The latest film in theTexas Chainsaw Massacrefranchise debuted on Netflix recently to a mostly negative reaction. Many fans disliked the characters and the film’s apparent “wokeness,” but most also agreed that old man Leatherface himself was as scary as ever, making a flawed entry at least watchable for the appearance of one of horror’s most infamous villains. Many look at the likes of Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees as the first masked slashers, but before them came the human skin-wearing Leatherface. Rather than looking at the actual films, let’s appreciate the good and bad with a look at the best and worst portrayals of the chainsaw wielding cannibal.
9. Leatherface (2017)
This entry comes in last for the simple fact that the Leatherface we know is barely in it. This film is a whodunit that follows a group of escapees from a mental asylum. We’re promised that one of them will be revealed as Leatherface. It’s a semi-interesting approach, but it fails in its execution. One of the escapees, played bySam Coleman, seems the obvious choice to be the young Leatherface. He’s disturbed and mentally challenged, with long hair and a heavy build. He looks and acts just like we’d expect Leatherface to be, which means that it can’t be him. The climax sees a twist that exists solely to shock the audience. Leatherface is revealed to be a different inmate, a good-looking kid played bySam Strike. He can speak and seems less disturbed than the others, but then he snaps, kills a cop, and is shot in the face by another. This results in an odd looking muzzle being attached to his mangled face, and now given a chainsaw, boom, he’s Leatherface. The curveball is so far out of left field that it’s not realistic.
8. Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (2004)
This one is best remembered for the casting ofRenee ZellwegerandMatthew McConaughey, but the man in the mask is best left forgotten. Here, at least, Leatherface, played byRobert Jacks,is Leatherface. He’s not a troubled unmasked teen, and there’s no mystery behind who he is. This is not his movie, however. The lead villain of this film is a very psychotic McConaughey. It’s a good thing that Leatherface isn’t the main focus this time around, because his interpretation is a huge miss. With his constant high-pitched whining he comes across as more frustratingly annoying than scary. You just want him to shut up. And while he hinted at being transgendered in the first film, he goes full drag here, wearing the face and body of, and even dressing as a woman. That could have been an interesting idea, but the final design is atrocious, making him look like a cartoon, or something out of a cheap B movie.
7. Texas Chainsaw (2013)
Dan Yeagerdoes a fine job playing Leatherface in this sequel, which picks up from the first film. He is physically imposing, and the mask is creepy looking. It would be a sufficient portrayal, but then comes the final act. The townsfolk and the police are shown to be the true villains, who are out to kill everyone in Leatherface’s family. In a late twist, it’s revealed that the protagonist,Alexandra Daddario, is the maniac’s long lost cousin, which now puts her life on the line as well. Those out to kill Leatherface are so brutal that Daddario’s character begins to feel sorry for him, despite the fact that he’s just spent most of the film chopping up her friends. She reveals her relation to him, and he chooses not to kill her, but instead turns his rage upon the mob. This gives us one of the worst lines ever, when Daddario cheers Leatherface on with, “Do your thing, cuz.” The filmmakers try to remake Leatherface as a sympathetic anti-hero, a mass murderer who can be redeemed simply because those who are out to take him down are bad people, too.
6. Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990)
New Line bought the rights to the series and attempted to turn Leatherface back into something darker. In that attempt, the character of Leatherface becomes lost, as New Line seemed more interested in developing a new slasher icon than a well-thought-out villain. The movie itself is nothing memorable andR.A. Mihailoff’s turn as Leatherface is simply okay. That’s not the actor’s fault. He has a menacing hulk build, and his mask is sufficiently disgusting. The best part of his look is the chainsaw itself, a behemoth with “The Saw is Family” emblazoned upon it. He’s not as goofy and childlike as in the first two movies. He’s pure terror this time around, which ironically for a horror film, makes him less interesting. He becomes a one note villain, just another masked killer, and loses the intricacies of a terrifying, yet very human and complicated character.
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5. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)
The latest film in the series is another direct sequel to the first. The movie has received a lot of grief, but fans have had mostly positive things to say about the portrayal of old man Leatherface.Mark Burnhamis effective in the role with his imposing stature. Leatherface may be pushing seventy years old, but he doesn’t move like it. The mask is one of the best, a void, emotionless canvas of gore. While the tone of the original film is lost, and with that Leatherface’s manchild persona, he is still scary. If you want blood and guts, you’ll get it by the bucket full here. The bus scene alone is a marvelous crimson nightmare. Perhaps after the last two horrible outings, it’s just snatching at crumbs, but while this is a lazy slasher film, it’s still fun, and Leatherface is a serious presence. After his character had fallen so far, for now, that’s enough.
4. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)
ActorAndrew Bryniarskihas the distinction of playing Leatherface twice, first in the 2003 remake, and then in this follow-up prequel that looks into the roots of our favorite cannibal. We meet him as a thirty-year-old man working in a slaughterhouse. When the slaughterhouse is shut down, he snaps and kills his manager, then takes a found chainsaw with him. For a vast majority of the film his face is not covered with a skinned face but a Hannibal Lecter-like contraption. This changes when he kills a young man played byMatt Bomer, then skins his face and puts it on as a mask. Leatherface as we know him is born. As with the later films, there is no deep look at the man behind the mask. The reliance on gore and violence over suspense leaves him feeling again like just another slasher. Still, he is a massive and frightening presence, and despite its flaws, he is surrounded by a fun film.
3. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)
Original directorTobe Hoopercame back for this bizarre sequel. Original LeatherfaceGunnar Hansendid not, but his replacementBill Johnsonmore than holds his own. It’s a demented film with lots of unexpected laughs. That, however, is what makes this version of Leatherface work. He’s not a one dimensional slasher, but a character, even if at times he’s portrayed a bit over-the-top. He’s still mentally challenged and childlike, and jumps around and dances like a madman. The scariest scene of the movie is not the opening bridge scene, where with a dead body attached to the front of him, he cuts up two men in a car. It’s a smaller scene later, where he has a female radio DJ trapped in a room. Her legs are spread and Leatherface runs his chainsaw up her thigh while licking his lips. It’s sexual but also an act of curiosity, and there is an unnerving build as you wonder what he’s capable of. The best part of the movie though is that he meets his match in a crazed sheriff played by the late, greatDennis Hopper.
2. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
No one expected much from thisMichael Bayproduced remake, but it was a surprising success. Andrew Bryniarski doesn’t aim to copy Hansen’s portrayal from the original film. Instead, he makes it his own. You could argue that this is the scariest version of Leatherface. The mask is wild, a look of rage frozen upon it. The man himself is pure rage as well and a thoroughly imposing presence. There is no goofy, dancing manchild here. Other films attempted this route, but this is the one where it works. Surrounding him with great characters to play off of such as final girlJessica Bieland scene stealing family memberR. Lee Ermeyhelps. What also makes a difference is that directorMarcus Nispel, while fully invested in the new approach of a meaner, smarter Leatherface, also understands that building suspense first and having characters that the viewers care about and don’t want to see die, makes Leatherface feel that much more real, and therefore, that much scarier. The final twenty-minute chase scene with Biel is a heart pounding nightmare you’ll never forget.
1. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Nothing beats Tobe Hooper’s original. Its visceral realism is like a raw documentary where we’re watching true events play out before us in real time. It’s an uncomfortable watch, and at its center stands Leatherface. He’s mentally lacking, a child in a man’s body, who at times feels guilty for his actions, and who is bullied by a family even crazier than he is. He is a conflicted person, but not a sympathetic one. While he may not live simply to kill, it’s still what he knows and does best. We first meet him in one of the most shocking scenes in horror history when an unexpected victim stumbles into his lair. Leatherface comes out of nowhere and knocks the man on the head with a mallet, all the while squealing like a pig. The chase scenes are also intense, but he is perhaps at his most frightening in the dinner scene, where now wearing makeup on his dead mask, he howls with delight, mocking the screams of his future victim. He’s having the time of his life, and he can’t wait to take yours.
