Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022 film)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a 2022 American slasher film directed by David Blue Garcia, with a screenplay by Chris Thomas Devlin, from a story by Fede Álvarez and Rodo Sayagues. The film is a direct sequel to "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" (1974) and the ninth installment of the overall franchise. Picking up several decades after the original film, the story focuses on the serial killer Leatherface targeting a group of young adults and coming into conflict with a vengeful survivor of his previous murders. The project is a joint-venture production between Legendary Pictures , Exurbia Films, and Bad Hombre. The film stars Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, Mark Burnham, Moe Dunford, Nell Hudson, Jessica Allain, Olwen Fouéré, Jacob Latimore, and Alice Krige. After the release of "Leatherface" in 2017, Lionsgate had plans for five more films in the franchise. However, the studio lost the rights due to the time it took to release it. Legendary acquired the franchise's rights, with Álvarez and Sayagues serving as producers alongside Pat Cassidy, Ian Henkel, and Kim Henkel, who co-wrote the original film. Duo filmmakers Ryan and Andy Tohill were initially signed on as directors, but were  replaced with Garcia due to creative differences. Filming took place in Bulgaria in August 2020. "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" was released on February 18, 2022, on Netflix. The film received generally negative reviews from critics. Plot. Nearly 50 years after Leatherface's killing spree in 1973, young entrepreneurs Melody and Dante, Melody's sister Lila and Dante's girlfriend Ruth travel to the abandoned Texas town of Harlow, to auction off old properties to create a trendy, heavily gentrified area. While inspecting a dilapidated orphanage, the group discover it is still occupied by an elderly woman called Ginny. When she claims  she has papers to prove she still owns the property, an argument breaks out, briefly interrupted by a silent and towering man from upstairs. Ginny then collapses from a heart attack and is rushed to the hospital, accompanied by Ruth and the man. An investor, Catherine, along with a group of potential buyers arrive in Harlow on a large bus, distracting Melody and Dante. Meanwhile, Lila strikes up a friendship with a local mechanic, Richter, and reveals she was a survivor of a school shooting, leaving her terrified of guns. Ginny dies en route to the hospital; Ruth texts Melody  before the man goes berserk and murders the officers driving the ambulance, leading it to crash. When Ruth awakes, she witnesses the man, revealed to be Leatherface, cutting off Ginny's face to wear as a mask. Ruth manages to radio for help before being killed by Leatherface, who then makes his way back to Harlow. During a property auction, Melody reads Ruth's texts and prepares to leave with Lila. Richter overhears them talking about Ginny's death and confiscates their keys, agreeing to give them back once they provide proof that they rightfully removed Ginny from her home . Melody and Dante return to the orphanage to find them. Meanwhile, Sally Hardesty, the sole survivor of Leatherface's previous killing spree and now a battle-hardened Texas Ranger, learns of Ruth's attack and heads out to investigate. At the orphanage, Melody discovers the papers and realizes that Ginny was wrongfully evicted. Leatherface arrives at the orphanage and attacks Dante, mutilating him. Melody hides as Leatherface retrieves his chainsaw from his bedroom. A thunderstorm hits Harlow as night falls, and Catherine and Lila take cover in the bus with the buyers. Dante manages to stumble out of the orphanage  where he is discovered by Richter before bleeding to death. Richter enters the orphanage and is attacked and killed by Leatherface. Melody retrieves the car and bus keys from his body before fleeing the house, reuniting with Lila. They get on the bus, pursued by Leatherface who begins slaughtering all of the people aboard, including Catherine. Melody and Lila escape the carnage and come across Sally who locks them in her car before entering the orphanage to finally confront Leatherface. She holds him at gunpoint, demanding he remembers the pain he inflicted on her and her friends, but is met  by only silence before Leatherface walks away. Leatherface then attacks the sisters in Sally's car but they are saved by Sally who shoots him. Sally gives Melody the keys to drive away before pursuing Leatherface. Leatherface ambushes and fatally injures Sally. Melody hits Leatherface with Sally's car before crashing into a nearby building; Melody is trapped but orders Lila to run away. When Leatherface appears, Melody apologises for what they did to Ginny. As he moves in to attack, Lila attempts to shoot him, but her gun is empty. Sally shoots him instead and he flees. Before dying , she encourages Lila not to run as she will be forever haunted by him. Lila then takes Sally's shotgun and pursues Leatherface into an abandoned building where she is ambushed and attacked. Melody arrives and takes Leatherface's chainsaw before using it to uppercut him, knocking him into a pool of water where he sinks to the bottom. They escape and Lila finds Sally's hat and puts it on before starting the morning drive. However, Leatherface emerges, still alive, and drags Melody out of the car before decapitating her with his chainsaw. A horrified Lila watches as the  self-driving car takes her out of Harlow. Leatherface dances in the street with his chainsaw and Melody's head. A post-credit scene shows Leatherface making his way to the house where his original massacre took place. Cast. Additionally, John Larroquette reprises his role as the film's narrator, having provided voice over for the original film, the 2003 remake and . Production. Development. Initially during the development of "Leatherface" (2017), the producers had the film rights and intention to make five more "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" films. In April 2015, producer Christa Campbell stated that the fate of the potential  sequels would largely depend on the financial and critical reception to "Leatherface". By December 2017, Lionsgate and Millennium Films had lost the film rights, due to the amount of time it took to release "Leatherface". In August 2018, it was reported that Legendary Pictures had entered preliminary negotiations to purchase the film rights to "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", with the studio intending to adapt television and film installments. The following year, Fede Álvarez signed onto the project as producer. In November 2019, Chris Thomas Devlin joined the production as screenwriter. In February 2020, Ryan Tohill and Andy Tohill were hired to  serve as directors for the film, with Angus Mitchell signed on as cinematographer after collaborating on "The Dig" (2018). In May of the same year, it was announced that the film would serve as a sequel to the original film and feature a 60-year-old Leatherface, notably similar to the approach that Blumhouse Productions took with their "Halloween" films. In February 2022, Alvarez clarified that the events of the original sequels took place in the film's continuity. Casting. In October 2020, it was announced that Elsie Fisher had been cast to star in the film alongside Sarah Yarkin , Moe Dunford, Alice Krige, Jacob Latimore, Nell Hudson, Jessica Allain, Sam Douglas, William Hope, and Jolyon Coy. In March 2021, it was revealed that Mark Burnham had been cast as Leatherface, replacing the late Gunnar Hansen, while Olwen Fouéré was cast as Sally Hardesty, replacing the late Marilyn Burns. Filming. Principal photography commenced on August 17, 2020, in Bulgaria. However, after being unimpressed with what was filmed, the studio fired Ryan and Andy Tohill. David Blue Garcia was hired to replace them as director. The footage shot by the Tohill brothers would not be used, with Garcia starting over on  the production. Garcia said it was a challenge to make Bulgaria look like Texas, but they leaned into the idea that it looked more like West Texas, near the Fort Davis mountains. Garcia praised production designer Michael Perry and set decorators Asen Bozilov and Joey Ostrander for building a good replica of a Texas town, even if there wasn't enough barbed wire to fully emulate Texas. Post-production. By March 2021, Álvarez announced that production had completed, while confirming that the film would focus on an older-aged Leatherface. The filmmaker revealed that the production took an "old school  approach to filmmaking, noting vintage lenses and practical effects used for the gore. The following month, the film was officially titled Texas Chainsaw Massacre". It was believed at one point that the title had changed to "Texas Chainsaw Begins" but Devlin denied this. In May, it was reported that after test screenings, the audience reaction was generally negative. However, by August, Álvarez counterclaimed that the overall audience score was mostly positive, while emphasizing that the film remains respectful to the first film's legacy. That same month, it was revealed that Colin Stetson served as composer for the film. Release . In October 2020, the film was initially stated for a theatrical release sometime in 2021. However, in August 2021, the film was revealed to skip a theatrical release and would instead be released exclusively on Netflix. In October 2021, during an "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) on the social media site Reddit, Álvarez stated that the film was most likely planned for an early 2022 release date. On December 3, 2021, a first look of the film was released, along with the announcement of its February 18 release date. Reception. Audience viewership. Five days after its release, the film still ranked  at number 1 on Netflix's top 10 lists in the United States, Brazil, and Saudi Arabia, among other regions. Critical response. Valerie Complex for "Deadline Hollywood" wrote "The real horror here is the modernizing of the content by merging social media, social issues and Twitter buzz words in a careless fashion that makes it hard to latch onto anything substantial". For "The A.V. Club", A.A. Dowd negatively compared the film to David Gordon Green's "Halloween" and said "Isn't it kind of arrogant to position your movie as the only proper follow-up to an iconic original and  then make the same blunders as the films you're retconning?" Owen Glieberman of "Variety" called the film "a blood-soaked but unscary footnote." David Sims of "The Atlantic" said that the film "feels unnecessary and anonymous, leaning on crass visual shocks while failing to match the unsparing brutality of its lodestar." Jocelyn Noveck of the Associated Press gave the film 1/4 stars, writing: "Did we really need another? And sadly, given the lack of imagination, creativity or even basic attention to logic in a perfunctory and downright silly script, the answer seems a resounding “Nope.”" Lauren Milici of Total  Film remarked that the movie failed to honor the original, writing: "It's a formulaic film about a group of kids who get chased by a killer. Take Leatherface out of the equation and you could easily mistake it for any other horror." Writing for "TheWrap", William Bibbiani said "Garcia clearly knows that this is the film's ultraviolent slasher centerpiece, and he absolutely delivers on all that gory promise." Frank Scheck of "The Hollywood Reporter" wrote ""Texas Chainsaw Massacre" doesn't exactly offer anything new, but gorehound fans who rejoice at watching people's innards fall out of their  bodies will find much to appreciate." Brad Wheeler of "The Globe and Mail" wrote: ""Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is what it says it is. You have your Texas, your chainsaw, your massacre." Benjamin Lee of "The Guardian" gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, describing it as "a jolting little slasher that should repulse and satisfy those with a suitably depraved idea of what they are clicking into." Jonathan Dehaan of Nightmare on Film Street said, ""Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is as violent and as blood-soaked as any of the sequels that came before it, even if it is without  a defined purpose." Possible sequel. Following the film's release, Blue Garcia expressed interest in taking part in a sequel, should Legendary decide to move forward with one.