Texas Chainsaw Massacre [2022 sequel]

Alternate titles : Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Return of Leatherface

Tagline : "The Face of Fear Returns"

Yet another alternate sequel in the rather confusing series of Texas Chainsaw Massacre films, which seem to have little or no relation to each other. Set 50 years after the original, this one takes place in the remote town of Harlow, Texas, which has become all but a ghost town, with the bank having foreclosed on most of the properties. Aside from the old orphanage, and it's last remaining resident...

So, when a bunch of young property developers arrive, looking to auction off all the buildings to a bunch of wealthy investors with a view to “gentrifying” the town, they soon find themselves coming into conflict with the town's last inhabitant.

Yes, it seems Leatherface (played here by Mark Burnham) had been keeping a low profile all these years, after he was taken in by the kindly woman at the orphanage. But he's not too keen to see his current home taken over by a bunch of “yuppies” and so another Chainsaw Massacre quickly ensues, as he wastes no time carving his way through the annoying rich kids.

But, he may have met his match when a gruff Texas Ranger arrives in town, who has faced Leatherface once before and is looking to settle an old score...

Released exclusively on the Netflix streaming platform, I really enjoyed this. There was some terrific gore scenes, particularly where Leatherface massacres an entire bus full of yuppies, as he proves to them how the Chainsaw is mightier than the Smartphone and there was some interesting cast choices, including Olwen Fouéré, Alice Krieg and William Hope, who Horror/Sci-Fi fans should all be aquainted with.

Overall, a hugely enjoyable alternate sequel to the original, which gore fans should love.

Overall Marks : 7.10.

Terrifying Trivia

• The opening monologue was narrated by John Larroquette, who narrated the intro to the original 1973 film, as well as the 2003 remake.
• Olwen Fouéré, who previously starred in "The Survivalist" [2017] and the bizarre film "Mandy" [2018] was cast as Sally Hardesty as the actress from the original film, Marilyn Burns, sadly passed away in 2017.
• The story was written by Fede Alverez, who also wrote and Directed the remake of "Evil Dead" [2013] and the Sci-Fi sequel "Alien Romulus" [2024]. He says that although this is a Direct sequel to the original 1973 film, it doesn't totally ignore the original 3 sequels. But as none of them follow on from each other, it's up to the viewer to decide how they fit in with this film.
• Set in Texas, the film was actually shot on location in Bulgaria. The entire town was just a specially constructed set, whilst the House and Barn used by Sally were leftover sets from "Rambo: Last Blood" [2019].
• The film was originally going to be released theatrically, but after receiving negative test screenings, it was sold to Netflix who released it on their streaming platform in Feb 2022.
• William Hope, who plays Sheriff Hathaway, also played Lt Gorman in Aliens [1986] and a young Doctor in "Hellbound: Hellraiser 2" [1988].
• Alice Krige, who plays the Orphanage owner Ginny McCumber, previously played the Borg Queen in "Star Trek: First Contact" [1996], as well as appearing in "Stephen King's Sleepwalkers" [1992] and "Silent Hill" [2006].
• The Sherrif's van has the markings "Hooper County" on the side. An obvious reference to the original film's Director, Tobe Hooper.
• British film makers, Brothers Ryan and Andy Tohill, were originally hired to Direct, but were fired shortly after filming had begun, as the producers were unhappy with what had been shot. Texan film maker David Blue Garcia was subsequently hired, as the producers had been impressed with his debut film "Tejano" [2018].
• As of 2025, the film has not been released to Disc anywhere and is only available on the Netflix streaming platform.

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