Movies
The Original ‘Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3’ Teaser Was the Coolest
While we wait for the Leatherface (2017?) trailer, let’s revisit the Leatherface (1990) teaser.
In the wake of Tobe Hooper making his own sequel to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in 1986, the franchise rights were scooped up by New Line Cinema, the studio that was of course knee deep in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise at that point in time. They hoped to turn Leatherface into a money-maker on the level of Freddy Krueger, and the first glimpse of their franchise reboot Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 was attached to the ’89 theatrical release of A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child.
It came in the form of a teaser trailer…
THE COOLEST TEASER TRAILER OF ALL TIME.
Funny enough, the teaser for Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 was actually filmed and shown off before director Jeff Burr was even hired, and at the time, the film was slated for release on November 3rd, 1989 – the actual release date ended up being January 12th, 1990. That teaser, which audiences saw in the summer of ’89, featured footage that was never actually seen in the movie, and it recast Leatherface as King freakin’ Arthur. Keep in mind that New Line was looking to turn Leatherface into a superstar, and oh boy did he make a grand re-entrance in ’89.
The teaser, a play on the legend of King Arthur and the “Lady of the Lake,” starts off with Leatherface standing solemnly by a lake, looking like he’s lost his way. Suddenly, a massive Excalibur-inspired silver chainsaw rises up from the depths of the lake, and it literally flies right into Leatherface’s hand. It’s then hit with a bolt of lightning and, well, Leatherface is back, baby.
Legend has it that Kane Hodder portrayed Leatherface for the teaser, which would make sense considering he was the film’s stunt coordinator. Again, the teaser was shot before production even began, so it would stand to reason that R.A. Mihailoff hadn’t yet been cast. To the best of my knowledge, however, Hodder has never confirmed that he played Leatherface in the teaser.
In any event, relive the majestic awesomeness below!
Before updating the video nasty Faces of Death, director Daniel Goldhaber and writer Isa Mazzei explored the dangers of online life in tech-thriller Cam, their feature debut that was acquired by Netflix in 2018 after making waves on the festival circuit.
At the end of last year, the Netflix exclusive quietly departed from the streaming platform, left without another streaming home.
It’s not an isolated story; Mike Flanagan’s Hush also left streaming entirely for a period until it was finally picked up on both physical media and other streaming services.
While the tech-thriller currently isn’t available to watch on Netflix, Tubi, Hulu, or any other platforms, that’s not a problem for Cam thanks to a very cool move by Goldhaber: the director has made his breakout film accessible to watch online for free via his website.
As his site notes: “CAM is unfortunately not currently available to view on any platforms, so you can watch it here if you like :).“
No subscriptions or fees necessary, just hit play.
Cam follows Alice (Madeline Brewer), who works as an online cam girl obsessed with her ranking on the cam site. The higher her ranking goes, the more it draws unwanted attention, and Alice soon finds herself replaced on her own show with a doppelganger.
Written by Mazzei, a former camgirl, it uses the horror thriller premise to examine the life of a sex worker; Alice’s career ambition is directly at odds with the shame it brings to her family, and how she tries to spare them from it by keeping them in the dark. It only compounds her danger when the doppelganger enters the equation in Goldhaber’s engaging thriller.
For a deep dive into the treacherous world of Cam, listen to Horror Queers’ episode on it now.
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