Leatherface from Texas Chainsaw Massacre will always be an iconic horror legend. Now, Netflix have entered into the maniac’s iconography as they share the first teaser trailer of the new instalment of his story.
Netflix has also released two first-look photos to the film, one of which shows the silhouette of the deranged Leatherface carrying his iconic chainsaw. As seen in the video, he breaks a wall and takes out his rusty chainsaw to unleash his wrath upon innocent, unsuspecting victims, namely the four characters seen in the second picture released by Netflix.
Netflix has managed to bag exclusive streaming rights to the David Blue Garcia-directed film from Legendary Pictures, which is a sequel to Tobe Hooper’s 1974 classic of the same name.
The new film will not be taking into account the other spin-offs and will take place directly after the harrowing events of the 1974 flick, beginning with a premise where Leatherface has mysteriously disappeared.
In the original film, two siblings and their friends go to visit their grandfather’s grave in Texas when they are captured by a family of cannibalistic psychopaths. As the struggle for survival against these menacing people ensues, Leatherface, with his scary, buzzing chainsaw, is on the hunt for blood.
Based on Chris Thomas Devlin’s script, Elsie Fisher, Jacob Latimore, Moe Dunford and Sarah Yarkin are starring in major roles. Yarkin and Latimore play Melody and Dante, business partners, on the lookout for a hot location when they stumble upon this Texan ghost town and try to make it the “next hip place to be”. When they ignore the “history” of their town, trouble begins.
Director Fede Alvarez revealed how the film will be “pretty hardcore” despite retaining the “simplicity” of its predecessor. “We wanted to come up with a very simple premise [with] a powerful domino effect,” he said. “Everything is set up in the right place — all you have to do is push the first domino and everything will happen effortlessly.”
Since this film deals with gentrification, it is a direct reference to the first film. According to Alvarez, the first film managed to “ really hit a nerve when portraying that culture clash between the countryside and the city”. As the entrepreneurs tried to “ gentrify small-town America”, they faced major “pushback” in the form of the terrifying Leatherface.
According to Alvarez, Leatherface, portrayed by Mark Burnham in this film, is still alive to protect the sanctity of the town. Burnham has big shoes to fill given the late Gunnar Hansen’s iconic role in the original.
The film will debut on Netflix on February 18, 2022.
