Kim Henkel and Tobe Hooper invented the fictional character Leatherface for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie series. He makes his film debut in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre as a cannibalistic and insane mass murderer who, along with his family, kidnaps butchers. He cooks unwary tourists who wander close to their ranch in an unnamed region of Texas.
The name of the character is derived from his human skin masks. Although the chainsaw is Leatherface’s preferred weapon, he has also killed people using cleavers and hammers. The killer Ed Gein, who also donned masks made of human skin, was a significant inspiration for the character.
The only cast member featured in every chapter of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series does so only sometimes as the central antagonist because he typically follows his family’s instructions. Since Gunnar Hansen portrayed Leatherface in the first movie in 1974, the character has been characterised by many other actors and stuntmen, occasionally more than once in a single film.
The character has also appeared in many spin-offs, mostly comic books, and has been mentioned or mocked in various motion pictures and television shows. The video game Mortal Kombat X had Leatherface as a playable character in 2015, while Dead by Daylight featured Leatherface as a playable character in 2017.
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How Did He Get His Mask?
We learn almost little about Leatherface and his family in Tobe Hooper’s groundbreaking horror film and the first in the series (even their names are kept a secret until the first sequel!), just their ruthless and vicious tendencies. Throughout the movie, Leatherface, alias “Bubba” Sawyer, dons three different masks depending on his mood and the situation.
The “Killing Mask,” the “Old Lady Mask,” and the “Pretty Woman Mask” are their respective names. In the first movie, Gunnar Hansen, who played Leatherface, explained why Leatherface wore many masks: An old southern tradition, dressing up for dinner is represented by the “Pretty Woman” outfit, which also includes a female wig and a black suit.
In contrast, the “Killing Mask,” which is Leatherface’s most basic disguise, is the one he uses for his regular household tasks of capturing and butchering intruders and captives.
Where Is Leatherface Now? Is Leatherface Still Alive?
The original Leatherface from the 1974 Texas Chainsaw Massacre would be fantastic if he were still alive. Although he was (at best) in his 20s in the first movie, his way of living would present a more significant challenge. Besides killing, butchering, and cooking, he has no talents to sustain himself.
He would have no choice but to hunt people off the highway. Moreover, given current technology, it is improbable that he would survive the first significant disappearance of…anyone. He would rely on his family to provide him with work because he could not get employment on his own (be it cannibal-related or not).
However, it’s probable that some members of his family have lived and are still active members of a Texas-Chainsawing gang. He is most likely still alive if his family members are helping him, and he eats a lot of protein. But after consuming other people for so long, he might have some form of mad cow disease.
Given that it has been hypothesized that Leatherface already has a mental disorder, this would not matter. He might still be alive if he was alive in the first movie. He would be 67 at most (if he had been 20 years old in 1974). He would be in his 90s if he were in his mid-40s; let’s use 46 as an example. Given his high-risk lifestyle, lack of people skills and ability to function in society, and cannibalistic diet, he most likely passed away within the last several decades.
It’s possible that the Leatherface from the later films in the series is still alive. Although Leatherface appeared to be still young in Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III and Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1990 and 1994, respectively), these two films appeared to be set in the “present day” for their times, the 2003 and 2006 films concentrated still on the 1960s and 1970s era setting (leaving Leatherface still a wrinkled elderly man in the event he is still alive).
This would increase Leatherface’s chances, giving him a current age of as young as 46 to 50. The Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013) movie also depicts a Leatherface who appears alive and healthy today, possibly in his 40s or 50s.
What Was Leatherface’s Real Name?
The cannibalistic family’s last name was altered from Sawyer to Hewitt in the Michael Bay-produced 2003 remake. Leatherface’s full name in this timeline was Thomas Brown Hewitt. Leatherface’s name was changed to Jedidiah Sawyer in the 2013 film Texas Chainsaw 3D, which served as a direct sequel to the first film.
Is Texas Chainsaw Massacre Based On A True Story?
Director of the Texas Chain Saw Massacre Tobe Hooper has said that serial killer Ed Gein’s killings inspired some of the crimes’ specifics, such as Leatherface’s infamous skin mask. Gein is thought to have committed his killings between 1954 and 1957. However, his base of operations was in Wisconsin, not Texas.
“My family who lived in a town adjacent to Ed Gein told me these horrifying tales of human skin furniture and lampshades, among other things. Hooper, a native Texan, stated, “A little bit of grave-robbing, I guess. I grew up with Gein as a bogeyman figure in “campfire tales, “but his knowledge of the murderer’s true narrative was limited.
Edward Gein: America’s Most Bizarre Murderer, a book about the case written by Judge Robert H. Gollmar, who presided over Gein’s trial, describes the horrors discovered in Gein’s home, including heads, bones, and bodies of murder victims; human skulls; and masks, bowls, chair covers, leggings, and lampshades made of human skin.
Gein, a serial grave robber, was ultimately only tried for and found guilty of two actual murders, raising doubts about whether the remains found in his home came from the bodies he had forcibly unearthed or from more victims who were never found.
Was Leatherface Based On A Real Person?
Gein was a significant inspiration for Leatherface, even the skin mask. Kim Henkel, who co-wrote Texas Chain Saw Massacre with Gein, told Texas Monthly that Gein wasn’t the only one who served as a gory inspiration.
“I researched Gein, but I also noted a murder case in Houston at the time involving an Elmer Wayne Henley, a serial killer you may be familiar with. Recruiting victims for an older homosexual man, he was a young man, “Henkel remembered. “Elmer Wayne was quoted in a news source as saying, “I did these crimes, and I’m going to stand up and take it like a man.”
He had this traditional moral at that time, which I found interesting. He wanted it known that he would act morally after being discovered. I, therefore, wanted to incorporate this sort of moral insanity into the characters.”
How Tall Is Leatherface?
The figure is typically described as being 6 feet 7 inches tall. Gunnar Hansen portrayed the notorious character in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Hansen is 6 feet 4 inches tall, much like Burnham.
Hansen, though, was required to don three-inch heels for the film. If Mark Burnham had to wear heels as well, that is unknown. However, the characters appear to be of similar height. He most likely did wear a pair of shoes that increased his size.