I'm another one that says no. It does have slasher elements, but it's more of the crazy redneck family type movie.

I don't care it's better than a lot of other horror that do have the slasher label. Leatherface would kick Michael's sorry butt anyday.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: watch Halloween in a theater (if you can, of course)

It'll blow you away. Hearing that music blaring in a big theater, the gorgeous cinematography, and putting things into perspective (it was the perfect coalescing of everything that came before, and would be copied endlessly since) helps massively.....

Could be but I rather opt for Bay of Blood where the kills are done much better IMO. Also even on first watch saw from miles coming what would happen, I didn't feel that supposed tension, not to say Meyers didn't any effort to surprise. I guess the hypnosis of that movie seems to work on anyone but me.

Bay of Blood has great kills, sure, but these days I'm finding it to be a messy bore.

Nevertheless Bry boy you gave me nice idea for a thread

It depends on ones definition of slasher, really. Though when I think about main antagonists in slasher films, Leatherface isn't really one that comes to mind - at least not to the degree of characters like Jason, Michael, or even the sheriff from The Prowler. That's not to take anything away from how terrifying a character Leatherface truly is.
I think alot of it has to do with how the killers are presented. I typically view most 'slasher killers' as being cold and calculating, and usually have a singular purpose for their killing spree (and sometimes even taking perverse pleasure in stalking their prey) whereas Leatherface comes across as being more of a frightened animal that is defending his nest from outsiders.
So I'm kinda bordering on no to slasher, but still not 100% certain ..Now on the other hand, if the Hitchhiker had played a bigger role..... 👀

I don't think it is, but I wouldn't jriddle style harangue someone for claiming it as one. To me, the essence of a slasher film is mindlessness, not that the killer is necessarily mindless, but that the film is. That the substance of the film is absolutely reducible to somebody killing a bunch of people. I don't find that the case for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I think there's a lot of weird stuff going on there that can be unpicked, and that is a fundamental part of it (rather than the fringe weirdness of a lot of bad 80's slashers). I would say that the slasher really began with Halloween, but that there were numerous proto-slashers. I wouldn't bash someone for calling Black Christmas a straight slasher, or some of the old psychotronic serial killer stuff like The Love Butcher or Scream Bloody Murder (the one with Matthew, not the one that's also called My Brother Has Bad Dreams). The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is more like hicksploitation or some kind of family melodrama on acid to me though.

Nice, thoughtful reply. Thanks.