Shifted from its original October release date to the doldrums of January, Texas Chainsaw 3D is finally headed to release a mere year and change after filming. Shock Till You Drop has been the place to catch glimpses of the film, first with the premiere of the official poster and today, the first official still from the movie. Check it out below.
While this is our first look at Leatherface, the chainsaw-wielding star of the franchise, it isn’t the first look you probably expected; we don’t really see him per say, just the back of him as heads towards a meat packing plant (nice). Yeah, there’s not really much to go on here.
Directed by John Luessenhop, Texas Chainsaw 3D ignores all of the sequels and remakes and takes place following the grisly events of the Tobe Hooper 1974 original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The lone survivor of that movie escapes back to the town of Newt, Texas and implicates the Sawyer family, resulting in the townspeople forming an angry mob and burning the Sawyer family house down with all of its family members inside. Well…except for one. The movie then fast forwards a couple of decades later where a young woman and her friends travel to the Texas estate her grandmother bequeathed to her and run afoul of everyone’s favorite cannibal/psycho/mask maker. The cast includes musician Trey Songz, B-movie legend Bill Moseley, and the original Leatherface himself Gunnar Hansen. Dan Yeager will be donning the chainsaw and the mask made of human skin for this go around.
Initially I was a little hesitant on Texas Chainsaw 3D, but after reading the plot, I’m actually kind of interested. The direct sequel route is an interesting, if flawed (Superman Returns anyone?), road to take and even though I’m sure Lionsgate is more focused on blood and body parts flying at the screen than quality (judging by its move to the doghouse movie month of January), I can’t lie and say I don’t want to see Leatherface chop people up in three dimensions. It’s a missed opportunity by not releasing it in October though, I promise you that.
Texas Chainsaw 3D hits theaters everywhere January 4th, 2013.