The Sawyer family may not hold the same level of prestige in the horror genre as, say, Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, or even Chucky, the pint-sized Devil Doll who is gearing up for a triumphant return in October, but make no mistake, that cannibalistic clan is the stuff of nightmares.
First introduced via Tobe Hooper’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre many moons ago, later this year directors Julian Maury and Alexandre Bustillo will be peeling back the many layers of the Sawyer family to uncover Leatherface, a horror prequel that’s set to deliver a jump-scare or three in October.
It’s one of two high-profile titles coming out of Lionsgate this Halloween season – the other being Michael and Peter Spierig’s Jigsaw – but as Leatherface is poised to launch into theaters first, the studio has doubled down on the prequel’s marketing blitz to unveil a new, suitably creepy poster. Embedded below, you’ll see the titular monster and some hapless victim being dragged to their demise. Either that, or this person in question has already bit the bullet and is en route to being mutilated and transformed into just another face mask.
Also starring Lili Taylor as Verne Sawyer, Sam Coleman as Bud, Sam Strike as Jackson, James Bloor as Ike and Jessica Madsen as Clarice, the official plot synopsis for Leatherface reads as so:
In Texas, years before the events of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, in the early days of the infamous Sawyer family, the youngest child is sentenced to a mental hospital after a suspicious incident leaves the sheriffs’ daughter dead. Ten years later, he kidnaps a young nurse and escapes with 3 other inmates. Pursued by authorities including the deranged sheriff out to avenge his daughter’s death, the young Sawyer teen goes on a violent road trip from hell, molding him into the monster known now as Leatherface.
Leatherface has been slated for a premiere via DirecTV on September 21st, before Lionsgate launches Julian Maury and Alexandre Bustillo’s nightmarish prequel into select theaters one month later. By that stage, the big screen will be teeming with spooky delights ranging from Saw sequel Jigsaw to The Snowman, while new seasons of The Walking Dead and Stranger Things are pegged for a similar window as well.
