The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is an independent low-budget influential horror film made in 1973 by director Tobe Hooper. It concerns a family in rural Texas, who abduct customers from their gas station and those unlucky enough to stumble upon their house. Produced on a budget of just over USD$83,000, the film grossed $30,859,000 at the U.S. box office, making it one of the most successful independent films in cinema history, along with Halloween (1978) and The Blair Witch Project (1999). The financing for this film came from the profits of Deep Throat, a previous adult film the production company had financed.