Following Films Podcast: Alexandre O. Philippe on CHAIN REACTIONS, LYNCH/OZ, and WEAPONS

Today, we’re diving into a film that’s as much about cinema history as it is about the raw, unsettling power of horror. Fifty years after Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre shocked the world and permanently altered the landscape of filmmaking, a new documentary is taking a hard, fascinating look at its legacy.

It’s called Chain Reactions—winner of the Venice Classics Award for Best Documentary on Cinema and an official selection at festivals like Telluride, Sitges, and BFI London. The film brings together voices like Patton Oswalt, Takashi Miike, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Stephen King, and Karyn Kusama, weaving their personal impressions, memories, and even traumas into a dialogue about how one scrappy, no-budget horror film embedded itself into our collective nightmares—and never left.

The documentary is written and directed by Alexandre O. Philippe, a filmmaker who has carved out his own space as the leading voice in what he calls “cinema essays.” From 78/52 to Memory: The Origins of Alien to Lynch/Oz, Philippe has built a career exploring not just movies, but the cultural and artistic forces behind them. With Chain Reactions, he once again peels back the layers of a cinematic landmark.

Chain Reactions in now playing in New York and Los Angeles and will expand nationwide on 9/26. Now on to my conversation with Alexandre O. Philippe— I hope you enjoy the show

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