Many of the horror genre’s most terrifying villains have earned their frightening reputation from their mysterious backgrounds, with fans not needing to know why Michael Myers murdered his sister as a child to appreciate Halloween. With The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Leatherface and the rest of the Sawyer family are such sick individuals, there are plenty of disturbing stories that led them down this path, which the film Leatherface will explore. You can check out an all-new behind-the-scenes featurette about the creation of the film above.
In the film, three teens from the Sawyer family are committed to a mental institution due to their disturbing behavior. This facility is no match for them, as the teens manage to escape and take a nurse hostage in order to head back to their family farm. Meanwhile, a lawman (Stephen Dorff) is hot on their trail, nearly equaling their sick and twisted behaviors.
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2005 saw the release of Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, which many movie fans might consider the only necessary prequel in the franchise. That film, however, was merely a prequel to the 2003 remake of the original film, which reimagined the source material to give a slightly different story. Leatherface, on the other hand, is meant to be a prequel to the original 1974 film and its three sequels.
The film was directed by French duo Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury who aimed to show an all-new side of the story.
Many installments in the franchise have leaned into the inherent gore and torture of the film’s title and, while plenty of blood will be shed in the upcoming film, Bustillo and Maury aimed to infuse a beauty into the bedlam.
Star Lily Taylor explained, “What attracted me to Leatherface was really talking with Alex and Julien. When they told me they wanted to do something that was a cross between Terrence Malick, like Badlands and Virgin Suicides, I thought, ‘I’m there.’”
Having previously starred in The Conjuring, which has gone on to become of the most successful horror franchises of the decade, the actress clearly knows how to pick winners.
Taylor added, “What I love is this stuff that’s happening with people pushing the genre as far as they can push it, that’s what’s exciting to me.”
Fans can enjoy Leatherface when it hits DirecTV on September 21 and on VOD and in limited theatrical release on October 20.
