Pics emerge from the set of Alexandre Bustillo/Julien Maury’s Leatherface

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Production on LEATHERFACE is now in full swing, with INSIDE directors Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury filming the TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE prequel in the unlikely location of Bulgaria, and pictures from the set have started leaking online.

Specifically, I found some interesting shots of the cast and locations on producer Christa Campbell's Instagram account and actor Sam Strike's Twitter, and have included a batch of them below. Some of the pictures were taken on Julien Maury's birthday, when the director was presented with a cake in the shape of a chainsaw.

This marks the first time that a CHAINSAW movie has been filmed outside of the states. Five of the previous seven films were made in Texas, the exceptions being LEATHERFACE: THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE III, which was shot in the California desert, and TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D, which was filmed in Louisiana, very near the Texas border. 

I know Bulgaria as the filming location of many a Syfy original and subpar direct-to-video sequel, but I'm trying not to let the association with lower quality productions cause me to be too concerned about LEATHERFACE just yet. The fact that Bustillo and Maury are at the helm definitely gives me hope.

Written by Seth M. Sherwood, this new entry in the 41-year-old franchise tells what happens when

a young nurse is kidnapped by a group of violent teens who escape from a mental hospital and take her on a road trip from hell. Pursued by an equally deranged lawman out for revenge, one of these teens is destined for tragedy and horrors that will destroy his mind, molding him into the monster we now call Leatherface.

Newcomer Vanessa Grasse plays the nurse, with the violent teens being portrayed by Strike, James Bloor, Sam Coleman, and Jessica Madsen. Stephen Dorff is the deranged lawman, and Lili Taylor is taking over the role of Verna Sawyer, Leatherface's family matriarch who was played by the original film's heroine Marilyn Burns in TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D.

Filming on LEATHERFACE will continue into June.