10 Directors Who Broke Their Stars To Make Famous Movies

4. Tobe Hooper Turned Gunnar Hansen Insane

One of the more famous low budget horrors, Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was beset by problems that might be expected of a shoot that was required to move fast and cheap through 1970's Texas in 43 °C heat. The cast and crew filmed 16 hours a day, every day, throughout a single summer month, and undoubtedly one of the worst affected by the conditions was the man playing Leatherface himself, Gunnar Hansen. Hansen, who prior to filming visited a special needs school in order to learn more about mental disability and get into character, wasn't allowed to wash his costume during the shoot, because there was only one, and there was a concern the laundry people might lose it. It meant he "wore that 12 to 16 hours a day, seven days a week, for a month". As the limited budget meant supplies ran low, and after almost 27 straight hours of shooting, in one scene there was difficulty producing fake blood, so Hansen decided to cut actress Marilyn Burns with a razor for real. Hansen also seemingly succumbed to the pressure in another scene, bringing a running chainsaw to within three inches of actor William Vail's face.