An experimental allegory about a group of hippie students in Austin, Texas, who move into a big old house in the woods. However, something else is there and it's influencing them.
Direction
Hooper's first feature—raw, ambitious, barely controlled chaos.
Practical Effects
DIY effects that feel genuinely wrong, not cheap.
Director
Tobe Hooper
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Hooper shot this for $40,000, mostly funded by a Dallas porn theater owner who wanted 'art.' It disappeared for decades until a 2009 restoration.
The 'entity' was originally conceived as a literal alien, but budget constraints turned it into something more abstract—accidentally creating the film's genuine uncanny power.
US
