directly at the audience. If the viewers were not already familiar with horror the monster displays, then they would not be affected by the close proximity. We also would not be able to make the associations in the picture between the chainsaw and the violence that has yet to come. The framing is how visual text start; it is one of the most important factors in analyzing a photo. The camera angle is another huge factor in the character of this visual text. The creator made it so that the Leatherface is looking down at you just like his prey. In the movie, he normally kills all of the people after they have fallen down. This camera angle demonstrates the frightened human who is about to die. It gives the viewers a very lucid image and allows us to put ourselves in the perspective of his victims. The camera angle is what gives this visual text life, it allows each and every one of us to let our imagination go wild. Not only do you see his filthy eyes staring into your soul, but you can also see the scary contour of his body. His downward angle displays that he is superior to you and you are weak, just like his prey. The camera angle really emphasizes the focal point; the Chainsaw itself. The emphasis of the weapon itself entices those viewers who are already familiar with the franchise. This would not be important to viewers unfamiliar with the first film. The fact that they know what the chainsaw is capable of is what elicits fear from them. The image reveals the chainsaw un-proportionally allowing that to be the first thing everyone sees. The close-up of the blade lets you see the blood that was on there from the previous victim. It demonstrates the damage he is capable of doing and intimidates the viewers before they even see the movie. 

This photo is very unbalanced when it comes to colors. The whole visual text is very dark because he is very evil and they want people to relate the two together. The darkness also elicits a large amount of anxiety from the viewer. All people are brought up hating the dark. The unknown comes with darkness, and us as humans do not like the unknown.  The only light part of the text that is apparent is the chainsaw. The balance in the photo directs our attention once again to the focal point. By the brightness being emphasized you can see all the details on it and the contrasting dark blood that drips down. Leatherface’s head remains bright except for the eyes. If you can not identify the face of someone it automatically makes them a lot more intimidating. The creator keeps the eyes hidden so you can not see them directly, but gives you enough to realize he is almost staring at you like a piece of meat.

Contrast plays a huge role in this Dvd cover. Every part of the visual image is completely dark except his red shirt and his chainsaw. These two both clash with the backgrounds heavily allowing us to establish what they really mean. The dark red represents all the blood he sheds when killing his prey. It lets us all associate him to a killer, based on the blood on the chainsaw and the dark red shirt. The chainsaw is the biggest contrast in comparison to the black background. It seems to be bright silver which stands out against a black surrounding incredibly. This is the main contrast so we can develop the main focal point. The chainsaw is a dominant area of interest which all viewer’s eyes tend to fall right away. The cover is what allows us to predict what the movie is about. From the beginning it does a great job at showing how the chainsaw “Breaks the frame”. This emphasizes the 3D and how much more intimidating it will make the movie. 

The film Texas Chainsaw Massacre came out in 1974, and it completely shook up all the viewers who watched it. Having only a three hundred-thousand-dollar budget, most did not see success in the future… but boy were they wrong. The reason it was such a hit is because it terrified so many Americans is due to the false statement of “a true story” in the film. This immediately hooked everyone and people wanted to see more, and more is exactly what they got. It is a movie that will change the history of horror movies forever. The franchise is so successful that it has seven sequels, all of which are just as successful as the first. Each and every sequence has a unique difference that keeps the viewers interested. This allows all of us to predict that there will be many more to come in the future, the question is... what will be so different to make it more interesting than the previous one?