Happy Birthday, Leatherface!

Join us for a 50th Anniversary screening of one of our all-time favourite late-night, scary cinematic offerings: Tobe Hooper‘s iconic 1974 slasher masterpiece, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (gore-geously remastered in 2014!).

Just as Alfred Hitchcock‘s PSYCHO was based on the life of deeply disturbed farmer Ed Gein, so is this little story of depravity and dementia. When a sister and her brother take a group of friends to visit the farmhouse of their deceased grandfather, they discover that just next door lives a whole family of repugnant psycho killers. Most noteworthy is “Leatherface” (Gunnar Hansen), the chainsaw-wielding fellow who has something of a penchant for human flesh. Though the film did not enjoy immediate success at the box office, it has since gathered a hefty cult following, and is considered by many to be groundbreaking work in the genre of horror.

More than just a mere slasher or exploitation film, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE works almost entirely because of the absolute commitment from its principle cast; there are very few instances of a character in a film (horror or otherwise) whose silent, wordless presence is capable of delivering the tremendous balance of sheer terror and pathos that Gunnar Hansen convey as Leatherface, whose performance as the chainsaw-wielding cannibal who terrorizes a young woman (another of the film’s phenomenal performances from scream queen Marilyn Burns) and her friends is as tense and frightening today as it was in 1974.

“Thanks to a smart script and documentary-style camerawork, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE achieves start-to-finish suspense, making it a classic in low-budget exploitation cinema.” (Rotten Tomatoes)

Friday, November 22
Movie 10:00 pm *This movie is screening as part of a double bill. Start time subject to change!
Advance single film tickets HERE

Catch all of the Rio Grind Film Fest’s programmed events with a $50 Festival Pass HERE

Why not make it a Double Bill with CHAIN REACTIONS at 7:00 pm, a documentary film that follows how the impact of TTCM influenced the lives and art of Patton Oswalt, Takashi Miike, Alexandra Heller- Nicholas, Stephen King, and Karyn Kusama.

Director Alexandre O. Phillippe in attendance for live Q&A!
Advance DOUBLE BILL tickets HERE

*Minors OK. Must be 19+ w/ID for bar service.
*Rio Theatre Groupons and Rio Theatre passes are OK for any single film screening only. Please redeem at the box office.
*Unless otherwise noted, tickets are always available for purchase at the box office prior to showtime.  Our box office is typically open 30 minutes before showtime. All seating is General Admission; please arrive 20-30 minutes prior to showtime to ensure great seats and time for treats.
*If you are looking to redeem either a Rio Theatre gift certificate or Groupon to any regular Rio Theatre screening: You can either email us in advance <[email protected]> and give us a “heads up,” or do it at the box office prior to showtime. (We seat 400+ people and our regular screenings are very rarely at capacity – you should not have issues being admitted.)

*All Rio Theatre tickets are final sale. No refunds, no exchanges.