Tobe Hooper's Texas Chainsaw Massacre is rightly considered one of the most intensely terrifying movies of all time, but none of the subsequent sequels, reboots or reimaginings managed to recapture the sheer dread of the original, and 2022's Netflix follow-up was arguably the worst yet.
Still, despite negative reviews (it sits at a dire 31% on Rotten Tomatoes), the movie must have been at least a moderate success for the streamer, because another instalment is now in development.
Insider Daniel Richtman is reporting that the new movie will be titled Texas Chainsaw Legacy, and according to this logline, Leatherface and his psychotic family will return.
"Texas Chainsaw Legacy delves into the tranquil facade of Oasis Oaks, a gated community nestled in rural Texas. Amidst the meticulously manicured lawns and vigilant security patrols, our protagonist family epitomizes suburban bliss. However, lurking just beyond the confines of this idyllic enclave lies an abandoned property, home to the infamous Leatherface and his macabre kin. As chaos descends upon Oasis Oaks, ordinary families are pitted against the savage Sawyers in a harrowing battle for survival, where the lines between good and evil blur in a chilling confrontation of familial horrors."
Certainly sounds... like a TCM movie!
No director or writer has been announced, but updates may be just around the corner now that this synopsis is out there.
Here's what the previous film's director David Blue Garcia had to say about his preparation and the comedic tone of certain scenes during an interview with Screen Rant.
"For me, it was kind of the spirit. The spirit of the filmmaking of that first movie. I don't like to watch movies while I make movies. So I watched Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the original, and then I didn't watch anything else for two months while I shot this. To me, it just kind of gives me an idea for what I want to do. But I'm not actually directly copying anything from the original. It just gave me sort of a feel. Something that stood out to me about the original that not a lot of people talk about, is how darkly funny it is.
So I made sure to bring a little bit of levity into this film as well. You might have seen it, the bus scene when Leatherface walks on and all the characters raise their cell phones. That's one of the first things I added when I came on."