What did 1974 critics say about Texas Chain Saw Massacre's realism and gore?

Research question: What did the first reviewers of Texas Chain Saw Massacre in 1974 say about its realism and violence, and how did they compare to reactions to Night of the Living Dead?

The records show that critics and audiences were affected mainly by the film's sheer emotional intensity, experiencing the events almost in real time alongside protagonist Sally Hardesty ¹. Its reputation for frightening viewers came from containing very little violence and gore, and it had gained a growing global reputation as one of the most frightening films ever made before its British classification ²³. For Night of the Living Dead (1968), critics read the film as a reflection of the Vietnam War era and American racial tensions, given its Black lead actor and bleak portrayal of government incompetence ⁵. The records do not include any 1974 reviews of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, so a direct comparison of the two sets of reactions cannot be made ⁵. The facts describe the near real-time intensity rather than using the word "realism," so that part of the question is only partly answered ¹.

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