A New ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ Film Is Coming From ‘Evil Dead’s Fede Alvarez
Like the characters at their center, slasher franchises simply cannot die. The bad guy might get burned, or drowned, or beheaded, but a few years later he’ll be back, better (or at least deadlier) than ever. It’s as regular as clockwork. You could set your watch to Michael Myers rising from the grave.
The latest horror resurrection on the docket: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which has to date spawned seven sequels and/or remakes, and now is due for an eighth. Per Bloody Disgusting, Evil Dead remake and Don’t Breathe director Fede Alvarez is in line to produce the film. The goal, it seems, is a legacyquel a la the recent (and extremely successful) Halloween from director David Gordon Green:
While plans aren’t set in stone, we’re hearing that the hope is to make a direct sequel to Hooper’s ’74 film, similar to what Blumhouse and Universal have done with Halloween. Unfortunately, Texas Chain Saw Massacre‘s Final Girl, Marilyn Burns, passed away in 2014. It will be interesting to see how they continue the story without her, although it could just focus on the current state of the Sawyer family.
The first Massacre from 1974, directed by Tobe Hooper, is a certifiable classic, but I’ve never had much use for any of the sequels or Michael Bay-produced remakes. Something about Leatherface, chainsaw notwithstanding, is less scary to me than his slasher contemporaries, who tend to be stronger, tougher, and a bit more varied in their executions. There’s more than one way to skin a cat, but really just one when it involves a chainsaw.
Still, Alvarez is a horror technician with skill. He could definitely do something worthwhile with the material — although the initial report says he is only involved as producer at this point. Regardless of what happens, it’s inevitable that this will just be Leatherface’s latest return, and not his last.
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