He is one of the biggest horror icons but, unlike most of them, he is not supernatural in any way. His main weapons are a chainsaw, a sledgehammer and his own physical strength. He wears a mask made from a person's skin, which he uses to express a personality, and engages in murder and cannibalism alongside his family.
Co-creator Henkel later stated in a 1996 interview that he felt that making Leatherface human instead of just a typical monster made him more frightening, as he elaborated "the only genuinely frightening thing to people is [other] people".
Leatherface is a fictional serial killer and cannibal from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre film series. He was created by Kim Henkel and the late Tobe Hooper.
He also had a tendency toward self-mutilation, and a doctor diagnosed him as suffering from a type of neurodegeneration at age 12. Although Leatherface's family still manipulate him in this interpretation, they do show themselves somewhat more caring for him and less abusive than in the original film.
Although the character of Leatherface and minor story details were inspired by the crimes of murderer Ed Gein, its plot is largely fictional. Vortex Inc.
Leather Face Anatomy Explored - Why He Wears Human Skin Masks? Does He Have Any Kids? Many More!
Is Leatherface evil or broken?
Bubba Sawyer, better known as Leatherface, is the main antagonist of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise. He is an unstable and cannibalistic serial killer who wears masks that are the faces of his victims, perfectly flayed from their bodies.
Leatherface, inspired by serial killer Ed Gein, portrays intellectual disability in how he lacks the ability to properly communicate and care for himself. He can't fully think for himself and obeys the orders given to him by his family out of fear.
He kills because he is scared. Scared that others will hurt him; scared that his family will be displeased with him, scared that their shared willingness to eat human flesh will be discovered.
Leatherface never speaks, and of course you never see his face, but he's by far the most expressive and unforgettable character in the movie. This is not only because he carves up most of the cast with a chain saw.
To put it simply, Leatherface's gender-bending in Hooper's 1974 original, is both an allusion to the warped return of the so-called traditional nuclear family and a manifestation of sexual repression and gender confusion.
In this continuity, Leatherface is raised by the Hewitts, a family of inbred cannibals. The family is loosely based on the Sawyer Family from the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise. The Hewitt family consists of Luda May Hewitt, The Tea Lady, Jed Old, Charlie (aka Sheriff Hoyt), Emma Hewitt, and Hannah Hewitt.
The reason for why he cannot speak coherently in the first film is because of the wound he sustained back in 1965, his facial muscles being too weak to allow speech. He apparently healed overtime as Leatherface shouts out "Help me" in Texas Chainsaw 3D when he was being beaten.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre's Leatherface is responsible for 31 deaths across all movies in the franchise, while Freddy Krueger's kill count seems to be between 42 and 48. Jumping to the 1990s, another famous slasher, Scream's different Ghostface killers, have a total of 46 kills.
Leatherface appears to be the weakest the family and is hurt by the fighting that occurs. His brother W.E. abuses him relentlessly, to which Leatherface does not fight back but cries.
Although the character Sally Hardesty is the lone survivor of the five young protagonist friends in the original 1974 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, her character dies in the 2022 reboot Texas Chainsaw Massacre from Leatherface chainsawing her in the stomach.
Leatherface, portrayed by Gunnar Hansen in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), is 6 foot 4 inches (1.93 m) tall. Leatherface is the main antagonist of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, even though he commits his murders alongside his family. Leatherface wears a mask made of human skin, which is where he gets his name from.
For Leatherface, the domestic sphere is the only one he knows. Therefore, this asexual, almost childlike man has become the family's necerssary feminine presence, and his commitment to such a role shows how absurd the limitations of gender are within the traditional family.
In the Texas chainsaw massacre Leatherface is 27 and the 2022 chainsaw Massacre is 50 years later making him 77, how would a 77-year-old still have the strength to commit more massacres? The explanation implied by David Garcia is that living this recluse life in a small town has kept him fit in a way.
Leatherface's need to wear a mask, though, was a reaction to him having a skin disease that disfigured his face and made him the victim of ridicule among his peers. He began wearing a leather mask to draw less attention to his face, and over time, this practice became normal for him.
While Leatherface remains a fictional character, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre true story is chillingly based on real events, including the ominous house that the cannibalistic family lived in. This all lends credence to the aura of fear that the film still embodies.
Grandpa Sawyer is the grandfather and oldest living member of the Sawyer Family. He is a supercentenarian, former butcher/slaughterman and mass murderer. Director Tobe Hooper stated on the audio commentary for Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, that Grandpa is kept alive by drinking the blood of his family's victims.
After Leatherface kills Franklin in the woods, Sally escapes him by reaching the gas station the group visited earlier in the film. During The Texas Chain Saw Massacre DVD's commentary, Gunnar Hansen revealed this chase sequence was the origin of his Leatherface chainsaw dance.
