Alternate 'Leatherface' Ending Was Far More Violent and Disturbing

Given its name, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise has never shied away from depicting all manner of mayhem and carnage, cementing the films as some of the most sadistic movies in the genre. The recent Leatherface, which took place before the events of the original 1974 film, initially had an ending even more gruesome than the one that made the final cut. You can check out the alternate ending, which still features the audio of the theatrical ending, in the video below.

The ending of the finished film involved Jedidiah attacking the young woman and decapitating her with a chainsaw, turning her face into his first mask. In the alternate ending, the killer spared her temporarily and only removed the lower part of her face to craft his first mask. Audiences can only wonder whether or not that wound was administered while she was alive or dead, making the horrors she suffered even worse.

Set before the events of Texas Chain Saw Massacre, a violent teen and three others kidnap a young nurse while escaping from a Texas mental institution. Pursued by a vengeful sheriff, the disturbed young man embarks on a murderous rampage that shapes him into a legendary killer known as Leatherface.

One of the integral components of the franchise is the emphasis on not just one killer, but of Leatherface's entire twisted family. That component is what drew Lily Taylor to join the film.

"What attracted me to Leatherface was really talking with [directors] Alex [Bustillo] and Julien [Maury]," Taylor previously explained. "When they told me they wanted to do something that was a cross between Terrence Malick, like Badlands and Virgin Suicides, I thought, 'I'm there.'"

Taylor added, "What I love is this stuff that's happening with people pushing the genre as far as they can push it, that's what's exciting to me."

Directors Bustillo and Maury had previously earned a name for themselves with their boundary-pushing films Inside and Among the Living. Both films featured incredibly disturbing special effects, which explains how the above alternate ending likely came about.

Leatherface is available now on Blu-ray, DVD and VOD.

[H/T Bloody Disgusting]