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Tim Harden's website (
That monolith over the dead fella's shoulder had already stood for 108 years when Saw was filmed 30 summers ago. |
While my camera's near the appropriate spot, a wider angle lens would be needed to match the perspective of the film. |
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Welcome to Quick Hill where rural renewal looms on all sides. Old Country Road 172 has been closed for years and a new stretch of SH 45 now bisects it where the Black Maria cattle truck sits in the frame below. (Poor Ed Neal!)
Here's a look at the other end of old 172 (just steps off Hesters Crossing Road). This is the direction the pickup carrying Sally heads at the end of the flick. That tiny dot in the frame below is a deeply despondent Leatherface. |
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The driveway to the former Quick Hill site of the Leatherface House is just off old 172. The original fence line can be seen in the overgrowth to the left. Again, the cinematic perspective is lost with my point-and-shoot camera. To the right, a new fence and stretch of highway 45 skirts the property line.
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Five years earlier, the neglected hulk of Leatherface's crib would've been dead ahead. That tree to the right once screened the farmhouse's facade.
This perspective pivots to the right and shows just how close the property is to a redevelopment frenzy. |
Yours truly beats feet down the driveway. |
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Another peek at what remains of the driveway. The climatic scenes of the flick were shot on this very spot. Awwww! Leatherface fall down.
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Leatherface returns to the scene of the crime -- now a charming Hill Country eatery known as Four Bears Restaurant.
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Yours truly peers inside. Hello!?! Anyone home!?!
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Hmmmm. No answer. Guess I'll just show myself in.
Even though the ramp and steel door were only temporary set pieces, and don't remain today, the spot is still Four Bears' most popular photo-op. |
Hey! I wonder what's back there? ... *BONK!*
Here's a view into the dining room where Grandpa tried to brain Sally with a hammer. Again and again and again. |
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For 27 agonizing hours, in blazing August temperatures, cast and crew holed up in THIS room shooting cinema's most depraved din-din scene. Fortunately for Four Bears diners, lovely lace curtains, hansom hardwoods and Spanish artwork have long since replaced the previous occupant's slaughterhouse decor.
Yours truly feasted on a divine cheeseburger right here in Bob Burns' famed "Chicken Room" -- so nicknamed by fans for the road-kill maestro's brainstorm to stuff a live hen into a canary cage and otherwise make the joint look like Ed Gein's estate sale. |
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Unfortunately, in an enraptured state, I thought it'd be a hoot to leap out the window like Sally -- without the benefit of break-away glass. Ouch!
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Somehow my reenactment of cinematographer Daniel Pearl's immortal dolly shot fails to achieve the same majesty. My hindquarters just doesn't rank next to Teri "Meat Hook" McMinn -- so I resort to blatant self-promotion.
A look at the gingerbread trim and second-story balcony of this Queen Anne treasure. |
Fussy Franklin would be pleased to know that Four Bears is fully wheelchair accessible via a ramp on the right side of the porch. |
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Sorry folks, gas truck won't be by again -- ever.
Leatherface stands ready to slash prices on gas, food, beer and barbecue. |
The kitty below the car wash sign shall henceforth be known as Headcheese. (Poor devil.) |
Well, that's it! Whata trip! Thanks again to Tim Harden for bustin' his hiney ferreting out all these locations on his website for fellow fans to enjoy. Remember all you little maniacs, the Saw is family! Hope you enjoyed the slideshow. Feel free to drop me a line. |