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[Review] ‘Leatherface’ Fails By Proving the Saw is Family

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In Leatherface, the latest prequel in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, French filmmakers Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury take us back to the earlier years of the Sawyer family, where Verna Sawyer (Lili Taylor) is living happily with her inbred children. They’re bad, you see, and hurt people for absolutely no reason. Three of the boys murder a young girl, who ends up being Texas Ranger Hal Hartman’s (Stephen Dorff) daughter. With his daughter taken from him, he uses the criminal system to commit all of her boys and take them away from her. 10 years later, several inmates escape, leaving a bloody path in their wake as police try and chase them down. Spoilers follow.

Leatherface is an incredibly confused coming-of-age story of the title character that loses much of its potency in telling the story from the perspective of the killers. It’s oddly reminiscent of Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers only lacking any sort of social commentary as these kids blow the head off an innocent waitress and fuck atop of a corpse. It’s mean-spirited in a way that’s counter productive, feeling more like a desperate attempt to cram the original Texas Chainsaw vibe into an art film that’s only connection to the original franchise is the name “Sawyer”.

It only becomes a Texas Chainsaw film in the final moments of the third act when our final girl ends up back in the Sawyer house and our coming-of-age story comes full circle, giving birth to the iconic chainsaw-wielding Leatherface. The film feels caught in the crossfire of various reboots and pre-makes, landing somewhere between Rob Zombie’s god-awful Halloween and Platinum Dunes’ remakes of both Friday the 13th and (ironically) Texas Chainsaw Massacre. While fans complained about how Leatherface got his chainsaw in the 2003 incarnation, the filmmakers here make an entire movie literally about how he becomes so connected to the saw, and his family. It’s a phenomenal idea, in theory, only it lands awkwardly in the same place as Rob Zombie’s Halloween (by giving too much character to Michael Myers). Horror fans never really wondered why Leatherface was the way he was, and it’s always been pretty clear that he’s just a pawn in the fucked up Sawyer family tree.

With this prequel, writer Seth M. Sherwood spends too much time trying to trick the audience into thinking Bud (Sam Coleman) is going to become Leatherface. Not only does it become a constant distraction, but it’s insanely obvious he’s not. In fact, it’s one of the worst red herrings in recent memory.

The icing on the cake is how fucking good this movie is when Bustillo and Maury get to play in the real Texas Chainsaw Massacre sandbox. It has moments of greatness leading up to the finale that feels like it really should have been the opening to the story, instead of its closing. Leatherface feels like a huge missed opportunity cut up by overthinking something that’s always been as simple as the saying, “Saw is family.”

Leatherface screened at the FrightFest in London. It’s now on DirecTV with a limited theatrical run and full VOD release through Lionsgate revved up for October 20, 2017.

Horror movie fanatic who co-founded Bloody Disgusting in 2001. Producer on Southbound, V/H/S/2/3/94, SiREN, Under the Bed, and A Horrible Way to Die. Chicago-based. Horror, pizza and basketball connoisseur. Taco Bell daily. Franchise favs: Hellraiser, Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and Friday the 13th. Horror 365 days a year.

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SCREAMBOX Investigates UFOs and Extraterrestrials: Several Documentaries Streaming Right Now!

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As someone who is obsessed with UFOS (or more recently known as UAPs) and the concept of extraterrestrials, I love a good documentary. Sightings have been on the rise since the 1940s, with the atomic bomb seemingly acting as a catalyst for new visitors. But what are these UFOs/UAPs? Is there an explanation or are they simply beyond our explanation? Why are they here? Who are they? How much do our governments know? The questions are endless and so are the documentaries that attempt to uncover the secrets behind decades of sightings and alleged confrontations.

Whether you’re a seasoned viewer or new to the rabbit hole, there’s always a handful of interesting documentaries to get your neurons firing and leave you with sleepless nights. SCREAMBOX is investigating with the addition of several docs, all streaming now on the Bloody Disgusting-powered service. Here’s the breakdown:

Aliens (2021): Beam into this unidentified streaming documentary for a glimpse into Extraterrestrial life. Aliens are hypothetical life forms that may occur outside Earth or that did not originate on Earth.

Aliens Uncovered: Origins (2021): Before Area 51, hidden deep in the desert, the military discovered a hidden gem that helped them create Project Bluebook.

Aliens Uncovered: ET or Man-Made (2022): The crash of Roswell wasn’t meant for New Mexico. In 1947, a neighboring state had 3 major sightings that were swept under the rug.

Aliens Uncovered: The Golden Record (2023): In the late 70s, the US government launched a message to our distant neighbors.

Roswell (2021): This high-flying documentary examines the July 1947 crash of a United States Army Air Forces balloon at a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. Theories claim the crash was actually that of a flying saucer, but what is the truth?

Also check out:

The British UFO Files (2004): Since the 1940’s the British Government has been investigating the Flying Saucer phenomenon. High-ranking military and government personnel, speak out for the first time, offering unique eyewitness accounts and inside information.

Alien Abductions and Paranormal Sightings (2016): Amazing Footage and stories from real people as they reveal their personal encounters of being abducted by Aliens.

And do not miss Hellier (2019): A crew of paranormal researchers find themselves in a dying coal town, where a series of strange coincidences lead them to a decades-old mystery.

These documentaries join SCREAMBOX’s growing library of unique horror content, including Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls, Here for Blood, Terrifier 2, RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop, Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story, The Outwaters, Living with Chucky, Project Wolf Hunting, and Pennywise: The Story of IT.

Start screaming now with SCREAMBOX on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Prime Video, Roku, YouTube TV, Samsung, Comcast, Cox, and Screambox.com.

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