While Michael Myers has been enjoying quite the career renaissance thanks to his no-nonsense return in 2019’s Halloween, the rest of the horror icons from the 70’s and 80’s have mostly been staying in an extended period of hibernation. However, while ongoing legal battles keep Jason Voorhees as firmly in the grave as an axe wielding final girl, some of his fellow slashers are starting to some momentum on some future projects with the COVID delayed Halloween Kills due to finally be released in October and Chucky scoring his very own TV series – but possibly most surprisingly of all a brand news Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie is set to roar onto screens due to a new installment that has already wrapped filming. Join me now as we head back down south, chew on some suspicious BBQ and attempt to shed some light of Leatherface’s ninth coming.
5. The Film Is Being Overseen By Fede Alvarez
No stranger to updating throwback bloodletting thanks to directing the spirited Evil Dead remake, Fede Alvarez is guiding this newest installment in a producing capacity. Also responsible for helming the magnificent Don’t Breathe and the so-so The Girl In The Spider’s Web, Alverez has stated that the new movie will follow un the new Halloween’s footsteps and will be a direct sequel to Tobe Hooper’s original. He’s also maintained that the filming style will retain the same same style, saying – “everything is classic, old school gags. A lot of the approach that we had with Evil Dead – never VFX, to do everything on camera. It’s a very old school approach to filmmaking. Vintage lenses… it’s very similar to the original film.”
4. The Casting Seems Fairly Spot On
Set during the present day and featuring an “Old Man Leatherface”, this new rev of the saw has the intriguing premise of bring back the series original final girl, Sally Hardesty who was originally playing to shrieking perfection by the late Marilyn Burns. Stepping in to play the character (who according to other sequels died in a mental institution after being driven hopelessly insane by her ordeal) is Olwen Fouélé who is most famous as being one of the murderous cult members in the Nic Cage freak-o-thon, Mandy. Whether Sally has a starring role similar to Jamie Lee Curtis return in Halloween is unsure but playing the monstrous Leatherface opposite her will be the 6.4′ Mark Burnham, last seen in luchador, organ harvesting crime comedy Lowlife.
3. We Already Have A Poster
Released out of nowhere late last year, the movie’s one sheet promises an appropriately grimy viewing experience while predictably telling up absolutely nothing about the plot. Is that Leatherface’s mask we’re looking at? Is the fact that it’s painted on a canvas relevant (possibly therapy for Sally)? That being said, the design feature an awsome little easter egg in the form of a little figure of the saw twirling killer himself at the bottom of the picture.
2. The Director Is A Relative Newcomer
Helmed by Emmy Award winning director/cinematographer David Blue Garcia, the film is bound to have a distinct style as seen in the film maker’s only other directing credit, the drug smuggling thriller, Tejano. Appropriately hailing from Texas himself, Garcia hopefully is a savvy choice to bring a gritty, hideous beauty to however Leatherface has desided to decorate his surroundings in this film…
1. The Plot Confirms “Old Man Leatherface”
As of writing, actual plot details are as sketchy as Leatherface’s few lucid moments, but with the news that it us confirmed that it’s a direct follow on from the orginal means all bets are off. This makes sense seeing as The Texas Massacre features a timeline that makes both the Halloween and X-Men franchises seem like straight forward affairs with Leatherface’s name and history wildly shifting from movie to movie. However, with Legendary’s control of the franchise, things should streamline a bit – which is a good thing this is a series that contains not one, but two origin prequels. However, the contemporary setting does bring up uncomfortable memories of the risable Texas Chainsaw 3D back in 2013 which also featured an older (but surprisingly spry) Leatherface and ended with him house sharing with a young distant relative (no, really).
Wherever the path the movie chooses to take, the most unpredictable aspect of this new movie is it’s release date which proves to be (alongside a trailer) to be as exclusive as it’s face wearing antagonist. Whether the rampaging legend can stir up enough buzz (get it?) to rival Michael Myers’ impressive resurgence will remain to be seen but it’ll still be nice to check in with the gibbering maniac once again and see how he’s getting up to old tricks… more news when we get it.
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