#the essay is a comparison and critique of the remake vs original. mostly enjoyed and agreed with and some 'eughh dont say that' moments

[bitchhiker]

"Hooper’s Hitchhiker is a nightmarish figure, too grotesque to be pitiable, a displaced slaughterhouse worker who carries photographs of steers he has killed with a sledgehammer. What is most remarkable is the fascination that he inspires in Franklin, who engages in a spirited conversation with him about the craft of killing steers: the sledgehammer versus the pneumatic gun. Franklin acknowledges a direct connection with the Hitchhiker—his own grandfather used to send his steers to the Hitchhiker’s slaughterhouse. And even more telling, Franklin has an uncle who works in one. Franklin and the Hitchhiker also discover that they share an enthusiasm for head cheese. After the Hitchhiker demonstrates his bravado by laughing while using Franklin’s knife to cut open his palm, Franklin finds himself admiring the act—even though the Hitchhiker also cuts Franklin’s arm with his knife, against Franklin’s will. Although the two do not exchange blood, the corresponding cuts via the shared knife suggest blood brotherhood. And when the group forcibly puts the Hitchhiker out of the van, he smears its side with his bloody palm, marking it. Later when the van reaches the family homestead, Franklin gazes ruefully at the bloody mark and says, 'I bet it’s about me.'"

The Demythologizing of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Jeff Jeske