Tobe Hooper, whose classic seventies horror The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was instrumental in changing cinema forever during that decade, has passed away. It was a tiny budget shocker that managed to encapsulate the violence in the society of the day that struck a chord with audiences, the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface one of the great villains of the genre. After that, Hooper found himself inseparable from horror, and went on to direct Death Trap and Stephen King's Salem's Lot (for TV) in the rest of the decade.
As the eighties dawned he helmed bigger projects such as The Funhouse, Steven Spielberg blockbuster Poltergeist, Cannon trio Lifeforce, Invaders from Mars and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, after which his star fell and he was stuck in TV work and low budget chillers like Spontaneous Combustion, Night Terrors, another King adaptation The Mangler, The Toolbox Murders remake, and Djinn, his last and the first horror to be shot in the United Arab Emirates. The latest instalment of the TCM franchise, which he executively produced, was premiered as Frightfest this weekend. Hooper will always be remembered for crafting a 1970s masterpiece in hellish circumstances.
