Slasher movies are more of a mainstay for gorehounds and people who enjoy a little bit of brutal action. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, on the other hand, is a name that single-handedly revitalized the genre. In the guise of Leatherface, it is definitely one of the most memorable slasher-horror films that reinvented the concept of a terrifying villain!
It would not be an exaggeration to say that the character of Leatherface is one of cinema’s most terrifying killers. This crazed killer revels in slaying his victims, and his exploits have spawned lore that includes films, comic books, and fan fiction. Leatherface, unlike other lone masked killers such as Jason or Michael Myers, did not have to operate alone because he had the backing of his twisted family, the Sawyer family.
While the Texas Chainsaw Massacre is unquestionably one of the most gruesome and dark horror series ever created, Leatherface is the star of the show. Even after all these years, certain horrible moments of brutality and murdering sprees have assured that the persona remains equally remembered.
Today, however, we will look into the beginnings of this heinous crime, as well as the reason behind his irrational desires. In this video, we take a look at a comic book that transports you to his boyhood, where a series of events shaped him into the person he is now! Stay tuned and prepare to have your mind blown if you have been enthralled by the horrors unleashed by the Leatherface!
About a Boy – The Traumatic and Disturbing Childhood
Every evil character starts somewhere, and the fans have often wondered what the childhood of Leatherface might have been like. The comic book sheds some light on that, and we witness the morbid sequence of events that shaped this psycho killer to be the slaughter machine that he is!
The story begins with a glimpse of the house of horrors. We see the rundown mansion, which is in a better state than what we have seen in the movies. Mrs. Hewitt has a visitor and it is her son’s school teacher Mr. Hansen.
He has come to share his concerns about her son because his behavior in school has led his teacher to think that he needs some special care. We see Mrs. Hewitt for the first time, and there is something unnerving about her appearance. She is dressed in a green gown, her shades and cigarette on her lips give her the look of a rough, unkempt lady.
While Mr. Hansen speaks about his concerns regarding her son Thomas, she is hardly bothered by the claims. Meanwhile, we get to see young Thomas in the woods, playing with the carcass of what looks like a squirrel. Clearly, blood and violence fascinate the young boy! While his deformed face is not as intimidating as seen in the movies, there is a lust for violence that is visible in his mannerisms.
Some kids are having a fun dip in the lake, and Thomas sneaks up on them and watches them from a distance. He is not popular among the other kids because of his looks and weird nature, and when he is spotted, the kids in the lake are disgusted. They abuse him and one boy, in particular, flings a stone at him to drive him away.
Back in his home, Mr. Hansen informs Mrs. Hewitt that the Town’s schoolhouse is being closed down because there are only a handful of students. These students would now be moved to a bigger school in Lynchfield, and Mr. Hansen is headed to the city to assume his new position there.
However, he wanted to speak to Mrs. Hewitt personally about her son. He tells her about his lack of interest in any learning activities and also informs her about his introverted nature which causes him to be unpopular among the students. They bully him and he suffers at the hands of the others because of his different nature. Learning is not exactly his forte, and his problems are making it increasingly difficult for him to accommodate him among the others.
Mrs. Hewitt, however, is unperturbed and she is nonchalant about the concerns of his teacher. Instead, she feels that the other kids are at fault for not treating her son right! The teacher advises special schooling for Thomas, but Mrs. Hewitt strongly believes that there is nothing wrong with her boy.
She leaves the room because something is boiling on the stove, and the teacher gets to look around the house. He finds some stuffed animal heads adorning the walls, and some odd family pictures, where Thomas has a sack placed over his face. Surely, there is something oddly disturbing about the Hewitts!
On the other hand, Thomas was driven away by the other kids, but he remained in hiding in the woods. Jessie, the kid who had thrown a stone at him decides to head home for some chores and leaves the others. As he walks through the woods, he is ambushed by Thomas who knocks him unconscious before he can even realize it. His deformed face is bloodied by the stone thrown by Jessie, and now, he is taking his revenge!
The narrative takes us to Mrs. Hewitt’s residence one more time. She is questioned by Mr. Hansen about some of the strange paintings made by Thomas. While he finds his artistic works to be sickening and unnatural, Mrs. Hewitt praises his penmanship and imagination. The teacher finally reveals the most shocking thing about Thomas.
When Mr. Hansen introduced stitching and quilting in the class, Thomas seemed to be interested in the first time. But, the teacher was shocked to find that most of his stitching work was done using real skin from dead animals. The teacher suspected that he trapped and killed those animals by himself.
Even after this shocking revelation, Mrs. Hewitt remains nonchalant, and she just seems to think that her son is absolutely fine. The teacher is clearly disappointed with the response, and he leaves after saying that he would file an urgent report to get some help for her son. We realize that she doesn’t have the slightest idea about the real nature of her son, or she doesn’t care at all. There is another alternative that sneaks upon us! What if she knows it all and she just thinks it is the right way to live!
Meanwhile, Jessie wakes up and finds himself tied to the bed. He can barely move a muscle and he screams for help. Suddenly, we see Thomas walking into the room with a sack over his face. This is a young Leatherface, but he is no less twisted than his adult self. He tortures Jessie using some unspeakable means, and rips his skin out with a scalpel, leaving a bloodied young boy whose face has been ripped off completely.
His agonizing screams are heard by a man walking with a rifle on his shoulders. He rushes to the spot, but there is no relief for a profusely bleeding Jessie because it is Thomas’ uncle Charlie. We see him as the Sheriff in the movie version, but here he is just the ignorant uncle who shelters the demented acts of his nephew. He merely exclaims, almost fondly, what his godless nephew was up to this time!
He jokes about how Thomas was trying to deform Jessie’s face to look like his own deformed appearance. Uncle Charlie plans to dump the body in the creek to wipe out any trace of the crime, and we realize that it is an entire family of psychopaths. The skeletal face of Jessie reminds us of the horrors young Leatherface is going to unleash when he grows up!
Uncle Charlie asks for some help to chop up the body into pieces so that it is easier to dispose of, and the narrative takes us to the teacher who is walking out of the premises. Suddenly, Mrs. Hewitt appears from nowhere and rams a spade onto his face. The impact almost makes his head explode, and he dies on the spot. Mrs. Hewitt walks away grumbling about how there nothing is wrong with her boy!
The final scene shows Uncle Charlie and Thomas done with their cleaning job. Uncle Charlie is hungry for supper, and when they arrive home, Mrs. Hewitt informs them that supper is ready. The story ends here, but we all know what follows! The body count is only going to increase from here, and the spine-chilling origin story tells us why! If only there was a way to nip this psychopath family in the bud!
New-Gen Leatherface 2022!
The fans of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise are probably well-aware of the developments in the recent past. Netflix attempted a reboot of the franchise, and we were already impressed by the trailers.
The movie was directed by David Blue Garcia and Evil Dead and Don’t Breathe filmmaker Fede Alvarez was the producer. It acts as a sequel to the original movie in 1974, and the narrative shows Leatherface returning after being in hiding for almost fifty years. A group of friends accidentally infiltrate his shielded world, and all hell breaks loose when his murderous urge sparks again.
We hate to say this, but the movie didn’t exactly live up to our expectations. The narrative was rather generic with nothing new to offer, and Leatherface is so much more than just a hulking killer. The original movie had a spooky documentary feel, but this one lacks that kind of an impact. The film is visually appealing and the locations are nicely picked. You will also enjoy some impressive scenes, but they are too few to divert your mind from the mediocrity looming large.
Yes, you will enjoy the copious amount of bloodbath, but apart from the uncontrolled gore, there isn’t much to show for it. It seems like grinding out sequels mindlessly, will only add to this list of half-baked efforts, and if the franchise intends to keep going strong they have to look in a new direction.
Overall, it is worth checking out for the new looks, but the true fans are not easy to please with graphic violence alone! The character of Leatherface has way too much legacy to die out with such mediocre efforts, and we hope that future films keep this in mind before churning out another one!