Tobe Hooper Movies
American director Tobe Hooper began his film career like many people in the field, working on industrial films and TV advertisements. Using student help, Hooper began making fictional films while an instructor at the University of Texas. He exploded onto the public scene in 1974 with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a creepy variation on the unhappy career of cannibalistic killer Ed Gein. Despite its lurid title, the film scored more on the threat of violence than its actual violent content, which was minimal. While critics either condemned the picture or simply refused to review it, the movie became a cult favorite, and within five years of its release it was being written about and analyzed by intellectual film periodicals. But, so far as Hollywood was concerned, Hooper remained on the outside looking in, though his cheaply produced Eaten Alive (1976) and The Funhouse (1981) also had loyal followings. Television was more responsive to him, and he was eventually entrusted with a 1979 TV movie version of Stephen King's Salem's Lot. In 1982, the director was given his first mainstream assignment, the Steven Spielberg-produced Poltergeist (1982). Although a bit too reliant upon special effects for Hooper's taste, it proved his ability to set and sustain an eerie mood and highlighted his cheerful disregard for logic and consistency. Hooper's later output included a 1985 remake of the matinee perennial Invaders From Mars, a mishmash 1986 sequel to Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and the ponderously paced thriller Spontaneous Combustion (1989). To some, Hooper continued to be a "promising" talent during the '90s -- it's just that he promised more than he delivered. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Horror virtuoso John Carpenter hosts this goofy horror anthology, originally produced for Showtime as a gory stepchild of HBO's Tales from the Crypt series. Playing an emaciated, eye-rolling "coroner," John introduces the audience to a triptych of creepy vignettes in the EC horror-comics mode while paddling about in the guts of assorted cadavers and cracking jokes more gag-inducing than anything oozing on the slab. Two of the stories are directed by Carpenter himself: "The Gas Station" is a retread (pun intended) of Halloween-style scare tactics as a pretty gas-station attendant watches various oddballs pass by her window after hearing that an escaped killer is on the loose; "Hair" is a morbid, hilarious look at man's obsession with his own virility in which Stacy Keach turns to a bizarre hair-growth clinic (run by David Warner & Debbie Harry) which promises instant results, but at a horrific price. The third segment, directed by Tobe Hooper, involves a baseball player (Mark Hamill) who receives an eye transplant after a car accident and soon begins having optical flashbacks revealing (you guessed it) the identity and tendencies of the eye's former owner -- a serial killer. The second segment is by far the most entertaining, featuring a wonderfully neurotic performance by Keach, but the first and last chapters are too derivative to offer much for the discriminating horror buff, although the same fans will enjoy several cute cameos from other genre directors, including Wes Craven, Sam Raimi and Roger Corman. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
People partying in a marshy lake area are attacked by a giant crocodile. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark McLachlan, Caitlin Martin, (more)
Director Tobe Hooper's follow-up to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre presents yet another Southern-fried psycho (this time in Louisiana) in the form of a scripture-mumbling, one-legged cracker named Judd (Neville Brand). The proprietor of a seedy bayou inn, Judd keeps a pet gator in the nearby swamp, to which he frequently tosses the remains of his unfortunate victims -- including anyone who offends his delicate sensibilities. One such casualty is Harvey Wood (Mel Ferrer), arriving at Judd's hotel in search of his missing daughter... who, unbeknownst to her old man, has already met her own doom courtesy of the scythe-wielding madman. Other patrons include one of the most annoying families on record -- with Chainsaw veteran Marilyn Burns as the strangely-bewigged mom, William Finley as the browbeaten husband and future Halloween tyke Kyle Richards as the endlessly-shrieking daughter (whose adorable puppy becomes a light gator-snack). Nightmare on Elm Street fans can spot a young, pre-Freddy Robert Englund in a small role as a lecherous cracker. Originally titled Death Trap and known by many aliases, including Starlight Slaughter, Horror Hotel Massacre and Legend of the Bayou. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Neville Brand, Mel Ferrer, (more)
- 1986
Sponsored by the publishers of Fangoria magazine, this documentary explores the world of horror-film conventions. Interviewed are such celebrities as make-up expert Tom Savini and directors Tobe Hooper and Wes Craven. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- 2009
Horror veteran Tobe Hooper brings another one of Stephen King's haunted car tales with From a Buick 8, the story of a man whose tragic loss of his father during the line of duty leads him to a mysterious Buick that might be the doorway to another dimension. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- 1990
A made-for-TV effort from horror director Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), this supernatural thriller is ostensibly based on the novella of the same name by Cornell Woolrich -- but the title is pretty much where the similarity ends. The plot involves a possessed Aztec ceremonial cloak (once used to line a sacred burial chamber) which poisons the soul of anyone who wears it. An improbable string of events sees the cloak turned into a little slip of a dress -- donned by several different women, but worn to evil perfection by Madchen Amick (Twin Peaks's Shelly). I'm Dangerous Tonight features colorful supporting performances from Anthony Perkins and R. Lee Ermey. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
Invaders from Mars, horror-film director Tobe Hooper's remake of the classic 1950's science fiction film, directed by William Cameron Menzies, centers on a young boy named David (Hunter Carson) who tries to stop an invasion of his town as aliens take over the minds of his parents George (Timothy Bottoms) and Ellen (Laraine Newman), his teachers and the townspeople. With the help of the school nurse (Karen Black), the boy enlists the aid of the U.S. Army to help save the world. With makeup effects supplied by Stan Winston and visual effects by John Dykstra, Invaders From Mars is a wild sci-fi feast that hearkens back to the 1950's invasion films, made popular by the original film and others like Invasion of the Body Snatchers. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karen Black, Hunter Carson, (more)
Director Tobe Hooper adapts Colin Wilson's edgy novel The Space Vampires in this in this horror/sci-fi epic with a cult following. The story concerns a joint British-American space probe of Hailey's Comet. Inside the comet, the astronauts, headed by Carlsen (Steve Railsback), find a spaceship that contains the dead bodies of several aliens, along with the naked bodies of three human-like creatures in suspended animation. They bring the aliens aboard the ship for examination, but the specimens are sloppily guarded and soon the trio spread contagion among the population of the ship. Returning to earth, the beautiful space vampire (Mathilda May) escapes into London and begins to feed of the bodies of the unwary Britons, turning the city into a zombie-populated wasteland. It is now left for Carlsen to stop the vampire invaders. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Railsback, Peter Firth, (more)
- 2005
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An innocent young woman is lured to the dark side, and discovers the wholesome, sheltered life she led before was rooted in betrayal and deceit in Tobe Hooper's installment of Showtime's Masters of Horror series, Dance of the Dead. In the not-so-distant future, a potent terrorist weapon called "Bliss" has destroyed America's major cities. Peggy (Jessica Lowndes) lives in a small town outside the corrupted metropolis of Muskeet, where she helps her mother, Celia (Lucie Guest), run a diner. Business is slow, but Celia says their father left some money for them when he died. The terrorist wars also claimed Peggy's older sister. Jak (Jonathan Tucker, from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake) and his buddy Boxx (Ryan McDonald) do what they can to get by. They've forcibly taken blood from an elderly couple, with plans to transport it to the city, where the MC (Robert Englund) at the Doom Room waits to use it for some nefarious purpose. They stop in the diner to get some ice. Celia can tell they're from Muskeet, and is immediately on her guard, but Peggy is intrigued, and strikes up a conversation with Jak. Jak tells her, "You are something I haven't seen in a long time," and invites her to "see the world" with him. Later that night, she sneaks out of the house and goes back to the diner, where Jak picks her up, as planned, and they head into town. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you," Jak assures her, "except what you want." Dance of the Dead was scripted by Richard Christian Matheson, adapted from a short story by his father, Richard Matheson. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- 2006
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A small Texas town is terrorized by an unidentified monstrous force in this installment of Showtime's Masters of Horror series adapted from an Ambrose Bierce story by writer Richard Christian Matheson, and directed by Tobe Hooper (Texas Chainsaw Massacre). Sheriff Kevin Reddle (Sean Patrick Flanery) may have had a tragic past, but these days he's just looking to find a little peace by starting a family in a quiet Texas town. Any hope for restfulness is soon obliterated, however, when a terrifying entity begins turning brother against brother and parent against child, and an apocalyptic fight for the survival of the human race gets off to a gruesome start. Ted Raimi and Marisa Coughlan co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Patrick Flanery, Marisa Coughlan, (more)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre director Tobe Hooper returns to his rightful place behind the camera to weave this gruesome tale concerning an abandoned small-town funeral home with a dark and deadly secret. Local legend has it that the Fowler Funeral Home in Santa Loraina, CA, is plagued with death of the most unnatural kind. Rumored to have been purchased to launch a ranching business by Zeb Fowler, the land was subsequently converted into a funeral home when the cattle all began dying of a mysterious and undiagnosed ailment. When Zeb and his wife gave birth to a hideously disfigured boy named Bobby soon thereafter, the story took a strange turn as the pair attempted to shelter their son by covering his face with a burial shroud. After young Bobby disappeared at the age of eight and his parents were found brutally murdered a decade later, rumors began to swirl around the community that Bobby may still be alive. Now single mother Leslie Doyle (Denise Crosby) has moved into the long-abandoned and hideously decrepit home with aspirations of restoring it and taking on the role of town mortician for the town of Santa Loraina, and, along with her children, Jonathon (Dan Byrd) and Jamie (Stephanie Patton), she is about to discover that some legends never die. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1993
In this tale of terror, a young woman finds herself forced into becoming an unwilling disciple of a descendant of the Marquis de Sade. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Englund, Zoe Trilling, (more)
With Poltergeist, directed by Tobe Hopper, Steven Spielberg had his first great success as a producer. Released around the same time as Spielberg's E.T., the film presents the dark side of Spielberg's California suburban track homes. The film centers on the Freeling family, a typical middle class family living in the peaceful Cuesta Verde Estates. The father, Steve (Craig T. Nelson), has fallen asleep in front of the television, and the dog saunters around the house revealing the other family members -- Steve's wife Diane (JoBeth Williams), sixteen-year-old daughter Dana (Dominique Dunne), eight-year-old son Robbie (Oliver Robins), and five-year-old Carol Ann (Heather O'Rourke). Soon strange things begin to happen around the house; the pet canary dies, mysterious storms occur, and Carol Ann is summoned to the TV set, where a strange shaft of green light hits her and causes the room to shake ("They're he-e-ere!"). As curious events continue, Carol Ann is repeatedly drawn to the television, where she begins to talk to "the TV people." Soon Carol Ann is sucked into a closet, disappearing from this reality plane. Unable to find his daughter, Steve consults Dr. Lesh (Beatrice Straight), a para-psychologist from a nearby college. Lesh finds that paranormal phenomena is so strong in the Freelong household she is unable to deal with it and sends for clairvoyant and professional exorcist Tangina (Zelda Rubinstein) to examine the house in hopes of finding Carol Ann. Tangina makes a horrifying discovery: Carol Ann is alive and in the house, but is being held on another spectral plane. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams, (more)
Novelist David Soul returns to his hometown of Salem, finding that things have changed a bit. More than a bit, in fact: the previously warm and friendly community is downright sinister. Soul suspects that the bizarre behavior of his onetime friends and neighbors is the handiwork of oddball antique dealer James Mason. We won't reveal here the secret of Salem; suffice to say that the action goes directly to the jugular, and that makeup artists Jack Young and Ben Lane won an Emmy nomination. Based on the best-selling novel by Stephen King, Salem's Lot was originally telecast in two parts on November 17 and 24, 1979; it was subsequently pared down to a single three-hour installment, which in turn was whittled down to about two hours for cable-TV play. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Soul, James Mason, (more)
Stephen King wrote his first original screenplay for this horror gore fest that features cameos by directors Clive Barker, Joe Dante, Tobe Hooper, John Landis, and King himself (playing a cemetery attendant). The story concerns a twilight people named "sleepwalkers" --creatures similar to vampires and werewolves whose faces turn animalistic whenever they are frightened or angry and who require the lifeforce of a virgin to survive. A single-parent sleepwalker family, consisting of Mary Brady (Alice Krige) and her son Charles (Brian Krause), have taken up residence in a small Indiana town. Charles has expressed a romantic interest in the attractive Tanya Robertson (Madchen Amick), a girl in his high school literature class. Mary wants Charles to lure Tanya home so that she can suck out her life force, but it appears that Charles has fallen in love with her --that is, until their first date, at a picnic at the cemetery. There Charles changes from a shy romantic suitor into a brutal and violent force, slapping Tanya around and attempting to rape her. But Tanya wards off his advances by plunging a corkscrew into his torso. Charles staggers back home to mother, where she nurses him back to health. Then Charles and his mother seek vengeance upon the Robertson family. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Krause, Mädchen Amick, (more)
In this horror outing, a secret government experiment produces a man capable of using his mental powers to start fires. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, the ten-episode, 20-hour miniseries Taken was one of the most ambitious projects undertaken by cable TV's Sci-Fi Network, ultimately costing 40 million dollars -- a price that proved well worth it, inasmuch as the series posted the network's highest-ever ratings. Covering a period from 1947 to the present, the story focused on three different families, each of whom was profoundly affected by extraterrestrial visitation. The Keys family was headed by WWII bomber pilot Russell Keys (Steve Burton), who spent virtually his entire adult life haunted by his "close encounter" with aliens. The Clarkes were originally represented by lonely Texas waitress Sally Clarke (Catherine Dent), who was impregnated by a charming stranger (Eric Close) who turned out to be an alien survivor of the Roswell crash. And the lives of the Crawfords were dictated by ruthless Army officer Owen Crawford (Joel Gretsch), who was determined to prove that the government had covered up the truth about Roswell by dedicating his life to tracking down all space aliens and their half-human descendants. The story was narrated by Allie Keys (Dakota Fanning), a "hybrid" child of the present day, whose story determined the outcome of the final episodes. Boasting impressive computer-generated special effects and eye-popping facial makeup, Taken was seen over a two-week period, beginning December 2, 2002, and ending on December 13. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dakota Fanning, Alonso Oyarzun, (more)
In the late '60s, the tone of American horror films began to shift in the wake of the startling success of George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead -- horror films became gorier, bleaker, and began to subtly reflect the political and social upheaval gripping the country. Through the '70s and '80s, films like Last House on the Left, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Halloween held a distorted mirror up to American culture, reflecting its fear and chaos in the wake of Vietnam and Watergate. The American Nightmare is a documentary that looks at the transgressive horror films of the '60s and '70s and the people who made them. Directors Wes Craven, Tobe Hooper, and David Cronenberg, special effects man Tom Savini, and film critics Tom Gunning and Adam Lowenstein are among those interviewed by director Adam Simon. The American Nightmare was produced for the premium cable outlet The Independent Film Channel. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George A. Romero, John Carpenter, (more)
This low-budget horror film about teenagers trapped in a carnival funhouse with a freakish monster is pretty standard stuff. Director Tobe Hooper manages a few shocks and includes some typically peculiar supporting characters, but this film is less entertaining than either of his previous excursions into such territory. Not as scary as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) nor as bizarre as Eaten Alive (1976), The Funhouse may as well have been directed by an anonymous hack as one of the foremost names in the genre. The movie tie-in novel, penned by Dean R. Koontz under the pseudonym "Owen West," is actually far more frightening than the film on which it was based. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Berridge, Cooper Huckabee, (more)
A hellish piece of professional laundry equipment wreaks havoc in a tiny New England town in this horror film. It all begins in The Blue Ribbon Laundry, a place run by the ruthless, crippled old Bill Gartley. With no feelings at all for his employees, he demands absolute obedience and unrelenting hard work. One day an old speed iron goes crazy, sucks in and permanently presses a hapless worker. The rest of the crew is frightened and in shock, but this does not stop old Gartley from cruelly ordering them back to work. A police officer investigates the case and begins suspecting that the sinister owner is concealing something. When a boy suffocates in an abandoned refrigerator that had somehow come in contact with the speed iron, the cop calls in his friend the theoretical parapsychologist who deduces that there is a "transference of evil" going on. Meanwhile, Gartley is putting the moves on comely Lin Sue; he also is interested in messing with his own niece. Both girls have been harmed by the evil iron and have contributed some of their precious blood to it. It is the cop who discovers that in order for Gartley to remain successful, he must see that the demonic machine periodically receives such sacrificial donations. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Tobe Hooper's influential cult classic continues the subgenre of horror films based on the life and "career" of Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein, which began with Alfred Hitchcock's own influential cult classic Psycho. When Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) hears that the Texas cemetery where her grandfather is buried has been vandalized, she gathers her wheelchair-bound brother Franklin (Paul A. Partain) and several other friends together to see if grandpa's remains are still in one piece. While in the area, Sally and her friends decide to visit grandfather's old farmhouse. Unfortunately, a family of homicidal slaughterhouse workers who take their job home with them have taken over the house next door. Included amongst the brood is Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen), a chainsaw-wielding human horror show who wears a face mask made out of human skin. Sally's friends are rapidly exterminated one-by-one by the next-door neighbors, leaving only Sally left to fight off Leatherface and his clan. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marilyn Burns, Allen Danziger, (more)
