This film is part of Legendary Entertainment's alternate timeline, with it originating from the 1974 original film as with the original timeline. For the 2003 remake film, click here. For the 2013 reboot, click here.
| Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022) | |
|---|---|
 The Face of Madness Returns | |
| Directed by | David Blue Garcia |
| Produced by | Fede Álvarez |
| Written by | Chris Thomas Devlin |
| Starring | Sarah Yarkin Ellie Fisher |
| Music by | Colin Stelson |
| Distributed by | Netflix |
| Release date(s) | February 18, 2022 |
| Running time | 1 hr 38 min (83 mins) |
| Language | English |
| Budget | - |
| Gross revenue | N/A |
| Preceded by | The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013, alternate timeline) |
| Followed by | TBA |
Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a 2022 American slasher film, directed by David Blue Garcia, with a screenplay by Chris Thomas Devlin, from an original story co-written by Fede Álvarez and Rodo Sayagues. It serves as the ninth installment of the franchise and a sequel set fifty years after the original film. Similarly to Texas Chainsaw 3D, while it does not ignore the events of the third film, it however, omits the events of the second[1] and fourth film[2], though Fede Álvarez clarified that Texas Chainsaw Massacre does not outright erase the second film.[3]
The project for the film is a joint-venture production between Legendary Pictures, Bad Hombre, and Exurbia Films. It stars Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, Mark Burnham, Jacob Latimore, Moe Dunford, Olwen Fouéré, Alice Krige, Jessica Allain, and Nell Hudson.
After the release of Leatherface in 2017, Lionsgate had plans for five more films in the franchise. However, the studio lost the rights due to the time it took to release it. Legendary acquired the franchise's rights, with Álvarez and Sayagues serving as producers alongside Pat Cassidy, Ian Henkel, and Kim Henkel who co-wrote the original film. Duo filmmakers Ryan and Andy Tohill were initially signed on as directors, but were replaced with Garcia due to creative differences. Filming took place in Bulgaria in August 2020.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre was released on February 18, 2022 on Netflix.
Premise[]
″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.″
Plot[]
50 years after Leatherface's killing spree in 1973, young entrepreneurs Melody and Dante, Melody's sister Lila and Dante's girlfriend Ruth travel to the abandoned Texas town of Harlow, to auction off old properties to create a trendy, heavily gentrified area. While inspecting a dilapidated orphanage, the group discover it is still occupied by an elderly woman called Virginia "Ginny" McCumber. Though Melody and Dante were warmly welcomed they tried to evict her from the orphanage, but Ms. McCumber claims that she has papers to prove that she still legally owns the property and is thus allowed to continue living in the orphanage. During an ensuing argument, Ms. McCumber start having breathing problems, forcing her to use an oxygen tank and mask so she could regain oxygen. The argument was then interrupted by a silent, hulking man, who appeared on the stairway. Seeing him, Ms. McCumber assures that she herself is fine and tells him to return to his room, which the man did.
Ms. McCumber then reveals to Melody that the man living in the orphanage is the last of the people who lived in the building and is the reason on why she would never leave. When two police officers from a sheriff county arrived to evict to collapses from a heart attack and is rushed to the hospital, accompanied by Ruth and the man. An investor, Catherine, along with a group of potential buyers arrive in Harlow on a large bus, distracting Melody and Dante. Meanwhile, Lila strikes up a friendship with a local mechanic, Richter, and reveals she was a survivor of a school shooting, leaving her terrified of guns. Ginny dies en route to the hospital; Ruth texts Melody before the man goes berserk and murders the officers driving the ambulance, leading it to crash.
When Ruth awakes, she witnesses the man, revealed to be Leatherface, cutting off Ginny's face to wear as a mask. Ruth manages to radio for help before being killed by Leatherface, who makes his way back to Harlow. During a property auction, Melody reads Ruth's texts and prepares to leave with Lila. Richter overhears them talking about Ginny's death and takes their keys, agreeing to give them back once they provide proof they rightfully removed Ginny from her home. Melody and Dante return to the orphanage to find them.
Sally Hardesty, the sole survivor of Leatherface's previous killing spree and now a battle-hardened Texas Ranger, learns of Ruth's attack and heads out to investigate. At the orphanage, Melody discovers the papers and realizes that Ginny was wrongfully evicted. Leatherface arrives at the orphanage and attacks Dante, mutilating him. Melody hides as Leatherface retrieves his chainsaw from his bedroom. A thunderstorm hits Harlow as night falls, and Catherine and Lila take cover in the bus with the buyers. Dante manages to stumble out of the orphanage where he is discovered by Richter before bleeding to death. Richter enters the orphanage and is attacked and killed by Leatherface. Melody retrieves the car and bus keys from his body before fleeing the house, reuniting with Lila. They get on the bus, pursued by Leatherface who slaughters all of the people aboard, including Catherine.
Melody and Lila escape the carnage and come across Sally who locks them in her car before entering the orphanage to finally confront Leatherface. She holds him at gunpoint, demanding he remembers the pain he inflicted on her and her friends, but is met by only silence before Leatherface walks away. Leatherface then attacks the sisters in Sally's car but they are saved by Sally who shoots him. Sally gives Melody the keys to drive away before pursuing Leatherface. Leatherface ambushes and fatally injures Sally. Melody hits Leatherface with Sally's car before crashing into a nearby building; Melody is trapped but orders Lila to run away. When Leatherface appears, Melody apologizes for what they did to Ginny. As he moves in to attack, Lila attempts to shoot him, but her gun is empty. Sally shoots him instead and he flees. Before dying, she encourages Lila not to run as she will be forever haunted by him as she was.
Lila then takes Sally's shotgun and pursues Leatherface into an abandoned building where she is ambushed and attacked. Melody arrives and takes Leatherface's chainsaw before using it to uppercut him, knocking him into a pool of water where he sinks to the bottom. They escape and Lila finds Sally's hat and puts it on before starting the morning drive back home.
However, Leatherface emerges, still alive, and drags Melody out of the car before decapitating her with his chainsaw in the middle of the street. A horrified Lila watches as the self-driving car takes her out of Harlow. Leatherface dances in the street with his chainsaw and Melody's head. In a post-end credit scene, Leatherface returns to his family farm.
Cast[]
- Sarah Yarkin as Melody:
- A 25-year old San Francisco moneymaker who drags her younger teenage sister with her to Texas on a business trip, out of fear of leaving her alone in the city.
- Elsie Fisher as Lila:
- Melody's teenage sister and an amateur photographer who is the survivor of a school shooting.
- Mark Burnham as Leatherface
- Jacob Latimore as Dante:
- A close friend of Melody and Lila.
- Moe Dunford as Richter
- A stereotypical Southern patriot and mechanic in Texas, who eventually befriends Lila.
- Olwen Fouéré as Sally Hardesty: The only survivor of Leatherface's killing spree from the 1974 film.
- Sally was previously portrayed by Marilyn Burns in the original 1974 film.
- Due to Burns' death in 2014, the character was recast.
- Sally was previously portrayed by Marilyn Burns in the original 1974 film.
- Alice Krige as Virginia "Ginny" McCumber
- The homeowner of the empty house and the caretaker of Leatherface, whom she took into her care sometime prior or after the events of the 1973 massacre.
- Jessica Allain as Catherine:
- An investor and a close friend of Melody and Lila.
- Nell Hudson as Ruth
- Dante's girlfriend
- Sam Douglas as Herb
- William Hope as Sheriff Hathaway
- Jolyon Coy as Unknown
- John Larroquette as film's narrator
Production[]
Development[]
Initially during the development of Leatherface which was released in 2017, the producers had the film rights and intention to make five more Texas Chainsaw Massacre films. In April 2015, producer Christa Campbell stated that the fate of the potential sequels would largely depend on the financial and critical reception to Leatherface. By December 2017, Lionsgate and Millennium Films had lost the film rights, due to the amount of time it took to release Leatherface.
In August 2018, it was reported that Legendary Pictures had entered preliminary negotiations to purchase the film rights to Texas Chainsaw Massacre, with the studio intending to adapt television and film installments. The following year, Fede Álvarez signed onto the project as producer. In November 2019, Chris Thomas Devlin joined the production as screenwriter. In February 2020, Ryan Tohill and Andy Tohill were hired to serve as co-directors for the film. In May of the same year, it was announced that the film will serve as a sequel to the original film. The plot will feature a 60-year-old Leatherface, notably similar to the approach that Blumhouse Productions took with their Halloween films.
Casting[]
In October 2020, it was announced that Elsie Fisher had been cast to star in the film alongside Sarah Yarkin, Moe Dunford, Alice Krige, Jacob Latimore, Nell Hudson, Jessica Allain, Sam Douglas, William Hope, and Jolyon Coy. In March 2021, it was revealed that Mark Burnham had been cast as Leatherface, replacing the late Gunnar Hansen, while Olwen Fouéré was cast as Sally Hardesty, replacing the late Marilyn Burns.
Filming[]
Principal photography commenced on August 17, 2020 in Bulgaria. However, after being unimpressed with what was filmed, the studio fired Ryan and Andy Tohill. David Blue Garcia was hired to replace them as director. The footage shot by the Tohill brothers would not be used, with Garcia starting over on the production.
Post-production[]
By March 2021, Álvarez announced that production had completed, while confirming that the film would focus on an older-aged Leatherface. The filmmaker revealed that the production took an "old school" approach to filmmaking, noting vintage lenses and practical effects used for the gore. The following month, the film was officially titled Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It was believed at one point that the title had changed to Texas Chainsaw Begins but Devlin denied this. In May, it was reported that after test screenings, the audience reaction was generally negative. However by August, Álvarez counterclaimed that the overall audience score was mostly positive, while emphasizing that the film remains respectful to the first film's legacy.
That same month, it was revealed that Colin Stetson served as composer for the film.
Marketing[]
In October 2020, Legendary Pictures launched the official website for the film, which includes a motion poster and a limited time offer for a "Calling Card" downloadable content for the Call of Duty: Warzone and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare video games. The website never updated since the promotion.
Release[]
In October 2020, the film was initially stated for a theatrical release sometime in 2021.
However, in August 2021, the film was revealed to skip a theatrical release and would instead be released exclusively on Netflix.
In October 2021, during an "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) on the social media site Reddit, Álvarez stated that the film was most likely planned for an early 2022 release date. On December 3, 2021, a first look of the film was released, along with the announcement of its February 18 release date.
The film released on February 18th, 2022 on Netflix internationally.
References[]
- ↑ The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022) are explicitly continuous with the original 1974 film, though not necessarily with one another.
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Texas_Chainsaw_Massacre_(franchise)#cite_ref-3
- ↑ The film is a sequel to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) set fifty years later. Producer and story writer Fede Álvarez clarified that the film does not outright erase Part 2: "When movies do that, sometimes it feels a bit disrespectful to all the other films. Some people love Texas Chainsaw 2. But the rest is such a mess canon-wise. I think it's up to you to decide when and how the events of the other movies happen".