John Larroquette currently has 109 film and television credits on his résumé, and it all began with a job he did as a favor for a friend: he recorded a narration for the opening text crawl on Tobe Hooper’s 1974 film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (watch it HERE). It was a quick job that he wasn’t paid for and didn’t give much thought – but that narration has been heard and memorized by many genre fans over the years. When Platinum Dunes made the 2003 Chainsaw remake and its prequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, they wisely brought Larroquette back to provide some narration. And now Variety has broken the news that Larroquette has been asked to lend his voice to a Chainsaw movie for the fourth time. He has been brought back to narrate the opening of the new sequel, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which will be released through the Netflix streaming service on February 18th.
Director David Blue Garcia confirmed that we will be hearing Larroquette in the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre, saying:
It felt important to honor the original TCM at every opportunity. John’s voice is iconic in the original opening and we thought it would help set the perfect tone in our own intro. It’s also a subtle way of letting the fans know they’re in good hands.”
Scripted by Chris Thomas Devlin (based on a story by producers Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues), the new film has the following official synopsis:
After nearly 50 years of hiding, Leatherface returns to terrorize a group of idealistic young friends who accidentally disrupt his carefully shielded world in a remote Texas town.
Melody (Sarah Yarkin), her teenage sister Lila (Elsie Fisher), and their friends Dante (Jacob Latimore) and Ruth (Nell Hudson), head to the remote town of Harlow, Texas to start an idealistic new business venture. But their dream soon turns into a waking nightmare when they accidentally disrupt the home of Leatherface, the deranged serial killer whose blood-soaked legacy continues to haunt the area’s residents — including Sally Hardesty (Olwen Fouéré), the sole survivor of his infamous 1973 massacre who’s hell-bent on seeking revenge.
In addition to the actors mentioned above, the cast includes Moe Dunford, Jessica Allain, Sam Douglas, William Hope, Jolyon Coy, and Alice Krige, with Mark Burnham as Leatherface.
Garcia added that Larroquette and the characters of Leatherface and Sally aren’t the only elements that have been brought back for his Texas Chainsaw Massacre:
I can’t wait for fans to analyze and find all of the callbacks, some of which aren’t even intentional. I swear some stuff just happened and it’s kind of freaky. I will say that we shot with one of the original, working Poulan chainsaws from the original film. On set, every morning I would walk by the prop cart, touch it and get its blessing for the day. I wanted some of its ’70s magic.”
I’m always interested in seeing more Leatherface, so I’ll be watching Texas Chainsaw Massacre as soon as it’s available on Netflix.