Not content with the sort of growing disquiet that some of the films on this list deal in, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is instead a pure, nasty, frightening, pull-no-punches, on-the-nose horror. It takes some pretty standard genre traits - dumb kids, "abandoned" house, freak-show killer - and ups the ante, producing one of the most entertaining, outright scary horror films of all time. The film is actually quite deranged, something which only adds to its appeal and legacy. Plenty of "scary" films lose their ability to frighten, especially over time, when new advances in film and technology can render old techniques somewhat camp. That's not the case with Massacre, though, and its standing as a truly sick film remains intact today. This is helped no-end by the just-pure-evil nature of the plot, which attempts no real reason at explaining the killings, instead presenting them as true manifestations of hatred. Capped off by the classic sight of killer Leatherface swirling his chainsaw on the dawn road, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is horror's nastiest great achievement .
