Death, though at our core as horror film fans, is one of the most unexplained and hardest to understand moments in a humans life. Why did they have to go? Was there any pain? What will their family do without them? Fact of the matter is, you may not react the same way to every single person who passes away in your life, just as others will react differently when someone passes. So many opposing thoughts and feelings run through your mind at the moment that you lose a loved one that not a whole lot makes senses, and that means your words aren’t always the most straight forward. This weekend, on Saturday, November 7th, the world of horror lost Gunnar Hansen, an icon in the genre most known for playing Leatherface in 1974’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Gunnar’s passing was a trending topic on Facebook and Twitter and even went to print in media sources such as TMZ, Us Weekly and Variety. Cinema viewers, who would also recognize Hansen for his roles in Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, Mosquito and Murder-Set-Pieces, were shocked by his sudden passing and the film community in general was in a state of sadness. Whether or not readers are horror fans, a certain level of respect has been displayed for the late actor. Until yesterday, apparently, when another horror icon made some opinionated comments in reference to Gunnar’s death. Tom Savini, “the godfather of gore” known for his work in Creepshow, Day of the Dead, Friday the 13th and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, went on his personal Facebook account to share his feelings on the death of Leatherface. The post has since been deleted, but I provided a screen-cap of it above.
Now, personally, I don’t see anything wrong with Tom Savini’s comments at all. The beginning lines of his post are reminiscent to the old poem, Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep… I am not there, I do not sleep. Basically what he’s saying is life is for living, not chaining yourself to the misery that comes with losing a loved one; something that is quite common. He, then, goes on to mention the people who use a celebrity death to play victim and get sympathy from acquaintances and colleagues. We’ve all seen the posts, “My life will never be the same again!” “You were my favorite actor ever!” “Thank you for being such a good friend even though we only met for 30 seconds at a horror convention!” These posts are, usually, made by people who weren’t even talking about the deceased celebrity months or even years earlier. Again, just another cry for attention. I was moved to tears by the passing of Wes Craven this summer, but I have never pertained to know him or felt that my life has changed dramatically due to his passing.
People were so flustered and outraged by these comments that Tom Savini deleted his post and even went as far as to issue an (unneeded) apology to the crybabies. I’ve provided that for you here. Here is my ONLY annoyance with Tom’s comments in the past 12 hours… His apology is only furthering the agenda of the politically correct, all inclusive, offended for the sake of being offended assbags who are ruining this country. At the end of the day, we are all entitled to our thoughts and feelings, and Mr. Savini is entitled to mourn the death of a colleague in anyway that he wants, regardless if you agree or not. What makes you entitled to tell someone else how to express their emotions during a difficult time? Why are you offended by someone you’ve never met over a celebrity you’ve never met? Get your heads out of your asses and leave good ol’ Savini alone. It is not the time or place or the circumstance to start new grudges. As Tom concluded his original post, “Let’s talk about Gunnar.” He was a hoot, right?
If you want to pick a fight, please direct your energy towards Andrew Bryniarski, who played Leatherface in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake and Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. You can find him on Facebook and Twitter. Have at it, gorehounds.
