ON THIS DAY IN HORROR - January 12th
"LEATHERFACE: THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE III" released in 1990
A California couple and a survivalist take a deserted path in Texas, but only meet up with a sadistic and cannibalistic clan interested in helping themselves to fresh meat, in Jeff Burr's Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III!
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At night in the Texas woods, Leatherface (R.A. Mihailoff) bludgeons a young woman, Gina, to death with a sledgehammer and cuts off her face to make it into a mask while Gina's sister Sara (Toni Hudson) watches from a nearby window. Sometime later, a couple traveling through Texas, Michelle (Kate Hodge) and Ryan (William Butler), reach the Last Chance Gas Station, where they meet a hitchhiker named Tex (Viggo Mortensen) and the station's owner Alfredo (Tom Everett). A fight soon breaks out between Tex and Alfredo when Tex finds Alfredo spying on Michelle as she uses the station restroom. As Michelle and Ryan flee in their car, they witness Alfredo apparently killing Tex with a shotgun. When Ryan and Michelle become lost, the driver of a large truck throws a dead coyote at their windshield. As Ryan changes the car's flat tire, Leatherface ambushes them, but they manage to drive off unscathed.
Afterwards, Michelle, Ryan, and another driver, a survivalist named Benny (Ken Foree), crash when a bloodied Tex leaps in front of the car. Michelle, Ryan, and Benny decide to find Tex. On the way, Benny discovers a hook-handed man named Tinker, who offers his assistance in setting down road flares. Benny soon realizes Tinker's real intentions after he finds a damaged chainsaw in the back of his truck. He flees and encounters Leatherface, but is saved by Sara, who had earlier escaped Leatherface. Benny learns that Sara's entire family was killed, and that Leatherface and his family are watching the roads. Benny hears Michelle and Ryan calling for him and leaves Sara; Leatherface kills her with his chainsaw a short time later. Leatherface then attacks Michelle and Ryan, capturing the latter when he gets caught in a bear trap.
Escaping, Michelle locates a house and is captured by Tex, who brings her into the kitchen and introduces her to the already deceased and decomposed "Grandpa", Tinker (Joe Unger), Anne Sawyer (Miriam Byrd Nethery) and an unnamed Little Girl ((Jennifer Banko). Tinker drags in the badly injured Ryan, whom he and Tex suspend upside-down with a pair of meat hooks. When Leatherface returns home, Tex equips him a large golden chainsaw. Outside the house, Benny finds and attempts to interrogate Alfredo but is unsuccessful, eventually knocking Alfredo into the bog and leaving him to drown. As the family prepare for dinner in the kitchen, the Little Girl kills Ryan with a sledgehammer-swinging device. Leatherface prepares to kill Michelle as well, but Benny opens fire on the house with an automatic rifle. In the process, Anne is killed, Tinker and Tex are injured, and Michelle escapes. While Benny fights with Tex, Michelle desperately flees into the Texan woods With Leatherface close behind with his revving chainsaw!
Afterwards, Michelle, Ryan, and another driver, a survivalist named Benny (Ken Foree), crash when a bloodied Tex leaps in front of the car. Michelle, Ryan, and Benny decide to find Tex. On the way, Benny discovers a hook-handed man named Tinker, who offers his assistance in setting down road flares. Benny soon realizes Tinker's real intentions after he finds a damaged chainsaw in the back of his truck. He flees and encounters Leatherface, but is saved by Sara, who had earlier escaped Leatherface. Benny learns that Sara's entire family was killed, and that Leatherface and his family are watching the roads. Benny hears Michelle and Ryan calling for him and leaves Sara; Leatherface kills her with his chainsaw a short time later. Leatherface then attacks Michelle and Ryan, capturing the latter when he gets caught in a bear trap.
Escaping, Michelle locates a house and is captured by Tex, who brings her into the kitchen and introduces her to the already deceased and decomposed "Grandpa", Tinker (Joe Unger), Anne Sawyer (Miriam Byrd Nethery) and an unnamed Little Girl ((Jennifer Banko). Tinker drags in the badly injured Ryan, whom he and Tex suspend upside-down with a pair of meat hooks. When Leatherface returns home, Tex equips him a large golden chainsaw. Outside the house, Benny finds and attempts to interrogate Alfredo but is unsuccessful, eventually knocking Alfredo into the bog and leaving him to drown. As the family prepare for dinner in the kitchen, the Little Girl kills Ryan with a sledgehammer-swinging device. Leatherface prepares to kill Michelle as well, but Benny opens fire on the house with an automatic rifle. In the process, Anne is killed, Tinker and Tex are injured, and Michelle escapes. While Benny fights with Tex, Michelle desperately flees into the Texan woods With Leatherface close behind with his revving chainsaw!
TRIVIA: During the fight scene between Benny and Tex at the truck, Ken Foree accidentally broke Viggo Mortensen's ribs during their fight scene-the shot is seemingly in the movie, you can see Mortensen suddenly clutch after being thrown to the ground.
Top: The sadistic Edward "Tex" Sawyer (Viggo Mortensen);
Above: Michelle (Kate Hodge) does not know the nightmare she is about to wonder into!
With New Line Cinema wrapping up the Nightmare on Elm Street films with the future release of Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare in pre-production, the studio bought the rights to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series from the bankrupt Cannon Group with the intention of beginning a whole new horror franchise - intending for Leatherface to become their new Freddy. Tobe Hooper, director of the original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), was originally going to be involved in the film and had even submitted a treatment to New Line execs, but bowed out of the project due to scheduling conflicts concerning his film Spontaneous Combustion (1990).
David J. Schow was then hired to write the screenplay. The original script was much more brutal with explicit gore sequences, which the producers objected (one of which had a nude man being split down the middle while hung upside down) and demanded extensive changes to the script to reduce gore and violence. While work continued on the screenplay, New Line proceeded to shot a teaser trailer for the upcoming film, with Leatherface played by legendary horror actor Kane Hodder (Hodder would act as Stunt Coordinator on the film and play Leatherface for the stunt sequences) - all of this before a director was even chosen!
After considering Peter Jackson, Tom Savini, and Jon Hess, Jeff Burr was officially signed on to direct the film a mere two weeks before production was due to begin. Originally, Burr wanted to shoot the film in Texas using 16 mm film just like the original, but New Line rejected the idea because they already built the house in California. Tensions soon rose between Burr and the studio, until just before filming was due to begin New Line fired Burr from the production. However, when the producers were unable to secure a replacement director, New Line rehired Burr, and production began near Valencia, California on August, 1989.
David J. Schow was then hired to write the screenplay. The original script was much more brutal with explicit gore sequences, which the producers objected (one of which had a nude man being split down the middle while hung upside down) and demanded extensive changes to the script to reduce gore and violence. While work continued on the screenplay, New Line proceeded to shot a teaser trailer for the upcoming film, with Leatherface played by legendary horror actor Kane Hodder (Hodder would act as Stunt Coordinator on the film and play Leatherface for the stunt sequences) - all of this before a director was even chosen!
After considering Peter Jackson, Tom Savini, and Jon Hess, Jeff Burr was officially signed on to direct the film a mere two weeks before production was due to begin. Originally, Burr wanted to shoot the film in Texas using 16 mm film just like the original, but New Line rejected the idea because they already built the house in California. Tensions soon rose between Burr and the studio, until just before filming was due to begin New Line fired Burr from the production. However, when the producers were unable to secure a replacement director, New Line rehired Burr, and production began near Valencia, California on August, 1989.
Tex: Come on sweetheart. Let's see what you got.
Benny: What the fuck is wrong with you people? Why don't you leave us alone?
Tex: We're hungry.
Benny: You never heard of pizza?
[swings at Tex and misses]
Tex: I like liver...
[punches Benny]
Tex: and onions...
[strangles Benny]
Tex: and pain! And pain! And pain!
Top: Survivalist Benny (Ken Foree) aids Michelle in her fight against the cannibalistic Sawyer clan (Above).
The first Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie in the series not to be filmed in Texas, the ranch where most of the filming was done - the farmhouse and gas station were sets built for the film - is so close to Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park, that Burr swears you can hear screams from the Roller Coaster during some takes. Interestingly, there were actually series of fire in Valencia, California, during filming. This prompted the crew to scramble and work hard to get the burnt forest out of the shots during filming. They even went to the extreme of not lighting the background so that the burnt out trees would not be visible.
There was also supposed to be a brutal "unmasking" scene, which would reveal Leatherface as horribly disfigured, however that scene was scrapped (despite an obvious buildup during the opening credits) and saved because New Line wanted to use it in the next sequel; although the sequel never materialized. Leatherface gained a certain amount of notoriety prior to release due to a battle between New Line Cinema and the MPAA, which initially rated the film an X because of its graphic violence - It was the final film to receive this rating before the MPAA replaced X with NC-17. The studio eventually relented and trimmed the more graphic elements, submitting the film to the MPAA over 11 times. Burr cited as issues involved that the studio was independent, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 had been released unrated, and the film's grim tone.
It was during post production when it was decided that Ken Foree's character should live after he gained high favorability ratings during early test screenings. New Line shot a new ending with editor Michael N. Knue in which Foree 's character Benny survives being cut into his head with chainsaw, and R.A. Mihailoff 's Leatherface also survives being bashed into his head with large rock numerous times.You can't even imagine how surprised - and not in a good way! - Burr was when he saw the film in the cinema for the first time in Tennessee, realizing that new ending was shot without him even knowing!
There was also supposed to be a brutal "unmasking" scene, which would reveal Leatherface as horribly disfigured, however that scene was scrapped (despite an obvious buildup during the opening credits) and saved because New Line wanted to use it in the next sequel; although the sequel never materialized. Leatherface gained a certain amount of notoriety prior to release due to a battle between New Line Cinema and the MPAA, which initially rated the film an X because of its graphic violence - It was the final film to receive this rating before the MPAA replaced X with NC-17. The studio eventually relented and trimmed the more graphic elements, submitting the film to the MPAA over 11 times. Burr cited as issues involved that the studio was independent, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 had been released unrated, and the film's grim tone.
It was during post production when it was decided that Ken Foree's character should live after he gained high favorability ratings during early test screenings. New Line shot a new ending with editor Michael N. Knue in which Foree 's character Benny survives being cut into his head with chainsaw, and R.A. Mihailoff 's Leatherface also survives being bashed into his head with large rock numerous times.You can't even imagine how surprised - and not in a good way! - Burr was when he saw the film in the cinema for the first time in Tennessee, realizing that new ending was shot without him even knowing!
TRIVIA: The chainsaw in the movie weighed approximately 80 pounds. Property master Paul Byers designed the chromium Excalibur chainsaws for the film and was paid $3000 for each!
Top: Director Jeff Burr on set;
Above: Ken Foree poses with his life-replica
Originally slated for a November 3rd, 1989 theatrical release, New Line pushed the release until January 12th the following year; finally opening in 1,107 theaters, grossing $2,692,087 in its opening weekend. Leatherface eventually grossed nearly $6 million at the US/Canadian box office, against its $2 million budget. Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III received mostly negative reviews upon its initial release, with Richard Harrington of The Washington Post blaming the failure of the film on the edits that were made to get the film an R-rating, stating "They shot an X film, but edited it down to an R to satisfy the MPAA ratings board. Whether that was just a publicity ploy or not, the lack of hard-core gore in this latest installment is quite noticeable." Critic Leonard Maltin agreed and gave the film 1 1/2 out of a possible 4 stars, noting that cuts to the film had severely damaged its overall coherence. Chris Parcillian of Film Threat called it "Just another generic slasher flick with nothing beyond the Leatherface connection to recommend it to discerning fans."
Due to the financial failure of Leatherface at the box office, New Line Cinema allowed it's option in the series to lapse and return to Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel. Over ten years later, Hooper and Henkel again sold the rights the TCM franchise to Platinum Dunes producers Brad Fuller, and two years later the reboot/remake of the series, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was released in 2003. Starring Jessica Beil, Erica Leerhsen, Eric Balfour, R. Lee Ermey, and Andrew Bryniarski as Leatherface, the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre was a huge financial success, leading to a prequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning released in 2006. The next film was not as successful in theaters and Platinum Dunes later sold the rights to Lionsgate Entertainment and Twisted Pictures, where they have produced Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013) and the upcoming Leatherface (2017).
Due to the financial failure of Leatherface at the box office, New Line Cinema allowed it's option in the series to lapse and return to Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel. Over ten years later, Hooper and Henkel again sold the rights the TCM franchise to Platinum Dunes producers Brad Fuller, and two years later the reboot/remake of the series, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was released in 2003. Starring Jessica Beil, Erica Leerhsen, Eric Balfour, R. Lee Ermey, and Andrew Bryniarski as Leatherface, the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre was a huge financial success, leading to a prequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning released in 2006. The next film was not as successful in theaters and Platinum Dunes later sold the rights to Lionsgate Entertainment and Twisted Pictures, where they have produced Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013) and the upcoming Leatherface (2017).
ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE: 19%
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