The long-awaited next installment in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise has found what is perhaps an unlikely home, in the form of Netflix. The world’s biggest streamer has picked up global rights to the horror sequel from Legendary Pictures. Netflix had previously acquired the Millie Bobby Brown-starring Enola Holmes from the studio last year, but it’s safe to say that any version of Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a far more grisly affair. It just goes to show that Netflix isn’t too concerned when it comes to acquiring high-profile horror content, even when it comes from a series known for a taboo level of violence and gore.
This version of TCSM, as it is known to fans, is the sophomore directorial effort of cinematographer David Blue Garcia, known primarily for thriller Tejano in 2018. Taking on a well-known franchise like TCSM, however, will doubtless by a much bigger platform for the young director. The film was shot in Bulgaria in 2020, is produced by Don’t Breathe filmmaker Fede Alvarez, and has otherwise been very much shrouded in mystery throughout its development. The poster below was released last year, and remains the only piece of promotional material we’ve seen of the film so far. Netflix hasn’t yet announced an official release date, although sometime near Halloween would certainly seem to make sense.
As one might expect, given the current vogue in making horror sequels, this Texas Chainsaw Massacre is being pitched as a direct sequel to the original 1974 film from Tobe Hooper, ignoring all other sequels, even Hooper’s own Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. This is pretty much exactly as we would have expected, as the 2018 Blumhouse version of Halloween in particular has normalized this approach to horror franchises that had otherwise long since run out of gas—tie the film to the popular original, and ignore the many sequels. TCSM has had no fewer than 7 sequels to date, and many are of infamously low quality, such as 2006’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning.
Plot details of this new reboot are scarce, but The Hollywood Reporter seems to suggest that it will take place in the present day, imagining a scenario in which Leatherface and his family of cannibals have been keeping a low profile for almost 50 years before reappearing to strike again.
The cast for the new film includes Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade), Sarah Yarkin, (Happy Death Day 2U), Jacob Latimore (The Maze Runner) and Moe Dunford (Vikings). Refresh your memory with the evocative poster below, as we wait for what will presumably be an official release date and more promotional images/a trailer coming from Netflix in the near future.
