Where do you rank Tobe Hooper among his peers?

[SeanJoyce]

Probably fair to say that if you were making a "Mt Rushmore of 70s/80s American horror filmmakers", you'd automatically assign the faces of George Romero, Wes Craven and John Carpenter. But who gets that coveted 4th spot?

The contenders would have to be Tobe Hooper, Sam Raimi, and Stuart Gordon, no? Who has the strongest case?

I think you have to go with Hooper here. While his career went on a downslide the likes of which his contemporaries never experienced, he still has enough high points that you can't overlook. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is every bit as iconic and landmark an independent horror effort that those others produces, perhaps more, and it's the movie which Hooper's reputation is largely staked on.

From there, Salem's Lot is one of the best Stephen King adaptations and features some classic, chilling vampire imagery. The Funhouse might have gotten a bit lost in the deluge of early-80s slasher offerings, but it stands on its own as a fun, atmospheric genre piece. And no matter where you come down in the "who directed Poltergeist" debate, it enhances Hooper's resume.

Lifeforce and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 have been reassessed and valued as cult favorites these days, and I personally thought Hooper's contribution to Body Bags was its strongest segment. Toolbox Murders is flawed but it was a decent little comeback of sorts for Hooper, with some real grisly throwback murders. Still need to see his Masters of Horror: Dance of the Dead.

When adding it all up, I think you can really only say that Carpenter had an objectively stronger career. He's right there with Craven and Romero, if not just slightly behind.

[postmodel]

I agree with you. If you break it down simply by horror iconography, you get zombies with Romero (even though saying just zombie is a generalization, Night and Dawn are landmarks in film), Craven gave us Freddy, Carpenter gave us Michael, and Hooper gave us Leatherface. Sure, there are other iconic horror villains, but these 4 directors represent a larger impact on pop culture.

Plus, personally, I love Hooper. Not every film is a hit, but the ones that are, IMO, are fantastic.

[Jay H.]

Not a fan. TCM is decent, and the international cut of Lifeforce is cheesy fun. That's it for me.

[Michael24]

I'm not intimately familiar with his filmography but of the films I've seen I don't care for Texas Chainsaw 1 or 2 and Lifeforce is a mixed bag, but I enjoy Poltergeist and The Funhouse a lot.

EDIT: I forgot about Salem's Lot. I thought that was pretty good, too.

[Hazel Motes]

I rank him shoulder to shoulder with George Romero and Wes Craven. But below John Carpenter and David Cronenberg.

[drush9999]

My ranking:
John Carpenter
David Cronenberg
Wes Craven
George Romero
Tobe Hooper
Stuart Gordon

[stvn1974]

Originally Posted by drush9999

My ranking:
John Carpenter
David Cronenberg
Wes Craven
George Romero
Tobe Hooper
Stuart Gordon

My list as well.

[drush9999]

Damn missed Sam Raimi, insert him between Craven and Romero

[Joey9775]

He has ONE great film on his resume - Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

I think Poltergeist is great but I'm a believer in that he was hardly responsible for much of it. Lifeforce and Salem's Lot are decent. Most of the rest is pretty much schlock.

And to the mention of Dance of the Dead? It's one of the worst episodes of the whole series.

[DR Herbert West]

1. John Carpenter
2. David Cronenberg
3. George Romero
4. Tobe Hooper
5. Wes Craven

[SeanJoyce]

For everybody mentioning David Cronenberg...he’s Canadian, which is why I excluded him.

[CSM101]

From the choices you provided, I’d probably go with Stuart Gordon.

[dkelly26666]

Yes, if we omit Cronenberg, as he's Canadian, I'd go:

John Carpenter
George A. Romero
Tobe Hooper
Wes Craven
Stuart Gordon
Sam Raimi

I would throw a few 'one-offs' in there, too... as they weren't usually horror directors, but they gave us a few instances of some of the greatest horror of the 80s:

John Landis for "An American Werewolf in London"
Joe Dante for "The Howling" and "Gremlins"
Tony Scott for "The Hunger"
Paul Schrader for "Cat People"


I would likely put Cronenberg near the very top if we were including him.

As to Hooper, overall, I love his 70s and 80s output, for the most part. "Texas Chainsaw", "Eaten Alive", "Salem's Lot", "Poltergeist", " Lifeforce", and "Texas Chainsaw 2" are among my favorite horror titles from that era. But, man, he surely lost it later on.

[CreasyBear]

I adore Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Adore it. It's a one of a kind. I don't think he ever came close to equaling it. I love Poltergeist, but it feels much more like a Spielberg film. Lifeforce and Funhouse are a lot of goofy fun. TCM 2 is probably one of the most annoying films I've ever seen.

John Carpenter
Sam Raimi
David Cronenberg
Wes Craven
Tobe Hooper
George Romero

[Damon1281]

I wouldn't include Hooper in a list. I'll go with Raimi.

[MJD64]

TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE is damn brilliant; I've never quite seen a film that was so clammy and unsettling - and yet so mordantly funny - all at once. You often feel like you're watching true horror unfolding right before your very eyes, that you're not watching actors but real people caught in an actual hellscape presided over by a family of twisted psychos. It has that rare, unique quality in a horror film of feeling genuinely disturbing and unsafe - Hooper controls that claustrophobic atmosphere of dread masterfully... and man, you can practically feel that uncomfortable, sweltering Texas heat.

TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE alone is enough to establish Hooper as one of the masters, but I also love his creepy SALEM'S LOT (who could ever forget those floating vampire kids scratching at the window? It's an indelible horror image), underrated slasher/monster movie THE FUNHOUSE and the magnificently bizarre and bonkers LIFEFORCE (just when you think this film can't get any weirder or more outrageous...it does).

Also, kudos to Hooper for putting some of the most memorably baroque characters (in films both good and bad) in the history of horror on screen - and never without that wonderfully macabre and oddball humor of his.

[MassiveMovieBuff]

Originally Posted by dkelly26666

As to Hooper, overall, I love his 70s and 80s output, for the most part. "Texas Chainsaw", "Eaten Alive", "Salem's Lot", "Poltergeist", " Lifeforce", and "Texas Chainsaw 2" are among my favorite horror titles from that era. But, man, he surely lost it later on.

Yeah this is pretty much where I'm at with Hooper too. I watched Salem's Lot last night and boy has my appreciation really gone up regarding that film the last couple years. It went from passable entertainment to one of the greatest vampire films ever made along with having some of the coolest and creepiest vampires in the history of the genre for me. There's some great genuine scares in that film too.

[dkelly26666]

Originally Posted by MJD64

TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE is damn brilliant; I've never quite seen a film that was so clammy and unsettling - and yet so mordantly funny - all at once. You often feel like you're watching true horror unfolding right before your very eyes, that you're not watching actors but real people caught in an actual hellscape presided over by a family of twisted psychos. It has that rare, unique quality in a horror film of feeling genuinely disturbing and unsafe - Hooper controls that claustrophobic atmosphere of dread masterfully... and man, you can practically feel that uncomfortable, sweltering Texas heat.

TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE alone is enough to establish Hooper as one of the masters, but I also love his creepy SALEM'S LOT (who could ever forget those floating vampire kids scratching at the window? It's an indelible horror image), underrated slasher/monster movie THE FUNHOUSE and the magnificently bizarre and bonkers LIFEFORCE (just when you think this film can't get any weirder or more outrageous...it does).

Also, kudos to Hooper for putting some of the most memorably baroque characters (in films both good and bad) in the history of horror on screen - and never without that wonderfully macabre and oddball humor of his.

I agree. "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974) is one of THE great horror films, and I think of it on a short list of great 70s films, in general, which is saying a LOT.

[SeanJoyce]

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