THE STORY – Fifty years after Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre shocked the world and forever changed the face of global cinema and popular culture, Chain Reactions charts the film’s profound impact and lasting influence on five great artists—Patton Oswalt, Takashi Miike, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Stephen King, and Karyn Kusama—through early memories, sensory experiences, and childhood trauma. By crafting a dynamic dialogue between contemporary footage and never-before-seen outtakes, and delving into personal impressions triggered by distinct audiovisual formats (16mm, 35mm, VHS, digital), Chain Reactions goes to the heart of how a scruffy, no-budget independent film wormed its way into our collective nightmares and permanently altered the Zeitgeist.
THE CAST – Patton Oswalt, Takashi Miike, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Stephen King & Karyn Kusama
THE TEAM – Alexandre O. Philippe (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 103 Minutes
Alexandre O. Philippe loves cinema. The renowned Swiss director’s infatuation with the moving image stems from the foundation of his impressive filmography. Since 2010, Philippe has prominently examined the social and technical influences of cinema within his documentary slate. “The People vs. George Lucas” marked his first major endeavor into self-reflexive filmmaking. Over the years, his talking-head form showcased big celebrity appearances and innovative episodic structures. For example, his latest film “Chain Reactions” expands on the cultural impact of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (1974), precisely fifty years after its controversial release. Philippe adores a good horror show, as Chain Reactions joins “Doc of the Dead” (2014), “78/52” (2017), “Memory: The Origins of Alien” (2019) and “Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist” (2019) as an integral piece in his horror-doc canon.
Thus, it comes as no surprise that Philippe would eventually tackle Tobe Hooper’s all-American nightmare. Reinstating a similar interview structure akin to his essayistic “Lynch/Oz” (2022), “Chain Reactions” separates the subjects’ testimonials into five distinct chapters. The documentary opens with the sound of Patton Oswalt’s comforting voice. A clip from his stand-up special, “No Reason to Complain” (2004), plays on a creepy television set. With his bombastic mannerisms, the American comedian begins to gush over the brilliance of Hooper’s iconoclastic title. In the process, Philippe weaponizes Oswalt’s charisma to his advantage.
Out of the five interviewees, Oswalt’s testimonial works appropriately as a preliminary appetizer. His enthusiasm for cinema is universal, as he begins his interview with a brief recount of the spine-chilling sensation of watching F. W. Murnau’s “Nosferatu“ (1922) at an impressionable age, forever scarred by the German-expressionist images. Oswalt’s presence in “Chain Reactions“ embodies the spirit of an ordinary cinephile. His commentary describes the animalistic methodology at the crux of Hooper’s film as a reinvention of a survivalist narrative. Comparisons to Murnau and Brakhage are mentioned in passing, further enunciating the impact of Hooper’s grotesque fictionalization.
To enhance the impact of the subject’s spoken word, Philippe decorates his background with themed decor. Chains and other torture devices surround his subjects, with the damp walls adding to the atmosphere and intimacy of his interviews. As the film progresses, the production design includes physical media as an integral visual accompanying the conversations. VHS tapes are cross-examined to compare presentation differences between low-resolution home-video releases with recent 4K restorations. Each inaugural viewing was different for each of the subjects, as the poor preservation of Hooper’s outlawed film resulted in other paths of analog vision.
In the process, Philippe begins to spotlight his subjects’ cultural and social interpretations of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” Both Takashi Miike and Alexandra Heller-Nicholas offer introspection on the release of Hooper’s film in Japan and Australia. Miike, the acclaimed Japanese provocateur, was taken aback by Hooper’s lack of rationality, which backed the onscreen violence. Heller-Nicholas saw remnants of the Australian New Wave in Hooper’s screen direction. To accompany the cultural explorations, Philippe includes Heller-Nicholas’ vivid childhood memory of a rampant wildfire. In the interview, she dissects her memory of the fire with the incendiary color palette at the core of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”
After a strong first half, Philippe’s thesis is unfortunately undercut by the presence of his Western subjects. Miike and Heller-Nicholas are the sole non-American participants in the documentary. While Stephen King and Karyn Kusama’s insights are occasionally engrossing, their testimonials merely reiterate more of the same reactions surrounding the film’s zeitgeist. “Chain Reactions“ dwindles when it focuses on a domestic perspective. Conversations on global censorship and international media consumption are far more engrossing in contrast to the home-grown perceptions.
“Chain Reactions“ is a smart film that unravels the subjects’ psyche by discussing cultural differences surrounding the low-budget production and release of Hooper’s cult classic. As a meditation on the power of the cinematic art form, the documentary succeeds as a valuable cultural examination. Whereas the inclusion of big-name American talents ultimately diminishes the impact and philosophical intrigue of Miike and Heller-Nicholas’ testimonials, “Chain Reactions“ still manages to excavate profound insight at the scene of the titular massacre.
