It may have been overlooked in the current craze of true crime content, potentially due to the fact that it’s largely (entirely) untrue, but Texas Chainsaw Massacre will have its moment with a modern audience with news that the iconic horror series will be rebooted for the big screen in 2021, ushering in a new dawn of Leatherface.
News of the hard-fought production has been doing the rounds for some time now, however this week a very ominous, creepy website has sprung up teasing the film’s release and pointing to a date somewhere within the folds of 2021.
Other than the year of release, the website gives very little away – except for a flickering image of Leatherface’s horrifying mask and the exact same skin crawling feeling we’ve come to associate with it.
The official website is absolutely worth a moment of your time, providing a motion poster and a code for an exclusive Calling Card in Call Of Duty: Warzone and Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare which is a bit random, but why the hell not.
“In 1974, the world witnessed one of the most bizarre crimes in the annals of American History. In 2021, the face of madness returns,” the tagline reads.
Of course, that is a reference to the first film in the franchise, directed by Tobe Hooper and released in that year. The film subtly tips its hat to the life and crimes of Ed Gein, however of a bigger influence was the social and political unrest following both the Vietnam War and Watergate. Indeed, some have suggested its a commentary on industrial, cannabilistic capitalism, more so than on any specific serial killer.
Lips are sealed on many of the plot points, but rumour has it that the film will feature a middle aged Leatherface. It’s believed the 2021 film will pick up where the original 1974 film left off. Production has been peppered with set backs, including (but not limited to) the sacking of original directors, Ryan and Andy Tohill, after a week of production. The brothers were replaced with David Blue Garcia.
An official sequel was released in 1986, and a third, Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III in 1990 then a fourth, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation in 1995. Though perhaps the most popular, both critically and commercially, was the 2000 reprisal, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre fronted by Jessica Biel.
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