Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a 2022 American slasher film and the ninth installment in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series. It is a direct sequel to the 1974 film, and like Texas Chainsaw 3D before it, it ignores all previous sequels and reboots.
The film was directed by David Blue Garcia with a script by Chris Thomas Devlin, from a story by Fede Álvarez and Rodo Sayagues. It was released directly to Netflix after a notoriously Troubled Production.
Nearly 50 years after the events of the original film, a group of young entrepreneurial influencers purchases the small Texas Ghost Town of Harlow with plans to redevelop it into a trendy, gentrified escape for people like them. Upon arrival, they discover that the town isn't entirely abandoned, as one of the inhabitants is an old woman who refuses to leave.
However, the woman proves not nearly as much of a threat to the group's plans as her son, a hulking, silent brute better known to the world as the monstrous Leatherface. It isn't long before a catastrophic series of events sets the killer after the group, equipped with a new mask and his trusty saw...
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This film provides examples of:
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: This film sees Leatherface's chainsaw cutting through people and doors as well as holding up against steel objects like guns without losing any of its cutting power.
- Advertised Extra: Sally Hardesty's return was a big part of the advertising campaign, but she ultimately only has about 5 minutes of screen time.
- Adaptational Badass:
- In the other Chainsaw timelines, Sally is either dead (TCMIII), institutionalized (TCMII, Next Generation) or just trying to live her life normally following her ordeal (TC3D). This one sees her finally facing down Leatherface to get revenge for her friends' deaths.
- Leatherface himself is not a servant or attack dog of anyone else, and is instead a Dragon Ascendant going on a killing spree. This also applies to his physical strength, which is now on the level of assassins like Michael or Jason.
- Ambiguous Situation: As Melody discovers, Ginny had papers claiming that she still legally owned the orphanage building before she died, so it’s unknown whether Dante lied about obtaining the deed, or if there was a misunderstanding from the property managers about the deed.
- Asshole Victim: Downplayed; while not completely lacking any redeeming qualities, it's made very clear that we are not intended to sympathize with a vast majority of Leatherface's victims, with the exception of Sally Hardesty and Richter.
- Axe Before Entering: Leatherface brings out his old favorite move when trying to get to Melody and Lila in the bus bathroom.
- The Bad Guy Wins: To an extent, as Leatherface kills Sally Hardesty and Melody and afterwards is shown dancing with Melody's head and his chainsaw in victory, an inversion of his breakdown dance at the end of the original film.
- Big Good: Sally Hardesty, much like Laurie Strode, another famous Final Girl who became a total badass in a revival sequel.
- The Bus Came Back: Sally Hardesty returns in her first major appearance in the series since the 1974 film (not counting a brief silent cameo from original actress Marilyn Burns in Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation).
- Black Dude Dies First: Averted. Dante doesn't die until after the officers and Ruth have already been killed.
- Bloodier and Gorier: Not just to the original film; this is one of the goriest films in the franchise. Considering the bloody pedigree of many of the sequels, it's an impressive feat. One only has to see the notorious bus scene for proof of that.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: After spending 50 years pining for revenge on Leatherface, Sally is shocked when she finally confronts him and realizes he doesn't remember her.
- Call-Back:
- The film's final scene directly references the end of the original, with the screaming Final Girl being driven away from Leatherface after having narrowly escaped death (this time by a self-driving car instead of a Good Samaritan) and Leatherface maniacally twirling his chainsaw around (this time in triumph rather than defeat).
- Leatherface still has a slight limp, referencing his accidentally cutting his leg after being hit in the head with a wrench in the original.
- The Cameo: John Larroquette returns to narrate the film's opening (actually an in-universe documentary about the 1974 murders).
- Chainsaw Good: This is still Leatherface's weapon of choice.
- Characters Dropping Like Flies: Over the course of its 82-minute runtime, nearly every major named character and a whole bunch of unnamed influencers are dead by the one-hour mark.
- Charles Atlas Superpower: While we don't know Leatherface's actual age, the fact that it's been nearly fifty years since the original film would place the character in at least his seventies — and he's still able to tear through anyone and everyone without breaking a sweat.
- Chekhov's Gun: The novelty chainsaw bottle opener that Lila buys at the start and gives to Melody. Melody is able to escape Leatherface by stabbing him in the arm with it.
- Compensating for Something: Melody's first impression of Richter is the fact that he open-carries a pistol; she snarks to Lila that he may be doing this, even quoting the trope phrase verbatim. When he overhears her comments, he approaches her and explains his reasoning (protecting himself from feral hogs), and sarcastically apologizes if his "big gun" makes her uncomfortable. She replies, "I've seen bigger."
- Cruel Twist Ending: Just as it seems like Lila and Melody have killed Leatherface and are set to drive home safely, he pops up at the last second, decapitating Melody in front of a screaming Lila.
- Dead Guy on Display: Leatherface does this to his mother in the sunflower field after she dies as a memorial or tribute to her.
- Death Glare: As the police pull off to take Mrs. Mc to the hospital, Leatherface gives one to Melody through the back window of the truck.
- Decoy Protagonist:
- Richter, who is set up as The Hero or an Anti-Hero, was dealt with easily by Leatherface. Also, Sally Hardesty shows up in a Big Damn Heroes moment, only to be fatally wounded leaving Lila to Take Up My Sword.
- Melody, who is ultimately killed via decapitation by chainsaw at the Cruel Twist Ending.
- Determinator: Even being shot numerous times with a shotgun, stabbed in the side, and slashed in the throat with his own chainsaw isn't enough to stop Leatherface from going after Lila and Melody.
- Developing Doomed Characters: Given the film's short runtime, this is largely averted. The character we are given the most background on is Lila; the others are established very quickly, but all attempts at development are dropped as soon as the action starts. Interestingly, this actually brings it further in line with the original film, which did a very similar thing with its characters as well.
- Possibly the most glaring example of this as an aversion is Ruth; she's introduced as Dante's fiancee, and that's all the audience knows about her before she's killed off by Leatherface.
- Distant Sequel: Like Texas Chainsaw 3D before it, this film is a modern-set sequel to a 48-year-old film.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: It's shown that Leatherface is genuinely grief-stricken over Mrs. Mc's death.
- Extremely Short Time Span: In a nod to the original, the film takes place in under twenty-four hours, starting during mid-morning or early afternoon, and finishing up at dawn the next day.
- The Faceless: We aren't given a clear look at Leatherface's true visage before he dons his new mask.
- Final Girl: Lila. Bonus points for the ending with her in the same position as Sally from the original.
- Foreshadowing: Sally tells Lila not to run from Leatherface, lest she be haunted by him for the rest of her days, just as Sally was. She ends the film in the same position as Sally in the original, fulfilling Sally's prophecy.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: An elderly Leatherface can be briefly seen sitting in the dark when Dante goes to remove the Confederate flag from Ginny's orphanage. The fact that the shot is a mere two seconds long and that the camera doesn't even focus on him means you're very likely to miss him on your first watch.
- Ghost Town: The film's setting of Harlow, an abandoned town that Dante and Melody purchase with an eye to developing it as a haven for Gen Z influencers looking to escape the city. Unfortunately for them, the town isn't actually as abandoned as they thought...
- Gorn: Many examples of this, the bus scene easily being the biggest example.
- Gutted Like a Fish: How Leatherface kills poor Ruth, brutally slicing her in half at the waist when she tries to escape from the van.
- Hero of Another Story: Richter's ownership of a handgun and an assault rifle and his nihilistic Seen It All outlook indicates he had his own fair share of adventures in dangerous situations, but that does not stop Leatherface making short work of him.
- Idiot Ball: At one point, Sally ends up having Leatherface at the mercy of her shotgun in the orphanage — dead to rights, and exactly where she wants him. You'd expect her to capitalize on the opportunity to pull the trigger and avenge the murders of her friends, especially considering it's a moment she's been waiting upwards of five decades for. Instead, she becomes adamant on ordering Leatherface to acknowledge who she is and what he did to her, knowing him to be essentially mute. As a result, she lets Leatherface walk away and terrorize Lila and Melody, and in the process of pursuing him afterwards gets herself brutally killed.
- Innocently Insensitive: Despite the Confederate flag hanging above the orphanage, the old lady running the place makes it clear that she has no issues with black people after she becomes concerned that it may have offended Dante, a black man. However, in doing so, she uses the word "negro" to his face. While this would have been a generally acceptable term during her youth, it's obvious she doesn't know that it's now considered offensive, and she is quite confused when he angrily storms off.
- I Will Only Slow You Down: Subverted. When Melody attempts to drive Sally's car at Leatherface with Lila in it, he throws his chainsaw at the windshield, and she ends up crashing the car into a nearby building. She is trapped by a loose rod impaling her leg in the process, and she instructs Lila to run and save herself despite her pleas. When Leatherface appears, Melody accepts her imminent death and apologizes for what her and her friends put his mother through...and Lila reappears with a gun and attempts to shoot Leatherface, only to find that the gun is empty.
- Jump Scare: Loud jolts abound throughout the film.
- Made of Iron: Aside from Leatherface shrugging off any attacks, Sally is a downplayed example; while she eventually dies from being impaled with his chainsaw, she actually survives a few minutes, long enough to save Lila and encourage her to face him rather than running.
- Malevolent Masked Man: Leatherface, naturally, as he's one of the most iconic examples of this trope.
- Morality Chain: Leatherface's mother is the only thing keeping him from killing. Her death is what instigates this movie's murderous spree.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Melody is remorseful after the death of Leatherface’s mother.
- Named by the Adaptation: The last names of Kirk, Pam, and Jerry from the first film are revealed as Waisanen, Willard, and Huberman, respectively.
- No-Sell: Melody stabs Leatherface in the arm with her chainsaw corkscrew. He doesn't even flinch.
- Off with Her Head!: Melody's ultimate fate at the end.
- Rejected Apology: Melody apologizes to Leatherface for his mother's death long after realizing she and Dante wrongfully attempted to evict her from her orphanage, moments before he is seemingly about to kill her, but Leatherface does not accept it.
- Retcon: In the first movie, Leatherface was the muscle to a whole family of murderous, cannibal rednecks. In this movie, billed as a direct sequel, Leatherface is living with his never-before-seen, totally normal mother in an orphanage, and the rest of the family is never mentioned. Sally even acts like her friends' deaths were due to Leatherface alone.
- Retired Monster: After the original massacre, Leatherface retires from his killing spree to tend to his mother at the orphanage. Only after her passing does he take up the chainsaw again.
- Revenge:
- Sally Hardesty from the original film returns, having spent the nearly fifty years since becoming a Texas ranger in order to find, and take revenge, on Leatherface.
- Leatherface himself is seeking revenge on the influencers he holds responsible for his mother's death. He kills them and those who help them, but seems uninterested in hurting anyone else.
- Social Media Before Reason: As Leatherface appears within a bus full of people, they make absolutely no effort to escape, instead standing there like statues and holding up their phones to photograph and record him. As much as the moment is designed as a satirical jab at millennial/gen-Z influencers (especially with one of them threatening to have Leatherface "cancelled"), it's also somewhat justified, since he’s blocking the main exit and recording him will leave behind more evidence in case he tries to attack them.
- Some of My Best Friends Are X: Justifying her confederate flag, Mrs. Mc tells Dante that she took care of kids like him at her orphanage and therefore doesn't have any problems with negroes.
- Spree Killer: Leatherface. Here, he's operating completely on his own, and he kills far more people than in any of his other appearances. His massacre of dozens aboard the bus is even shot in a way that evokes the image of a mass shooting.
- The Stinger: The post-credit scene shows Leatherface making his way to the house where his original massacre took place.
- Take That!: The film goes out of its way to skewer influencers, especially during the bus scene.
- They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: While he's The Faceless, it's implied without his human face mask, Leatherface appears to be an ordinary lumbering old man with messy and greasy long hair and a beard as everyone in the film prior to his new mask reacts normally when he makes his appearance. This is an interesting first for the franchise, which always implied that Leatherface was deformed in some way (or disfigured, as occurs in Leatherface).
- Tragic Keepsake:
- The mask that Leatherface wears in this movie is made from his beloved dead mother's face.
- Sally still has a Polaroid of her and her friends from the original film, which she looks at often. Lila ends up taking it, along with Sally's cowboy hat, after the latter's death.
- Too Dumb to Live: Instead of running from the guy holding a chainsaw and wearing the face of another human as a mask, the people on the bus whip out their phones, and one guy threatens to have Leatherface "cancelled" if he tries anything. Unsurprisingly, Leatherface isn't intimidated and just revs the saw.
- Took a Level in Badass:
- Sally Hardesty. After the traumatizing events of the original, she decided to become a Texas Ranger, and spent the next 49 years trying to track Leatherface down. Many have made the obvious comparison to Halloween (2018) and its revival of Laurie Strode, another famous Final Girl who became a total badass in a revival sequel.
- Leatherface himself. Many forget that he was simply a big guy with a chainsaw in the first movie. In this one, he's superhumanly strong and tough, capable of shrugging off a direct shotgun blast and holding up somebody with a revved up chainsaw one-handed.
- Un-Reboot: Follows the original movie instead of the remake and ignores any other sequels. Interestingly, this is the third film in the franchise to do this, after Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III and Texas Chainsaw 3D.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Dante having Leatherface's mother illegally evicted causes her to have a fatal heart attack, which enrages Leatherface and sets him on a rampage.
- Use Their Own Weapon Against Them: Melody defeats Leatherface with his own chainsaw. Unfortunately, that's not enough to kill him.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Whilst the likes of Drayton Sawyer and Grandpa likely died at some point in the five decades following the original movie, it is never explained what became of them. Even Sally treats Leatherface like he was the main threat from the first film, as if she's completely forgotten the others.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: It's hard not to feel sorry for Leatherface after his mother figure is killed.
