What actually happens
The hitchhiker pays for nothing and takes a photo anyway
Early one August morning, a grave robber steals corpses from a cemetery near Newt, Muerto County, and ties them to a monument, which a local resident finds at sunrise. Five teenagers, Sally Hardesty, her paraplegic brother Franklin, Jerry, Pam and Kirk, drive through the area in a van and stop to check on their grandfather's grave. They pass a slaughterhouse, and Franklin talks about his family's history with animal slaughter. A hitchhiker joins them and tells them his relatives worked at the old slaughterhouse. He cuts himself with Franklin's pocket knife, takes a Polaroid of the group and demands money. When they refuse, he sets the photo on fire and slashes at Franklin with a straight razor. The group pushes him out, and he smears blood on the van as they drive off. The gas station has no fuel, so they explore the Hardesty family's abandoned house nearby.
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Kirk and Pam go looking for gas and find a house with bone furniture
This is the scene people dread most, and it happens in the middle of the film after Kirk and Pam leave the others to look for a swimming hole. They come across a second house with old wrecked cars around it, running on generators. Kirk goes in to ask about gas, and a big man in a mask made out of skin kills him with a hammer. Pam walks into a room with decaying remains and chairs and tables built out of human and animal bones. She tries to run, is caught, and ends up hanging from a meat hook. The man then starts a chainsaw and dismembers Kirk while Pam watches. That evening Jerry goes into the same house looking for them, finds Pam's nearly dead body in a chest freezer, and the masked man kills him too. After this, the film moves on to Sally and Franklin.
The gas station owner offers help and then offers a blow to the head
As night falls, Sally and Franklin go to find their friends. The masked man ambushes them and kills Franklin with the chainsaw. Sally runs from him into the house and finds a very old man who looks dead, along with a woman's rotting corpse. She jumps through a second-floor window and runs to the gas station, and the man disappears. The proprietor says he will help her, then beats her, loads her into his pickup and drives her to the house. There the hitchhiker reappears, and the proprietor scolds him for what he did at the cemetery, which identifies him as the grave robber. The masked man returns dressed in women's clothing, and the proprietor says the two are brothers. The hitchhiker calls the masked man Leatherface. They bring the old man, Grandpa, downstairs and cut Sally's finger so he can suck the blood. Sally faints.
Grandpa is invited to the hammer and cannot manage it
The next morning Sally wakes up. The men taunt her and argue with each other, and they settle on hitting her with a hammer. They want Grandpa to take part, but he is too weak for it. Sally breaks free and runs onto the road in front of the house with the brothers behind her. A truck runs over the hitchhiker by accident and kills him. The truck driver attacks Leatherface with a large wrench, and Leatherface falls and injures his leg with the chainsaw. The driver runs off. Sally, covered in blood, flags down a pickup truck and climbs into the back, only just getting clear of Leatherface. She laughs hysterically as the pickup pulls away, and Leatherface is left swinging the chainsaw in the road at sunrise.
The ending, explained
Sally is the only one of the five friends who survives. She breaks free the morning after she is captured, and runs onto the road with the hitchhiker and Leatherface chasing her. A truck runs over the hitchhiker and kills him. The truck driver hits Leatherface with a wrench, and Leatherface falls and injures his leg with the chainsaw. Sally, covered in blood, climbs into a passing pickup truck and escapes while laughing hysterically. Leatherface stands in the road swinging the chainsaw as the sun rises. Kirk, Pam, Jerry and Franklin are all dead.
The post-credits ruling
There is no post-credits scene. You can leave when the credits start.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: no dog, though the house has animal bones.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is The Texas Chain Saw Massacre scary?
Yes. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 7 out of 10 with high dread: a grim chase, some graphic moments and a house full of bone furniture that stays with people for a few days.
How does The Texas Chain Saw Massacre end?
Sally is the only survivor. She escapes a pursuit by the hitchhiker and Leatherface, a truck runs over the hitchhiker, and she rides away in a pickup while Leatherface swings his chainsaw at sunrise.
Does the dog die in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre?
There is no dog in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The only animal remains are the animal bones used to make furniture in the second house.
Is there a post-credits scene in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre?
No. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has no post-credits scene, so you can leave when the credits start.
Who is Leatherface in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre?
Leatherface is the large man in a mask made of skin who kills Kirk and Franklin. The gas station proprietor says he and the hitchhiker are brothers, and the hitchhiker is the one who calls him Leatherface.
