AUSTIN, Texas — Austin city leaders celebrated the 50th anniversary of the classic horror film "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" on Friday, which was filmed in several locations across Austin and Central Texas.
Mayor Kirk Watson proclaimed Oct. 11 as Texas Chain Saw Massacre Day, as several actors from the original film were present.
Watson recalled his own memories of the cult classic film, and reflected on a conversation he once had with the film's director, Austin native Tobe Hooper.
"I said, 'Tobe, I remember very vividly when, uh, where, where I saw the movie and it was at the Ivy Twin Cinema in Waco, Texas when I was a student at Baylor, it was at the Ivy Twin Cinema.' And I said it's the only movie that I ever stood up to leave the movie that I could remember because I was scared," Watson said at Friday's ceremony.
The original film, released on Oct. 11, 1974, spawned seven sequels with the most recent being released in 2022. A novelization of the film was also released in 2004, as was a comic book series and three video games.