Leatherface

It is the eighth installment in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (TCM) franchise, and works as a prequel to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013), explaining the origin of the series’ lead character.

Following the financial success of Texas Chainsaw 3D, a sequel went into development from director John Luessenhop for a planned shoot in Louisiana, but failed to receive the greenlight to move forward.

In favor of avoiding the convoluted continuity of the previous films while going in an unexpected direction, Seth M. Sherwood pitched Leatherface to Millennium Films as a prequel that would follow the titular character in a mentally competent state,

Enduring trauma that transforms him into the intellectually disabled murderer seen in the previous films. Maury and Bustillo signed on as directors after reading the screenplay, impressed with what they found to be a unique take on the long-running franchise.

Principal photography commenced in Bulgaria in May and June 2015, with locations and sets chosen for their resemblance to the Texas terrain and as homage to the series’ previous films.

After being temporarily shelved by Lionsgate Films in 2016, the film was made exclusive via DirecTV on September 21, 2017, before receiving a wider release on video on demand and limited theaters, simultaneously, in North America on October 20, 2017.

It received generally mixed reviews from film critics, and garnered $1,476,843 worldwide. Lionsgate and Millennium Films lost the rights to produce future Texas Chainsaw Massacre films because of its delay in release.

In an attempt to help him, Betty follows him to a dilapidated barn, where she is promptly killed by his murderous and sadistic family. Her father, Sheriff Hartman, is called to the crime scene, where he is shocked to find his daughter deceased.

Despite the efforts of matriarch Verna Sawyer, Hartman responds by taking Jedidiah into custody as retribution against the Sawyers, sending him to a mental institution known as the Gorman House Youth Reformery.

Ten years later at the Gorman House, where inmates are renamed to avoid their dangerous families, nurse Elizabeth White forms a bond with a boy named Jackson. Verna later shows up to the institution with an injunction to allow family visitation, only to be rejected by the director of the facility,

Doctor Lang. On the way out, she violates security, causing an escape riot in which many of the nurses and patients are killed. Elizabeth is saved by Jackson, who gets her outside with fellow inmate Bud, where they are taken hostage by crazed escapees Ike and Clarice.

The group arrives at a rest-stop diner after ditching their Gorman House uniforms. In an altercation with waitress Tammy, Ike and Clarice begin a murder spree within the diner which forces them to flee.

Hartman arrives on the scene and pieces together that one of the escaped inmates is in fact Jedidiah Sawyer. That night, the escapees take refuge in an abandoned mobile home. Believing that everyone is asleep, Elizabeth tries to escape but Ike stops her from doing so.

He then becomes engaged in a fight with Jackson and insults Bud, leading to his demise. The next morning, Clarice notices Ike is missing and heads off to find him. She searches the woods and is consequently apprehended by a patrolling Hartman.

Upon disparaging both him and his dead daughter, he impulsively kills her as the others watch from a distance. Horrified, Elizabeth flees with Jackson and Bud in tow. As a police car passes, she screams for help, causing the deputy to notice them.

The deputy attempts to call for backup, resulting in the killing of Bud in the ensuing struggle. An enraged Jackson kills the deputy. Panicking, Jackson and Elizabeth steal his vehicle and try to reach safety, but are pursued by the deranged Hartman.

He opens fire on them and one of the bullets strikes Jackson’s face, while another injures Elizabeth, causing the vehicle to careen off the side of the road. Later that night, Elizabeth regains consciousness at the barn where Betty Hartman was murdered, discovering that she and Jackson are being held hostage by Sheriff Hartman.

Planning to kill them, he gleefully tells Elizabeth that Jackson is really Jedidiah Sawyer. However, the Sawyer family arrives to save the helpless Jedidiah, beating Hartman into submission and taking Hartman and Elizabeth into captivity.

Back at the Sawyer home, Verna stitches the remnants of Jedidiah’s face and applies a muzzle to hold them together. She then leads him into a room where his siblings are holding Elizabeth and Hartman captive.

Verna gifts Jedidiah with a chainsaw and Elizabeth watches in horror as he bisects Hartman to death. As the family celebrates, Elizabeth flees into the woods while the Sawyers give chase. She nearly escapes, only to be caught in a bear trap. Elizabeth attempts to appeal to Jedidiah’s sympathy,

While Verna encourages him to kill her to protect their family. Unable to recall events prior to his injury, Jedidiah begins to listen to Elizabeth’s pleas, but kills her after she insults Verna. The next morning, Verna burns the evidence of the prior night’s events and the other Sawyers feed the remains of their victims to the pigs.

In the house basement, Jedidiah crafts the faces of Hal Hartman and Elizabeth into a mask, donning it in front of a mirror as he applies lipstick. The film ends with him smashing the mirror at the sight of his reflection