Review: 'Leatherface' is a bloody throwback

Posted Tuesday, December 19, 2017 at 4:51 PM Central
Last updated Tuesday, December 19, 2017 at 4:52 PM Central

by John Couture

There is no debate, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of the most horrifying films ever captured on celluloid. Naturally, the 1974 film went on to spawn a litany of sequels of varied quality before ultimately the franchise became a joke of Tobe Hooper's original vision.

While Hooper wasn't directly involved with the production of Leatherface, you can see subtle flourishes of his style that other sequels lacked. After his death earlier this year, we will most likely never know how he felt about the film, but I would imagine that he would be happy to see his franchise find its way back to the true path.

Leatherface is a prequel that tries to tell the backstory that ends with one of horror's most iconic killers. As you would imagine, the character arc that ends with a man wearing a mask made of skin and wielding a chainsaw is a complicated one, but Leatherface handles the challenge admirably.

The main thrust of the film's action takes place between a local sheriff played by Stephen Dorff and the matriarch of a murderous family played by Lili Taylor. When the Sawyer family kills the sheriff's daughter, he gets his revenge by taking her youngest child and placing him in a mental hospital. As you can imagine, mental health care in the 1950s is anything but humane.

I think the way the film handles the progression and transformation of Jedidiah from a reluctant non-participant in his family's murderous ways to a brutal killer is one of the most realistic portrayals of the evolution of psychopathy in a would-be killer. The film takes the whole nature vs. nurture argument and flips it on its ear. Jedidiah is certainly predisposed to violent acts given his family traditions, but his reluctance at the beginning shows the complexities involved with such actions.

The result is a film that tries to explain that the creation of a serial killer is both a product of their makeup and their upbringing. By the time we are introduced to Leatherface in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, he has lost his humanity and is simply the shell of his former self and the unwitting vessel that his family uses to further their violent aims.

Knowing the outcome that is revealed in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the level of tragic dread increases with each event that befalls Jedidiah. The audience is wondering which act is the tipping point that pushes Jedidiah over the edge of no return in psychosis.

But Leatherface isn't simply just an origin tale. The cat and mouse game between the Sheriff and Verna Sawyer is in itself a great subplot that speaks volumes of small-town justice (and the lack thereof) in this country during the 1950s and 1960s. There is a violent history in this country that created Ed Gein, the real-life serial killer that partially inspired The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Stephen Dorff and Lili Taylor both deliver spectacular performances that help to elevate the film. The pathos that they display on the screen is real and the results speak for themselves.

I know that it's easy to dismiss Leatherface as simply just another in a long line of flimsy Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequels, but doing so would be a disservice to this film and rob you of a pretty decent origin story. If you're looking for a little horror this holiday season, you could do a lot worse than Leatherface.

Leatherface is now available on DVD and Blu-ray.