The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) is a classic film in its genre and loved by most horror fans (even the 2003 remake starring Jessica Biel isn’t too bad). Like many great horror films, the story revolves around a psychopath who goes on a disgusting, bloody killing-spree, and the innocent teenagers in his path have no idea what is coming for them. It is safe to say that one of the main questions that come from watching these movies – Texas Chainsaw in particular – is why? What on earth possesses these characters to commit such atrocious acts of violence? What could possibly have happened to them to turn them into the monsters we will never be able to forget?
Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury’s Leatherface sets out to answer this question. We all know that Leatherface’s face is ruined beyond repair, which is why he decides using other people’s faces is the solution. This seems excessive since makeup exists, but as horror fans, we just accept this as the reality. We also know that Leatherface’s family is just as deranged as he is – it’s just something that runs in the family. So, what happened before all of this? Why is his face ruined? Was he crazy before that?
It Runs in the Family
Leatherface begins with a seemingly normal birthday dinner for a young boy, Jed (Boris Kabakchiev). Lili Taylor plays Verna, the matriarch of the family. (The Conjuring, The Haunting). Things seem fine until Jed’s older brother cuts into the birthday cake and we find it’s meat-filled – whether it’s pork or human, who knows? He then shoves the meat-cake into their dinner guest’s mouth. Young Jed is the only uncomfortable one at this table and is especially uncomfortable when his mother commands him to use a chainsaw to punish the guest who apparently tried to steal a pig from their farm. Chainsaws seem to be the weapon of choice for this family.
The opening scene is full of shaky close-ups that really don’t do anything but come off tacky. In fact, every creepy family member gets a handheld close-up. It did help get a good look at how dirty they were – a typical trait of the hillbilly-murderer, but there was nothing unique about it. It might have been engaging if they had kept that up throughout the film, but as soon as the introduction to the Sawyer family is over, it all gets pretty standard from there.
Again, this is one of those times where we just need to accept what is given to us – an entire family that believes chainsaws are the best way to bond with each other. Naturally, they couldn’t get away with it for too long because their next victim was the sheriff’s daughter. One thing leads to another, and Jed is taken from his sick family and given to Child Protection Services. Child Protection Services somehow ends up being a psychiatric hospital, but anything is better than being forced into a family business that you’re just not interested in.
Meet Jackson
Ten years later, we meet Nurse Lizzy (Vanessa Grasse) who is new to Gorman House Youth Reformatory and is eager to help her patients in their recovery. There, she meets a patient called Jackson (Sam Strike), although he is obviously Jed all grown up. Jackson is sweet, and the two form an instant bond. As expected, she also meets some other less amiable characters. From here, it really is hard to believe a character such as Jackson could possibly turn into a chainsaw-wielding, face-transplanting psychopath.
Grasse and Strike’s performances are pretty decent, although I think it’d be difficult for a competent actor to mess these roles up. Innocent, young nurse and a lonely, companion-seeking young man. Lili Taylor is no stranger to horror flicks (The Haunting, The Conjuring), but there wasn’t a ton to work with here: just be an overbearing mother who encourages murder and you’ve nailed this character.
Shortly after introductions to our main characters, Verna breaks all the patients out of Gorman House in an effort to let Jed find his way home. Lizzy, Jackson, and their large-but-quiet friend Bud (Sam Coleman) are taken hostage by two violent patients, Clarice and Ike (Jessica Madsen and James Bloor). Clarice and Ike are definitely terrifying and fun to watch – they should have had their own movie. However, they are completely irrelevant and unnecessary to this story. When Clarice and Ike get caught by police, Jackson wants to run, and Lizzy wants to ask them for help. Jackson sees this as betrayal and it is his first step to turning back into Jed.
Leatherface Conclusion: Eh.
If Bustillo and Maury were trying to give us , they failed. If they were aiming for something predictable and boring, they accomplished it. There’s truly nothing about Leatherface that one couldn’t guess was going to happen.
Kim Henkle and Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, 1974) created a character that should have a perfectly dismal, insane, vile beginning, and we got none of that. The screenwriter for Leatherface, Seth M. Sherwood, has some explaining to do. After all, it doesn’t seem likely that one little betrayal from an otherwise kind nurse could turn Jackson into Leatherface. It really doesn’t make sense.
All in all, if you don’t go into the movie with high expectations, it could fill the purpose of a scary-movie-night with friends. If you’re an avid horror fan, it probably isn’t worth it. Leatherface deserves a much more interesting beginning than this.
Did you see Leatherface? Was it boring or did you get a good scare? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
Leatherface was released in the USA on September 21, 2017. For all international release dates, see here.
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