Leatherface Review | Road Rash Reviews

4 stars of old school hack and slash.

Leatherface is written by Seth M. Sherwood (Fruitcake) based on characters created by Kim Henkel and Tobe Hooper, the writer and director of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre films. It is directed by Alexandre Bustillo (Inside, Among the Living) and Julien Maury (Livid, ABCs of Death 2) and takes the concept of a coming of age film to a whole new level!

“Most of these kids will end up in prison or mental institutions. Keeping them here is safer for everyone. Keep your guard up.”

The film opens in Texas, 1955, at the home of the Sawyer family. Verna Sawyer (Lili Taylor – To the Bone, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials) is raising her kids using some pretty questionable methods. Her youngest, Jed, isn’t keen, but when they finally manage to persuade him to lure someone into their trap, it turns out they picked on the wrong girl.

They have killed the daughter of local police officer Hal Hartman (Stephen Dorff – Blade, immortals) and he is not a man who easily forgives. He takes Jed away to give him a new identity away from her influence.

Ten years have passed and idealistic young nurse Lizzy (Vanessa Grasse – It Came From the Desert) is just starting her job at Gorman House, the location to which all the troubled kids were sent after being taken from their families.

She soon finds out it’s not all she dreamed it would be and when an incident leads to four of the inmates escaping she finds herself taken hostage and on the run from the police. Her captors are Clarice (Jessica Madsen – Breathless) and her boyfriend Ike (James Bloor – Dunkirk) and Jackson (Sam Strike -EastEnders) and his best friend Bud (Game of Thrones).

Together they embark on a gory killing spree road trip which will drive one of them back into the arms of his family to fulfil his destiny of becoming Leatherface!

This is a delightfully bloody film, just the ticket for gore hounds and a must see for fans of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It’s always good to see an origin story for characters as iconic and strong as Leatherface and this certainly doesn’t disappoint. It is well filmed and well written with excellent action and should be part of any horror fan’s collection.

“Anyone bolts and everyone dies. Get it?”