There may not be a franchise in existence with a more complicated (or confusing) continuity than The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. There was an original chronology of four films, starting with the 1974 original by Tobe Hooper, then a reboot, then a prequel to the reboot. Then there was a direct sequel to the original Texas Chain Saw that ignored the previous sequels. (That was 2013’s Texas Chainsaw 3D.) Then there was another prequel (2017’s Leatherface) that supposedly predated all the previous movies.
Now there’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre (no ‘the’!), another “direct sequel” to the original film. It involves a new group of teens stumbling across Leatherface some 50 years after the events of that movie. Theoretically, then, this is the same Leatherface from the first movie, who has clearly never lost his love of chainsaws through the decades.
You can see the first image of this new Leatherface above; here is a shot of the non-leatherfaced cast:
Here is the film’s official synopsis:
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 the first Texas Chain Saw, Sally was played by Marilyn Burns, so that’s another returning character, but played by a different actress.
If this is almost 50 years later, that means Leatherface is, what, 70? 80? Is he going to move like a 75-year-old man in the film? That might be kind of interesting (or funny) if he does. Somehow, though, we doubt it. This new Texas Chainsaw Massacre premieres on Netflix on February 18.