10 Horror Movie Secrets You Didn’t Know
3. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Real Blood (But Not A Lot Of Fake Stuff)
By all accounts, the experience of shooting 1974's unforgettably intense horror flick The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was a gruelling, grimy affair.
Despite the best attempts of a game cast who made a point of keeping spirits up, the low budget enterprise was constantly plagued by problems ranging from piles of genuine meat rotting stinking up the set in the summer heat, to Leatherface actor Gunnar Hansen accidentally ingesting laced brownies and becoming disastrously high before a chase scene, to constant risks of heat stroke.
Impressively enough, however, the film's director and horror legend Tobe Hooper claims the production used almost no fake blood, as it was both expensive and, being made mostly from syrup, was difficult to use and store in the intense heat. As a result, some pivotal scenes needed to improvise.
That gruesome moment when heroine Marilyn Burns has her fingertip sliced open in order to "feed" the family's ailing grandfather?
After a few abortive attempts to rely on a malfunctioning prosthetic, a frustrated Burns opted to have her actual finger cut with a razor blade, and that's genuine blood featured onscreen during the dinner scene.