Leatherface

There are some films that will last forever. In the horror movie universe, there are so many titles we could talk about. But let´s focus our minds on one specific film. A film that made people faint, puke in cinemas, and was also banned in some countries. I am of course talking about Tobe Hoober´s cult classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre from 1974. A very small film, made on a extremely low budget. But what made this film so special, was the way that director Tobe Hobber managed to tell a story, of a disturbing cannibal family, in a way we have never seen before. And the chainsaw, also made a completely different impact than before, in some of the most odd and sickening chainsaw scenes ever made. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is still today one of the few films, that keep making horror fans all ages bedazzled. No matter how many times you have seen this film, you can´t get bored watching it again. Then in 1986, a sequel made it´s way to cinemas. The sequel is very different from the original film, but i did enjoy it, because of the crazy characters. I also feel that director Tobe Hooper, managed to mix comedy with horror, in an intelligent way. You could sense that the influences from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was still there, though portrayed differently than the original film. As the third film came out in 1990, i did not even see it. I did not see the 1994 film Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. Why ? Well, everyone was saying how terrible they were, so i thought i might as well skip them. Luckily, in 2003, German director Marcus Nispel, directed a remake of the original film, that turned out to be much better than what i would have expected. The brutality, and the evil savage tone of the film, was exactly what a remake needed. I still think that this is one of the better horror remakes since the millenuim. Of course a sequel was released called The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - The Beginning. Critics were not happy with this film, i thought it was alright, but not a worthy sequel to the remake. Things got even worse when Texas Chainsaw 3D was released in 2013, a film that was a direct sequel to the original film. It did not feel like a sequel, it felt more like a horror film, just made to make money at the box office. So here we are in 2017, and we have a prequel to the original film released, simply called Leatherface. Since i love the first film, is this prequel almost as good as the cult classic, or is this a disaster that should have been burned to ashes ?

At the Sawyer homestead, a birthday birthday is celebrated for little Jedidiah ( Boris Kabakchiev ). Mother Verna Sawyer ( Lili Taylor ) have a special surprise for Jedidiah, a chainsaw. They have a victim tied up in a chair, and it is time for Jedidiah to show the family, how you make the birthday celebration extra fun. Jedidiah is not ready to be a butcher, but Verna and Farnsworth ( Nathan Cooper ), are sure he will learn their tradition. Grandpa Sawyer ( Eduard Parsehyan ) finish off the victim. In 1955, couple Betty Hartman ( Todor Berov ) and Ted Hardesty ( Julian Kostov ) are heading down a highway, when they almost hit a child with Ted´s car. The young boy Jedidiah is dressed with a cow head, and runs into the fields. Betty is worried something is wrong, and follow him to a dilapidated barn. Here she falls into a trap, and is killed brutally by the orders of Farnsworth. Sheriff Hartman ( Stephen Dorff ) is called to the scene, where he finds out his daughter Betty have been brutally killed. He attack Farnsworth, promising him that he will be executed. Verna steps in to bring Jedidiah back to the family, but Sheriff Hartman inform that she will no longer take care of him. Jedidiah is taken to mental institution Gorman House Youth Reformery. 10 years later, Jedidiah, now known as Bud ( Sam Coleman ), is a very quiet young man. Recently-hired nurse Elizabeth White ( Vanessa Grasse ) forms a bond with patients Bud and Jackson ( Sam Strike ). Verna visit the mental institution, demanding to see Jedidiah. The director of the facility deny her to see Jedidiah, so Verna start a riot, causing the mentally disturbed patients to escape. Bud and Jackson follow the patients Ike ( James Bloor ) and Clarice ( Jessica Madsen ). Ike and Clarice begin a murder spree at a diner. Bud´s silence is about to fold out, as they will all discover, a really disturbing killer is about to explode.

Since this film is supposed to be a prequel to the original film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, we are supposed to know the story surrounding Leatherface. For those of you who have seen the previous films, do we really need a prequel like Leatherface ? Honestly, not really. But here is the good news, this is not an awful film. In fact, i do see something about this prequel. If you remember Rob Zombie´s remake of Halloween from 2007, we got to see how Michael Myers became a serial killer. In the prequel Leatherface, we find out more about how a very young child, becomes a human butcher. And i have to say, i do like the idea surrounding this film. It is not as effective as Rob Zombie´s Halloween, but the origin story does work, as long as we get to see some gory scenes. Some of the brutal killing scenes, match with the story. And we do get some nice treats along the way. Stephen Dorff as Texas Ranger Hal Hartman is really cool, as the small town Texas Ranger. You can tell he fits for this character. One of this film strongest performances is from actor Lili Taylor as Verna Sawyer. The way she portrait Verna, mother of Leatherface, shows you a disturbing look into a mother, who shows no empathy for victims. So how does this prequel match up to the original film ? Honestly, it is nowhere as good as the original film. But that does not mean that Leatherface is awful. Compared to Texas Chainsaw 3D, this prequel is both more well made, and have a much better story included. Also, the characters are also much more interesting. Directors Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury, manage to capture some of the feeling of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, while they also step on a different territory. They could have easily just made it look like another sequel, but it is clear that they want us to know more about the legendary character. There are a few scenes, where dialogue takes too much space of the film, but once the gory scenes gets back on track, you instantly feel at home again. I do like the scenes where we get to see young people at a mental institution. It gives you a different perspective of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre story, of disturbed young killers. You also get a different view on the disturbed Sawyer family, even if some details could have been told deeper. Leatherface is a surprisingly good prequel to the original classic film. It may not win any new audiences, but for the fans if Texas Chainsaw Massacre films, i think you should see this one and make up your own mind. One thing is clear, next time we serve turkey at family dinner, i am bringing the chainsaw. Who knows, we might need some extra meat, in case we run out of turkey....

Rating: DDD