Tobe Hooper
|
|
Tobe Hooper is an American television and film director best known for his work in the horror film genre. His movies include Lifeforce, Poltergeist and the watershed exploitation classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
Before becoming a filmmaker, Hooper, a native of Austin, Texas, spent the 1960s as a college teacher and documentary cameraman. He organized a small cast who were also college teachers and students, and then he and Kim Henkel made The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. This film changed the horror film industry. Hooper based it upon the real life killings of Ed Gein, a cannibalistic killer responsible for the grisly murders of several people in the 1950s. Hooper's success with Texas Chain Saw Massacre landed him in Hollywood and it remains a horror film classic. Hooper rejoined the cast of Texas Chainsaw Massace and Kim Henkel for Eaten Alive (1976), a gory horror film with Mel Ferrer, William Finley and Marilyn Burns (who played the lead in Texas Chain Saw). The film centered around a caretaker of a motel who feeds his guests to his pet alligator. Also in the film was Robert Englund. Hooper helped raise his career and worked with him again in the future. Eaten Alive also won many awards at Horror Film Festivals.
Hooper was assigned to the Film Ventures International production of The Dark (1979), a science fiction thriller. After only three days he was fired from the film and replaced with John Cardos. Instead, Hooper had greater success with Stephen King's 1979 miniseries Salem's Lot. In 1981, Hooper directed the teen slasher film for Universal Pictures, The Funhouse; despite its success, the film was a minor disappointment. In 1982, Hooper found greater success when Steven Spielberg enlisted him to direct his production of Poltergeist. It quickly became a top ranking major motion picture, though rumors persist that Spielberg himself had directed most of the film. Spielberg edited the film and controlled most elements of the distribution.
Poltergeist was perhaps a greater success than Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but it was three years until Hooper found work again. He signed a three year contract with Menahem Golan and Cannon Films, and directed more films, including the apocalyptic Lifeforce (1985), the remake of Invaders from Mars and the sequel to his earlier film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 (1986). The film struggled to find mainstream distribution. Since then, Hooper's career has gone downhill. He also directed two Robert Englund films: Night Terrors (1993) and The Mangler (1995), and has directed numerous horror television sitcoms. Hooper's most recent effort is a remake of the exploitation classic The Toolbox Murders, which despite being a direct to video release has garnered very positive reviews.
Filmography
- Toolbox Murders (2005)
- The Mangler (1995)
- Night Terrors (1993)
- Spontaneous Combustion (1990)
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)
- Invaders from Mars (1986)
- Lifeforce (1985)
- Poltergeist (1982)
- The Funhouse (1981)
- Eaten Alive (1977)
- The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
- Eggshells (1969)de:Tobe Hooper