Thank you for listening to the Following Films Podcast.
Today, we’re diving into a film that’s as much about cinema history as it is about the raw, unsettling power of horror. Fifty years after Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre shocked the world and permanently altered the landscape of filmmaking, a new documentary is taking a hard, fascinating look at its legacy.
It’s called Chain Reactions—winner of the Venice Classics Award for Best Documentary on Cinema and an official selection at festivals like Telluride, Sitges, and BFI London. The film brings together voices like Patton Oswalt, Takashi Miike, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Stephen King, and Karyn Kusama, weaving their personal impressions, memories, and even traumas into a dialogue about how one scrappy, no-budget horror film embedded itself into our collective nightmares—and never left.
The documentary is written and directed by Alexandre O. Philippe, a filmmaker who has carved out his own space as the leading voice in what he calls “cinema essays.” From 78/52 to Memory: The Origins of Alien to Lynch/Oz, Philippe has built a career exploring not just movies, but the cultural and artistic forces behind them. With Chain Reactions, he once again peels back the layers of a cinematic landmark.
Today’s episode of the Following Films Podcast is brought to you by Google Workspace. We keep things running smoothly and efficiently at Following Films with the convenience of cloud-based Google Workspace programs. Google Docs lets you work and save on Google Drive, Hangouts lets you video chat, Gmail gives you a professional email, and Calendar lets you organise – from anywhere, at any time. You should try it and see how it can help your business, too. Google Workspace is offering a 14-day trial. If you sign up using my link, I can give you a discount, and it helps to support the show Go to https://referworkspace.app.goo.gl/G6uF
Chain Reactions in now playing in New York and Los Angeles and will expand nationwide on 9/26. Now on to my conversation with Alexandre O. Philippe— I hope you enjoy the show
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