Save for Hellraiser, none of the other big horror icon franchises from the ’70s and ’80s has been dragged through the mud as much as Texas Chainsaw Massacre. As with Pinhead, Leatherface‘s first two cinematic adventures are stone cold classics, but the drop in quality begins almost immediately after that. To say that its been a rocky road since would be an understatement.
Half a dozen films later, we arrive at Leatherface, the latest attempt at keeping the series adrift. I wish I could say that this film, which has a lot of talent in front of and behind the camera, was a winner. It’s not. Some have labeled it the worst film in the TCM saga to date. I wouldn’t go that far, as both 1994’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation and 2006’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning still reign supreme in that regard. Sadly, saying this outing succeeds over both of those is faint praise.
On the positive end of the spectrum, this is a handsomely photographed film and it’s well-directed. Despite the project going through reshoots and having a rough road to release, it still looks great. The credit for this lays at the feet of directors Alexandre Bustillo & Julien Maury (Inside, Livid) and cinematographer Antoine Sanier (Among the Living). Saving things in front of the camera are Lili Taylor (The Conjuring) and Stephen Dorff (Blade), reuniting a decade after starring together in I Shot Andy Warhol.
The rest of the cast do their best, but the mess of a screenplay they have been saddled with sinks a lot of their characters. Most either come off as empty or full-blown caricatures, despite the best efforts of the actors. The script is the core of the film’s problems, constantly making a mess of its characters as it refuses to decide what kind of movie it wants to be at every turn.
In terms of the franchise as a whole, Leatherface doesn’t even fit its established continuity. This project was meant to be a trilogy-forming prequel that connected The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013) together. Unfortunately, none of the reoccurring characters across all three feel of a piece. This makes a mess of a film even messier and takes away one more reason for fans to suffer through it.
At the end of the day, this is one to skip. Outside of being well-made from a technical standpoint, having a few great gore moments, and containing some nice unhinged performances by Taylor & Dorff, there’s nothing to recommend here. If you want to watch a film titled “Leatherface”, you’re better off tracking down a copy of 1990’s Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III. While far from perfect, at least it offers up a solid slasher tale.
Perhaps someday someone will rescue this franchise again, but it’s disheartening when otherwise good horror filmmakers (Bustillo & Maury) are saddled with a screenplay so misguided and terrible that they cannot overcome it. Here’s hoping they move on to better things in the future and Bubba Sawyer is left alone for awhile. He more deserves a cinematic nap at this point.
Leatherface is the eighth film in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise. It is directed by Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury, from a screenplay by Seth M. Sherwood. The film is produced by Christa Campbell, Lati Grobman, Carl Mazzocone, and Les Weldon. It stars Sam Strike as ‘Jackson’, Vanessa Grasse as ‘Lizzy White’, Lili Taylor as ‘Verna Sawyer’, Stephen Dorff as ‘Texas Ranger Hal Hartman’, James Bloor as ‘Ike’, Jessica Madsen as ‘Clarice’, Sam Coleman as ‘Bud’, Finn Jones as ‘Deputy Sorells’, Chris Adamson as ‘Dr. Lang’, Dejan Angelov as ‘Nubbins Sawyer’, and Dimo Alexiev as ‘Drayton Sawyer’.
Leatherface is now playing in limited theatrical release and is available across most VOD/digital outlets.
