List of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Characters - The Sawyer Family - Leatherface

Leatherface

Leatherface, the de-facto main antagonist of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre films, appeared in every single one. He is a deformed, mentally retarded, overweight, cross dressing, cannibal serial killer who uses a chainsaw to kill his victims. He was portrayed by Gunnar Hansen in the original 1974 film, Bill Johnson in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, R. A. Mihailoff in Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, Robert Jacks in Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, Sam McKinzie, and Dan Yeager in Texas Chainsaw 3D. Famous horror actor Kane Hodder also played the stunt double Leatherface in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre III. Also famous stuntman himself and fellow horror icon Tom Morga played Leatherface in Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 during the opening car chase. Leatherface is portrayed as being "severely mentally retarded and mentally disturbed", and often uses butchering tools, like meat hooks, to slaughter his victims. He lives with a family of fellow cannibals, who are often abusive and violent towards him. Despite their abuse of him, Leatherface does what ever his family orders him to do. The character was loosely inspired by serial killer Ed Gein, who also wore the skin of his victims, cross dressed and was possibly a cannibal.

The character was originally portrayed by Gunnar Hansen. His real name is unknown, although older brother Chop Top calls him "Bubba" in the second movie and in Texas Chainsaw 3D, his name is Jedidaiah. While Chop Top is most likely using this colloquial word for "brother" affectionately, it is possible that "Bubba" is Leatherface's proper name. In the latter case, assuming that his surname is Sawyer as with his older brothers, his full name would be Bubba Sawyer. In the third film he is only referred to as Junior by his family with his first name not being stated. In the fourth film Leatherface is called "Leather" by his relatives. In the original film, Leatherface isn't ever seen without one of his human-flesh masks on. Whereas many horror movie villains are sadistic or evil; Leatherface is in fact mentally retarded and most of the time is merely following the orders of his family. Hansen has stated that Leatherface is "completely under the control of his family. He'll do whatever they tell him to do. He's a little bit afraid of them". Tobe Hooper has argued on the documentary The Shocking Truth that Leatherface is a 'big baby' and kills in self-defense because he feels threatened, pointing out that in the first film Leatherface is actually frightened of all the new people entering his house. Leatherface is also mute, besides from making bizarre, baby-like gibberish and screams, which his family somehow understands.

The people Leatherface kills are later butchered and processed by his father Drayton Sawyer, into barbecue and chili, which are sold by Drayton Sawyer at his gas station. Aside from Leatherface and Drayton, the Sawyer clan includes several more brothers, Nubbins, Chop Top, Eddie/Tex, Tech/Tinker, Alfredo, W.E. and Vilmer, as well as Grandpa, Grandma/Great-Grandma, Mama and Leatherface's daughter (real names unknown).

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is a direct sequel to the 1974 film, but is more campy and over the top than the original. Tobe Hooper said on The Shocking Truth that he wanted to expand on the dark comedy in the original film, an element that he felt no one truly picked up on. In this film, Leatherface develops a "crush" on one of his victims, and in one scene, skins off the face of her friend (while alive) and places it on her to hide her from the rest of his family. At the end of the film, he apparently dies in an explosion after being impaled with a chainsaw in a fight with the uncle of his previous victims from the first film, who also causes Sawyer brother Drayton to dentonate a hand grenade, which apparently kills off the rest of the Sawyer family. Though Leatherface appears to have survived, as he is later seen in Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III and Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. Leatherface's brother Chop Top also appears to have survived, as he was planned to be featured in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre prequel All American Massacre, which reveals that Chop Top was imprisoned after the events of part 2, though both Drayton and Grandpa appear to have died in the explosion, as Drayton is never seen again and Grandpa is shown to be a preserved corpse kept and treated by Leatherface and the remaining members of his family in part 3, although a living character very similar to Grandpa appears in part 4, he is a mute elderly man dressed in black referred to as "Grandfather", who sits at the family dinner table, though he is able to move around much better than Grandpa, which is seen when his apparent grandson Vilmer snaps and attacks fellow Sawyer brother W.E. with a hammer, Grandfather awakes from his motionless state and walks away from the dinner table while holding a kitchen knife.

Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, is the second sequel in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre film series. The film was made as a reboot & a sequel, so it can be took either as a direct sequel or possibly taking place in its own continuity, though several references are made to the previous two films, including Leatherface having a knee brace from his chainsaw accident at the climax of part 1, brother Alfredo owning a gas station and truck labeled "Last Chance Gas" (the name of fellow brother Drayton's station in part 1), a Drayton Sawyer quote from part 2 "The saw is family", the family's last name remaining Sawyer from the previous film and several characters from both earlier films (Leatherface, Grandpa and Stretch, a former radio dj, now a reporter, who escaped the family in Part 2) were included. He is affectionately called "Junior" by the members of his family. The filmmakers attempted to make the series darker and grittier as with the original, but interventions from the MPAA quashed their vision and had them tone it down and change the ending. An uncut version was released in 2003. Leatherface has different, more extended family and a daughter in this film, possibly from a rape. A four issue comic series based on the film, entitled Leatherface was also created; notably, portions of the comics are narrated by and shown from Leatherface's point of view. In a documentary on the special edition dvd of Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, writer David J. Schow referred to the Sawyers as a homicidal SWAT team, with Leatherface as their enforcer. Leatherface's change in family was most likely because of his other family members' deaths in the previous film, as Grandpa is seen to be a preserved corpse in this film and it has been mentioned by director Jeff Burr on the audio commentary for part 3, that after Leatherface's previous family died (Drayton took the blame for Leatherface's crimes and is renamed W.E. Sawyer in this universe, as was originally intended in the first film), Leatherface moved in with distant relatives, possibly cousins, though in the film they are presented as his mother, Mama, and his brothers, Tinker, Tex and Alfredo, with Leatherface also having an unnamed daughter and an unseen relative named W.E. Sawyer who was executed for the crimes committed by Leatherface and the Sawyer family (The Hitchhiker, Drayton & Grandpa) back in 1973 (In this universe, W.E. Sawyer IS Drayton Sawyer, as shown in the first film. There is a sign at the gas station that says "W.E. Slaughter", which not only gives the cook's original name, as well as the family name 'Slaughter', it was an inside joke to hint at the cook's involvement 'WE Slaughter'). Burr also offers the idea of an alternative universe as a possible explanation for the changes in the film, a universe which rewrites major events of the first two films, while at the same time retaining certain characters and events from the prior films. The character of Mama implies that she and Grandpa had an incestuous relationship, which in turn led to the murderous Sawyer family. Sawyer brother Alfredo's character was originally the character of Chop Top, but later evolved into the character of Alfredo, this also being revealed on the audio commentary. The film also features a line of Drayton Sawyer's from the previous film ("The saw is family"). In this film Leatherface appears much more aggressive and violent than in previous installments, a trait intentionally added, as it is explained on the audio commentary for this film that Leatherface was in a childlike mode in the first two films and now he has reached the rebellious teen mode.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation apparently takes place in its own continuity, although the original film is mentioned in the opening prologue, in the same prologue it also references the other sequel films, as "two minor, yet apparently related inncidents". The film features Leatherface as a yelping, pizza-eating transvestite involved in an Illuminati conspiracy to provide society a source of horror, and, again, with a different family, probably because in the first three movies, the rest of his family has been killed or imprisoned. Leatherface (who is referred to as "Leather" in the whole film) is presented as a much more effeminate character than the previous two installments feature, which portrayed Leatherface as being attracted to women, as seen in part 2 with Stretch, and less childlike, as seen in part 3 with him having a daughter, being more rebellious teenager-like and having more anger in his actions. In part 4 Leatherface is reverted to his original self, a screaming mentally ill killer with an identity problem, though he seems even more feminine than his character in the original film, as Leatherface not only wears a female face mask, he also wears a Gein-like female skin suit, a woman's dress, make-up, hair and even paints his fingernails in part 4.

Texas Chainsaw 3D is a direct sequel to the 1974 original film and starts immediately after Sally Hardesty's escape. Sheriff Hooper arrives right after the extended Sawyer family gather to the house with shotguns, in which the sheriff demands Drayton hand over Leatherface. Drayton attempts to justify his and "Jed's" actions by arguing that the characters from the first film were trespassing, but ultimately the family agrees to give him "Jed", with Drayton scolding him for letting Sally escape. Just as they prepare to send Leatherface out to Sheriff Hooper, a group of townspeople led by Burt Hartman shoot up the house, killing nearly all of the Sawyer clan before burning the house down with a Molotov cocktail.

Killing all but "Leatherface", his cousin Loretta Sawyer and her illegitimate baby (Edith Sawyer) who managed to evade the fire. Loretta, wounded via a gunshot, attempts to receive help from one of the townspeople, who kills her and retrieves her baby "Edith". Leatherface, who was believed to have died in the fire was hidden and cared for by his grandmother Verna, who did so out of obligation and so he would protect her from the town (who was now out for her for being "a Sawyer").

Twenty years later, Verna dies and leaves her vast estate to her long lost grand-daughter Edith Sawyer, who has been raised as "Heather Miller". Heather travels to Newt, Texas to collect her inheritance, ultimately resulting in each of her friends being murdered after Leatherface is unleashed by Darryl, a hitchhiker who attempts to rob the mansion before being bludgeoned to death by Leatherface. Heather is briefly captured by Leatherface, but escapes as he kills her friend, Kenny, leading to a chase into the town's carnival, where Leatherface relinquishes his attack after being confronted by a police officer.

Another cop is sent to search the house under orders of Burt Hartman (now the mayor), but is murdered by Leatherface, who attacks him with an axe before peeling away his face. Burt then lures Leatherface by tying up Heather inside the old family Slaughterhouse. Leatherface prepares to kill Heather, but stops upon noticing she has their family birthmark. Before he is able to free her, he is attacked by Burt and one of his associates. Ultimately, Heather aids her cousin, who proceeds to kill Hartman by pushing him into a meat-grinder.

Leaving together, both Heather and Leatherface go home to the mansion, where she reads Verna's letter, informing her that if she takes care of Jed, he will in turn protect her.

In a post credits scene, Heather's abusive adoptive parents arrive at the mansion, discussing how they greedily plan to split her assets. However, Leatherface opens the door, with his chainsaw in hand.