Texas Chainsaw Massacre Sequel Producer Promises New Film Is “Hardcore”

As its name implies, the original 1974 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is considered a masterpiece of horror cinema, thanks to director Tobe Hooper crafting an unsettling and unrelenting experience that actually manages to avoid delivering too much on-screen gore, with producer Fede Álvarez recently noting the upcoming Texas Chainsaw Massacre is “pretty hardcore.” While the original film inspired a number of imitators that thought blood and gruesome special effects could make up for the lack of narrative unease, it’s everything the original film chooses not to show that ends up heightening the disturbing nature of the premise. The new Texas Chainsaw Massacre is set to debut on February 18, 2022.

“It felt familiar somehow because it took us back to when I did Evil Dead,” Álvarez recently detailed to Entertainment Weekly. “Me and [writing partner] Rodo [Sayagues] really wanted to make sure we don’t disappoint the fans, and we are [among them]. So it’s pretty hardcore. But at the same time it has the simplicity of that first film. We wanted to come up with a very simple premise [with] a powerful domino effect. Everything is set up in the right place — all you have to do is push the first domino and everything will happen effortlessly.”

In the almost 50 years since the original film debuted, four sequels have been released, as well as a prequel, a reboot, and a prequel to the reboot, all of which have been met with disappointing and mixed reactions, at best. This would arguably confirm that, no matter what follow-up films might have accomplished, they all fall far short of the accomplishments of the original, often due to an embrace in superficially recreating elements of the 1974 movie without entirely capturing the spirit of its successes.

Álvarez added, “I think the first movie really hit a nerve when portraying that culture clash between the countryside and the city. Back in the ’70s, the hippies were representing the youth of the city. This time, they’re more like millennial hipsters from Austin who are very entrepreneurial and have a dream of getting away from the city and back to the countryside. They’re trying to gentrify small-town America — and let’s just say they encounter some pushback.”

Director David Blue Garcia noted that the entire experience felt similar to the approach to the original, with a small budget and crew that allowed for an entirely different vibe than previous attempts at continuing the series.

“The original was really low-budget, and they were sort of flying by the seat of their pants and coming up with the shots every day,” Garcia pointed out. “This was a very similar project for me, and it gives this film quite an energy.”

He added, “Fede hammered, ‘Practical, practical, practical.’ He was really adamant about capturing as much in camera as possible, and that’s something we strove to achieve on set. It takes discipline and a bit more time and patience, but it really pays off in the end.”

Stay tuned for details on the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre before it hits Netflix on February 18, 2022.

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