Just when you thought there was not a chance of seeing a franchise get destroyed any further, we now have an official title and a screenwriter for the next installment/reboot of the TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. Following last year’s lackluster TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D starring the gorgeous Alexandra Daddario, a prequel has been developed that will be simply titled LEATHERFACE.
Like 2006’s prequel/sequel THE BEGINNING, LEATHERFACE will go back to the origins of the chainsaw wielding psychopath with a mask made out of human flesh. Leatherface has become the symbol of the series in the last forty years and was the namesake for the 1990 entry in the original franchise.
There are very few details about the new film aside from the fact it will be written by Seth M. Sherwood and that it will be set in the 1970s and follow Leatherface during his teen years. Whether this means it will follow the continuity with last year’s TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D remains to be seen. A director is likely to be announced soon.
I have always loved the original TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and the quirky sequel. Hell, even the 1994 relaunch with Renee Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey was kind of fun, but the recent films have all seemed to take the magic out of what was a chilling concept. Here’s hoping this new take may give back some credibility to the cannibalistic horror icon, but I won’t hold my breath.