Tobe Hooper

Tobe Hooper

Birth : 1943-01-25, Austin, Texas, USA

Death : 2017-08-26

History

Tobe Hooper (January 25, 1943 – August 26, 2017) was an American film director and screenwriter, best known for his work in the horror film genre. His works include the cult classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), along with its first sequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986); the three-time Emmy-nominated Stephen King film adaptation Salem's Lot (1979); and the three-time Academy Award-nominated, Steven Spielberg-produced Poltergeist (1982).

Profile

Tobe Hooper
Tobe Hooper

Movies

The Sawyer Massacre
Creator
An unofficial prequal to the 1974 hit movie The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. While recovering from the loss of someone close, Jimmy's friends bring him to the Texas countryside to escape city life. In need of supplies for their cabin, they ascend to a gas station where they are directed to find their supplies at an isolated farmhouse. The property is not as it seems. They find themselves hunted by a cannibalistic psychopath with an arsenal of violent tools at his disposal. In the end, any that do escape his clutches will wish they hadn't.
Making I'm Dangerous Tonight
Himself
Behind the scenes footage of I'm Dangerous Tonight. Footage shot by Stan Giesea and Eric H. Lasher
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Characters
After nearly 50 years of hiding, Leatherface returns to terrorize a group of idealistic influencers who accidentally disrupt his carefully shielded world in a remote Texas town.
Time Warp Vol. 2: Horror and Sci-Fi
Self
The greatest cult horror and science fiction films of all-time are studied in vivid detail in the second volume of Time Warp. Includes groundbreaking classics like "Night of the Living Dead," and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," and sci-fi gems such as "Blade Runner," and "A Clockwork Orange."
AGFA MYSTERY MIXTAPE #2: LATER IN L.A.
Himself
Unleashed from the video vaults of the American Genre Film Archive (AGFA), AGFA MYSTERY MIXTAPE #2: LATER IN L.A. is a brand new compilation of the most electrifying found footage mayhem that you’ll see this week. For our second tape, we’ve returned to the hallowed halls of “behind the scenes” horror for another hour-long joyride of F-U-N. Thank you for your incredible support during these difficult times. And remember: “Do what your spirit tells you.”
AGFA MYSTERY MIXTAPE #1
Himself
Unleashed from the video vaults of the American Genre Film Archive (AGFA), AGFA MYSTERY MIXTAPE #1 is a brand new compilation of the most electrifying found footage mayhem that you’ll see this week. For our kick-off tape, we’ve curated an hour-long joyride through the hallowed halls of “behind the scenes” horror. Our team has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support during these difficult times. So this is our way of saying thanks! The price is set at 99 cents, which is the lowest possible option that Vimeo offers. We want everyone to be able to enjoy this. But if you’re able to donate more to our non-profit mission, there’s also an option to pay what you want. Thank you for your continued support, and remember: “DIDN’T YOU USED TO BE SATAN?”
Also Starring Austin
ALSO STARRING AUSTIN uses scenes from locally shot films as a lens to explore a community's rapidly changing built and natural environment and unique, enduring culture.
We Blew It
Self
How did America change from Easy Rider into Donald Trump? What became of the dreams and utopias of the 1960's and 1970's? What do the people who lived in that golden age think about it today? Did they really blow it? Shot in Cinemascope - from New Jersey to California - this melancholic and elegiac road-movie draws upon the portrait of a confused, complex and incandescent America one year after the start of the electoral campaign. That golden age has become its last romantic border and an inconsolable America is about to pull on a trigger called Trump.
Leatherface
Characters
A young nurse is kidnapped by a group of violent teens who escape from a mental hospital and take her on the road trip from hell. Pursued by an equally deranged lawman out for revenge, one of the teens is destined for tragedy and horrors that will destroy his mind, moulding him into a monster named Leatherface.
Leatherface
Executive Producer
A young nurse is kidnapped by a group of violent teens who escape from a mental hospital and take her on the road trip from hell. Pursued by an equally deranged lawman out for revenge, one of the teens is destined for tragedy and horrors that will destroy his mind, moulding him into a monster named Leatherface.
Terrifier
In Memory Of
On Halloween night, a young woman finds herself as the obsession of a sadistic murderer known as Art the Clown.
The Martians Are Coming!: The Making of 'Invaders from Mars'
Documentary about the making of Invaders from Mars
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films
Self - Filmmaker
A documentary about the rise and fall of the Cannon Film Group, the legendary independent film company helmed by Israeli cousins Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus.
Djinn
Director
Desperate to put the traumatic loss of their infant child behind them, newlywed couple Khalid and Salama return to their home in the United Arab Emirates. Unknown to the couple, their new luxury apartment block, Al Hamra, was built on the site of an old abandoned fishing village of the same name. Legend has it the village was abandoned after manevolant beings haunted its inhabitants. Unsettled by her new surroundings and the eerie hallways of Al Hamra, Khalid worries his wife is failing to battle her personal demons – but could it be something far more sinister?
Cannon Fodder: The Making of Lifeforce
Himself
Extensive documentary on the making of Tobe Hooper's infamous 1985 science fiction flop LIFEFORCE. Features interviews with Hooper, producer Michael J. Kagan, editor John Grover, actors Aubrey Morris and Nicholas Ball, makeup artist Sandra Exelby, screenwriter Michael Armstrong, sound designer Vernon Messenger, artistic designers Tom Adams and Roger Stewart and effects artist John Schoonraad.
Texas Chainsaw 3D
Executive Producer
A young woman learns that she has inherited a Texas estate from her deceased grandmother. After embarking on a road trip with friends to uncover her roots, she finds she is the sole owner of a lavish, isolated Victorian mansion. But her newfound wealth comes at a price as she stumbles upon a horror that awaits her in the mansion’s dank cellars.
Texas Chainsaw 3D
Characters
A young woman learns that she has inherited a Texas estate from her deceased grandmother. After embarking on a road trip with friends to uncover her roots, she finds she is the sole owner of a lavish, isolated Victorian mansion. But her newfound wealth comes at a price as she stumbles upon a horror that awaits her in the mansion’s dank cellars.
Slice and Dice: The Slasher Film Forever
Himself
A celebration of slasher cinema - from PSYCHO to the present day, with a focus on highlighting many of the genre's forgotten cult classics, deconstructing how to survive a slice and dice movie and meditating upon why it is almost always a final girl and rarely a final guy... this is a documentary which is designed for both the biggest fan of "mad maniac" movies and the person who may only have seen HALLOWEEN and SCREAM. Either way, this is a documentary that proves the SLASHER FILM is truly FOREVER!
The Damned Thing
Director
The Damned Thing, inspired by Ambrose Bierce's classic short-story of the same title, is the apocalyptic tale of a monstrous force that devastates Sheriff Kevin Reddle's family and his small Texas town of Cloverdale. As a child, Reddle's father goes berserk, guns down his wife, and almost kills Kevin before being disemboweled by an invisible force. Before he dies, Kevin's father says the "damned thing" has found him....
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
Producer
Chrissie and her friends set out on a road trip for a final fling before one is shipped off to Vietnam. Along the way, bikers harass the foursome and cause an accident that throws Chrissie from the vehicle. The lawman who arrives on the scene kills one of the bikers and brings Chrissie's friends to the Hewitt homestead, where young Leatherface is learning the tools of terror.
Dance of the Dead
Director
In a post apocalyptic society, seventeen year-old Peggy lives with her over-protective mother and works in the family restaurant. When two couples of punks enter the restaurant, and one takes an interest in her, Peggy makes a decision that will change her life forever.
The Perfect Scary Movie
Himself
A documentary looking at the various conventions and scare techniques of the horror genre.
Mortuary
Director
A family moves to a small town in California where they plan on starting a new life while running a long-abandoned funeral home. The locals fear the place, which is suspected to be on haunted ground.
Toolbox Murders
Director
Young couple Steve and Nell move into a once fashionable but now decaying apartment block in Hollywood, and soon realise that a number of young residents have met unusually violent deaths. Before long, Nell makes some disturbing discoveries about the building's manager and her fellow tenants.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Original Film Writer
After picking up a traumatized young hitchhiker, five friends find themselves stalked and hunted by a chainsaw-wielding killer and his family of equally psychopathic killers.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Co-Producer
After picking up a traumatized young hitchhiker, five friends find themselves stalked and hunted by a chainsaw-wielding killer and his family of equally psychopathic killers.
Masters of Horror
Tobe HOOPER
Documentary showcasing the work of prominent film directors in the horror genre. Featuring interviews with the directors, behind the scenes footage and clips from popular horror films, and hosted by Bruce Campbell, star of The Evil Dead (1981).
Shadow Realm
Director
Shadow Realm is a compilation of four episodes of the short-lived Fox Network television series Night Visions. Each episode contained two stories and were originally hosted by musician/actor/writer Henry Rollins. The Sci-Fi Channel acquired the rights to broadcast the episodes, including the last two unaired episodes and strung them together as an anthology movie. Title sequences and end credits were changed and the Henry Rollins introductions were removed from the final product.
Crocodile
Director
A group of friends including Brady Turner, Claire and Duncan McKay go out on a boat trip on a lake in Southern California, but their joyful weekend turns into horror, when a giant killer crocodile searching for its stolen eggs, picks off anyone who gets in its way. Can they all escape in one piece or will they slowly and painfully fall to the mammoth reptile.
Scream and Scream Again: A History of the Slasher Film
Self
Documentary tracing the rise of the 'slasher' movie.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Shocking Truth
Himself
A documentary primarily focusing on the filming and release of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
The American Nightmare
Himself
An examination into the nature of 1960's-70's horror films, the involved artists, and how they reflected contemporary society.
The Apartment Complex
Director
A graduate student named Stan becomes the manager of an apartment complex which is quite uncommon. The tenants are all quite eccentric and uncommon characters, and the place is quite run down in certain spots. The previous manager had disappeared in mysterious circumstances. When cleaning the mucky pool, Stan encounters a corpse. The odd detectives that come to investigate seem to blame him. Then more bizarre, potentially deadly occurrences happen. Soon, Stan's life is in danger, if not his sanity. However, the odd tenants all befriend him and may be his only hope
The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Characters
When a helpful family invites two lost couples in for a good ol' down-home massacre, the prom night teens find themselves all dressed up... with no place to escape.
The Mangler
Screenplay
When an accident involving a folding machine at an old laundry happens, detective John Hunton investigates. While he tries to solve the mystery, Bill Gartley, the owner, wants to find new victims for his machine.
The Mangler
Director
When an accident involving a folding machine at an old laundry happens, detective John Hunton investigates. While he tries to solve the mystery, Bill Gartley, the owner, wants to find new victims for his machine.
Night Terrors
Director
A young girl travels to Cairo to visit her father, and becomes unwillingly involved with a bizarre sadomasochistic cult led by the charismatic Paul Chevalier, who is a descendant of the Marquis de Sade.
Body Bags
Man #2
Three tales, each more terrifying than the last… a woman who is stalked by a crazed serial killer... a man who pays the ultimate price for a beautiful head of hair… and a vision of life — seen through the eyes of a killer!
Body Bags
Director
Three tales, each more terrifying than the last… a woman who is stalked by a crazed serial killer... a man who pays the ultimate price for a beautiful head of hair… and a vision of life — seen through the eyes of a killer!
The Nightmare Begins Again
Director
When Fred Krueger is set free on a technicality, the parents of the children he murdered take matters into their own hands, while a high school track star haunted by her mother’s untimely death receives her mother’s amulet that unlocks her ambitions and unleashes vengeance on those who cause her pain.
Sleepwalkers
Forensic Tech
Charles Brady and his mother, Mary, are the last of a dying breed whose needs are not of this world. They are Sleepwalkers - able to stay alive only by feeding on the life-force of the innocent, but destined to roam the earth, avoiding discovery while searching for their next victim. That search takes them to the sleepy little town of Travis, Indiana, where beautiful teenager Tanya Robertson is about to become an unwilling pawn in their nightmarish fight for survival.
I'm Dangerous Tonight
Director
An ancient Aztec cloth with a curse accidentally finds its way into the possession of a young woman. She decides to make a dress from the cloth. Whoever wears this cloth/dress comes under its spell; all inhibitions and moral responsibilities are lost.
Spontaneous Combustion
Screenplay
A young man finds out that his parents had been used in an atomic-weapons experiment shortly before he was born, and that the results have had some unexpected effects on him.
Spontaneous Combustion
Story
A young man finds out that his parents had been used in an atomic-weapons experiment shortly before he was born, and that the results have had some unexpected effects on him.
Spontaneous Combustion
Director
A young man finds out that his parents had been used in an atomic-weapons experiment shortly before he was born, and that the results have had some unexpected effects on him.
Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III
Characters
Two college students driving coast to coast are lured off the main highway and onto a deserted Texas road. Here they are stalked by the menacing Leatherface and his demented family...a bizarre cannibalistic clan with blood on their hands and a feast on their minds. The students’ only chance for escape is a survivalist with enough firepower to blast Leatherface and the rest of the grisly predators to hell. A depraved shocker of intense terror from the gruesome beginning to the bloody finish.
Coming to America
Party Guest
An African prince decides it’s time for him to find a princess... and his mission leads him and his most loyal friend to Queens, New York. In disguise as an impoverished immigrant, the pampered prince quickly finds himself a new job, new friends, new digs, new enemies and lots of trouble.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
Original Music Composer
Chainsaw-wielding maniac Leatherface is up to his cannibalistic ways once again, along with the rest of his twisted clan, including the equally disturbed Chop-Top. This time, the masked killer has set his sights on pretty disc jockey Vanita "Stretch" Brock, who teams up with Texas lawman Lefty Enright to battle the psychopath and his family deep within their lair, a macabre abandoned amusement park.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
Characters
Chainsaw-wielding maniac Leatherface is up to his cannibalistic ways once again, along with the rest of his twisted clan, including the equally disturbed Chop-Top. This time, the masked killer has set his sights on pretty disc jockey Vanita "Stretch" Brock, who teams up with Texas lawman Lefty Enright to battle the psychopath and his family deep within their lair, a macabre abandoned amusement park.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
Co-Producer
Chainsaw-wielding maniac Leatherface is up to his cannibalistic ways once again, along with the rest of his twisted clan, including the equally disturbed Chop-Top. This time, the masked killer has set his sights on pretty disc jockey Vanita "Stretch" Brock, who teams up with Texas lawman Lefty Enright to battle the psychopath and his family deep within their lair, a macabre abandoned amusement park.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
Man in Hotel Corridor (uncredited)
Chainsaw-wielding maniac Leatherface is up to his cannibalistic ways once again, along with the rest of his twisted clan, including the equally disturbed Chop-Top. This time, the masked killer has set his sights on pretty disc jockey Vanita "Stretch" Brock, who teams up with Texas lawman Lefty Enright to battle the psychopath and his family deep within their lair, a macabre abandoned amusement park.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
Director
Chainsaw-wielding maniac Leatherface is up to his cannibalistic ways once again, along with the rest of his twisted clan, including the equally disturbed Chop-Top. This time, the masked killer has set his sights on pretty disc jockey Vanita "Stretch" Brock, who teams up with Texas lawman Lefty Enright to battle the psychopath and his family deep within their lair, a macabre abandoned amusement park.
Invaders from Mars
Director
In this remake of the classic 50s SF tale, a boy tries to stop an invasion of his town by aliens who take over the the minds of his parents, his least-liked schoolteacher and other townspeople. With the aid of the school nurse the boy enlists the aid of the U.S. Marines.
Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors
Himself
Actors, directors and special effects technicians are interviewed at a horror-film convention.
Lifeforce
Director
A space shuttle mission investigating Halley's Comet brings back a malevolent race of space vampires who transform most of London's population into zombies. The only survivor of the expedition and British authorities attempt to capture a mysterious but beautiful alien woman who appears responsible.
The Making of Poltergeist
Self
A behind-the-scenes look at how some of the visual effects were accomplished in the feature film Poltergeist (1982).
Poltergeist
Director
Steve Freeling lives with his wife, Diane, and their three children, Dana, Robbie, and Carol Anne, in Southern California where he sells houses for the company that built the neighborhood. It starts with just a few odd occurrences, such as broken dishes and furniture moving around by itself. However, when he realizes that something truly evil haunts his home, Steve calls in a team of parapsychologists led by Dr. Lesh to help before it's too late.
The Funhouse
Director
Rebellious teen Amy defies her parents by going to a trashy carnival that has pulled into town. In tow are her boyfriend, Buzz, and their friends Liz and Richie. Thinking it would be fun to spend the night in the campy "Funhouse" horror ride, the teens witness a murder by a deformed worker wearing a mask. Locked in, Amy and her friends must evade the murderous carnival workers and escape before it leaves town the next day.
Eaten Alive
Music
A psychotic redneck who owns a dilapidated hotel in the backwater swamps of Louisiana kills various people who upset him or his business, and he feeds their bodies to a large crocodile that he keeps as a pet in the swamp beside his hotel.
Eaten Alive
Director
A psychotic redneck who owns a dilapidated hotel in the backwater swamps of Louisiana kills various people who upset him or his business, and he feeds their bodies to a large crocodile that he keeps as a pet in the swamp beside his hotel.
Lost in the Garden of the World
Self
Cannes is the town in France where Bergman meets bikinis, and the art of filmmaking meets the art of the deal. In 1975, a group of expat Kiwis managed to score interviews with some of the festival's emerging talents, indulging their own cinematic dreams in the process. Werner Herzog waxes lyrical on the trials and scars of directing; a boyish Steven Spielberg recalls the challenges of framing shots during Jaws; Martin Scorsese and Dustin Hoffman talk a gallon.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Music
When Sally hears that her grandfather's grave may have been vandalized, she and her paraplegic brother, Franklin, set out with their friends to investigate. After a detour to their family's old farmhouse, they discover a group of crazed, murderous outcasts living next door. As the group is attacked one by one by the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface, who wears a mask of human skin, the survivors must do everything they can to escape.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Producer
When Sally hears that her grandfather's grave may have been vandalized, she and her paraplegic brother, Franklin, set out with their friends to investigate. After a detour to their family's old farmhouse, they discover a group of crazed, murderous outcasts living next door. As the group is attacked one by one by the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface, who wears a mask of human skin, the survivors must do everything they can to escape.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Screenplay
When Sally hears that her grandfather's grave may have been vandalized, she and her paraplegic brother, Franklin, set out with their friends to investigate. After a detour to their family's old farmhouse, they discover a group of crazed, murderous outcasts living next door. As the group is attacked one by one by the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface, who wears a mask of human skin, the survivors must do everything they can to escape.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Director
When Sally hears that her grandfather's grave may have been vandalized, she and her paraplegic brother, Franklin, set out with their friends to investigate. After a detour to their family's old farmhouse, they discover a group of crazed, murderous outcasts living next door. As the group is attacked one by one by the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface, who wears a mask of human skin, the survivors must do everything they can to escape.
The Windsplitter
Joby
Bobby Joe Smith returns to his home in a small town, having changed his name, his outlook on life, and gained a career as a Hollywood star. Bobby Joe finds a renewed love in Jenny Jenkins, his childhood sweetheart, whose father is the town reverend and who believes that Bobby Joe has returned as a corrupt and demoralized person. Jenny's father jealously wants no connections between Bobby and Jenny, and takes measures to keep Bobby Joe from attending any of the Homecoming activities by persuading some local boys to beat him up. This builds to a crashing climax which is utterly shocking and unexpected.
Peter Paul and Mary: The Song Is Love
Director of Photography
A documentary about the folk trio Peter, Paul & Mary.
Peter Paul and Mary: The Song Is Love
Editor
A documentary about the folk trio Peter, Paul & Mary.
Peter Paul and Mary: The Song Is Love
Director
A documentary about the folk trio Peter, Paul & Mary.
Eggshells
Editor
A group of hippie students in Austin, Texas move into an old big house in the woods. However, something else is there and it's influencing them.
Eggshells
Cinematography
A group of hippie students in Austin, Texas move into an old big house in the woods. However, something else is there and it's influencing them.
Eggshells
Writer
A group of hippie students in Austin, Texas move into an old big house in the woods. However, something else is there and it's influencing them.
Eggshells
Director
A group of hippie students in Austin, Texas move into an old big house in the woods. However, something else is there and it's influencing them.
Down Friday Street
Cinematography
Experimental documentary by Tobe Hooper and collaborators.
Down Friday Street
Director
Experimental documentary by Tobe Hooper and collaborators.
The Heisters
Editor
The teenage Tobe Hooper’s first film was a slapstick comedy. This farcical low-budget short is about three thieves who are wanted dead or alive. A bit Three Stooges, a bit Chaplin and a bit Keaton!
The Heisters
Producer
The teenage Tobe Hooper’s first film was a slapstick comedy. This farcical low-budget short is about three thieves who are wanted dead or alive. A bit Three Stooges, a bit Chaplin and a bit Keaton!
The Heisters
Writer
The teenage Tobe Hooper’s first film was a slapstick comedy. This farcical low-budget short is about three thieves who are wanted dead or alive. A bit Three Stooges, a bit Chaplin and a bit Keaton!
The Heisters
Director
The teenage Tobe Hooper’s first film was a slapstick comedy. This farcical low-budget short is about three thieves who are wanted dead or alive. A bit Three Stooges, a bit Chaplin and a bit Keaton!