Presented in conjunction with our weeklong run of Tobe Hooper’s legendary The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), this series highlights the late director’s celebrated and controversial genre films of the 1980s: The Funhouse (1981), Poltergeist (1982), Invaders from Mars (1986), Lifeforce (1985), and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986). After starting the decade with the classical slasher The Funhouse (which earned him a chapter in Quentin Tarantino’s book Cinema Speculation) and a high-profile collaboration with Steven Spielberg on Poltergeist, Hooper turned to science fiction with a B-film-inspired remake of Invaders from Mars, followed by the bizarre, ill-fated space-vampire epic Lifeforce. Hooper closed out his ’80s run with the delirious sequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, which is considered by some superior to the original. Although he continued to challenge taboos—and decorum—on screen in the ’90s and into the 2000s, promising Hooper horror titles like Spontaneous Combustion, The Mangler, Night Terrors, and Toolbox Murders failed to impress critics or attract audiences.
Museum of Modern Art is at The Museum of Modern Art 11 West 53rd Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues New York, NY 10019, New York, NY.
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART PRESENTS Paramount in the 1970s AUGUST 21 to SEPTEMBER 15 (8/21/24-9/15/24)
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART PRESENTS The Texas Chainsaw Massacre at 50 AUGUST 8 to 14 (8/8/24-8/14/24)
Rialto at 25 (4/19/23-5/22/23)
Georgia O'Keeffe: To See Takes Time (4/9/23-8/12/23)
Guillermo del Toro: Tales of Mourning and Imagination (1/9/23-1/29/23)
Videos
![]() |
HONOR
Gene Frankel Theatre (9/19 - 10/6) | |
![]() |
The Music of the Bard: Words & Music of Shakespeare in the Park 1956-1967
Joe's Pub (9/16 - 9/16) | |
![]() |
Tin Church
Chain Theatre (10/23 - 11/23) NEW PLAY | |
![]() |
Kiss Me While We Have the Chance
The Green Room 42 (10/28 - 10/28) LIMITED TICKETS REMAIN
PHOTOS
| |
![]() |
Tom Blanc Fing Dies
Under St. Marks (9/12 - 9/15) LIMITED TICKETS REMAIN | |
![]() |
Olivia O, The Musical
Chain Theater (9/29 - 9/29) | |
![]() |
Calling all Performing Artists! Apply for VSPS 2025!
Mark DeGarmo Dance (8/22 - 9/30) | |
![]() |
Subway Windows
Chain Theatre (9/15 - 9/15) | |
![]() |
An Evening with Stanley Tucci: What I Ate In One Year (and related thoughts)
The Theatre at MSG (10/15 - 10/15) | |
London Philharmonic Orchestra with Patricia Kopatchinskaja
Carnegie Hall (10/19 - 10/19) | ||
VIEW SHOWS ADD A SHOW |
Recommended For You