# Leatherface (2017 film)
**Leatherface** is a 2017 American-Bulgarian horror film directed by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, written by Seth M. Sherwood, and designed as a prequel explaining the origin of [Leatherface](https://www.edgepedia.org/leatherface), the masked killer of *The Texas Chain Saw Massacre* (1974). It is the eighth film in *[The Texas Chainsaw Massacre](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-texas-chainsaw-massacre-franchise)* franchise[1](https://kfd.kinepolis.be/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/LEATHERFACE-Production-Notes-ITL.pdf). The story follows a teenage Leatherface who escapes from a mental hospital with three other inmates, kidnaps a young nurse, and takes her on a road trip while being pursued by a lawman out for revenge[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/leatherface_2017).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Franchise position | Eighth film in *The Texas Chainsaw Massacre* series; a prequel to the 1974 original[1](https://kfd.kinepolis.be/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/LEATHERFACE-Production-Notes-ITL.pdf) |
| Directors / writer | Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo; screenplay by Seth M. Sherwood, from characters created by Kim Henkel and Tobe Hooper[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/leatherface_2017) • [1](https://kfd.kinepolis.be/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/LEATHERFACE-Production-Notes-ITL.pdf) |
| Release | Limited theatrical and on-demand release October 20, 2017, after a September 21, 2017 debut on DIRECTV[3](https://www.dreadcentral.com/reviews/249313/leatherface-2017/) |
| Principal cast | Stephen Dorff (Texas Ranger Hal Hartman), Lili Taylor (Verna Sawyer), Sam Strike (Jackson), Vanessa Grasse (Lizzy), James Bloor (Ike), Jessica Madsen (Clarice), Sam Coleman (Bud), Finn Jones (Deputy Sorrel)[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/leatherface-2017) |
| Production | Millennium Films, Campbell Grobman Films, LF2 Productions, and Lionsgate; country of origin Bulgaria and the United States[5](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/leatherface) |
| Ratings | R in the United States (strong bloody violence, disturbing images, some sexuality/nudity, language); R 18+ in Australia for high impact bloody violence[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/leatherface_2017) • [5](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/leatherface) |
| Reception | 28% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (43 reviews) and 24% from audiences; a Metascore of 40 based on 12 critic reviews[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/leatherface_2017) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/leatherface/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The film is set in Texas, years before the events of the 1974 film, in the early days of the Sawyer family. The youngest Sawyer child is sentenced to a mental hospital after a suspicious incident leaves the sheriff's daughter dead. Ten years later, the teenage Sawyer escapes the facility with three other inmates, kidnapping a young nurse named Lizzy[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/leatherface/). The escape is led by a psychotic couple, Ike and Clarice, who force two other patients, Bud and the good-natured Jackson, to hold Lizzy hostage as the group flees toward the Mexican border, pursued by the vengeful lawman Hal Hartman[3](https://www.dreadcentral.com/reviews/249313/leatherface-2017/). One of the teens is destined for tragedy and horrors that destroy his mind and mold him into the killer known as Leatherface[7](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/leatherface).
The film keeps which of the escapees becomes Leatherface a secret until a late reveal; one critic wrote that for all the buildup, the ending makes little sense and is not terribly satisfying[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/leatherface_2017). [Lili Taylor](https://www.edgepedia.org/lili-taylor) plays Verna Sawyer, the family matriarch, who in the film's 1950s prologue forces the young Jed to eat human meat at the derelict farmhouse[3](https://www.dreadcentral.com/reviews/249313/leatherface-2017/).
### Place in the franchise
The film followed 2013's *Texas Chainsaw 3D*, which had itself been received with mixed reviews, and like that film it failed to revive the franchise[11](https://comicbook.com/horror/news/texas-chainsaw-massacre-3d-movie-timeline-problem-explained/). Producer Christa Campbell said in December 2017 that because of the time it took to release the film, the producers lost the rights, so no sequel would come from them; the property was expected to move to new hands, potentially restarting the timeline again[12](https://comicbook.com/horror/news/texas-chain-saw-massacre-sequel-reboot-remake-leatherface/). The film shares its title with *[Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III](https://www.edgepedia.org/leatherface-the-texas-chainsaw-massacre-iii)* (1990), a sequel it does not follow[13](https://www.ichoosetostand.net/2019/02/retrospective-leatherface-2017.html).
## Production
The film was a Millennium Films and Campbell Grobman Films production, produced by Les Weldon, Carl Mazzocone, Christa Campbell, and Lati Grobman, with [Tobe Hooper](https://www.edgepedia.org/tobe-hooper) and Kim Henkel among the executive producers[1](https://kfd.kinepolis.be/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/LEATHERFACE-Production-Notes-ITL.pdf). Producer Les Weldon described the project as an opportunity for "a whole new and different take" on the *Texas Chainsaw* mythology, going to the very beginning of how Leatherface came to be[1](https://kfd.kinepolis.be/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/LEATHERFACE-Production-Notes-ITL.pdf).
**Directorial approach.** Maury and Bustillo, the French directing duo behind the 2007 slasher *[Inside](https://www.edgepedia.org/inside-2007-film)*, were known for uncompromising on-screen violence, yet they said they toned down the violence in Sherwood's original screenplay. They were drawn to the script because it was not a survival-slasher like the other *Texas Chainsaw Massacre* movies but was closer to a road movie[8](https://projectedfigures.com/2018/04/13/alexandre-bustillo-and-julien-maury-talk-leatherface/). It was the first film they had directed that they had not also written, and their first work on an established property[8](https://projectedfigures.com/2018/04/13/alexandre-bustillo-and-julien-maury-talk-leatherface/).
Tobe Hooper, the franchise's co-creator, died just as the film enjoyed its world premiere at FrightFest in London in August 2017[3](https://www.dreadcentral.com/reviews/249313/leatherface-2017/).
## Release and reception
*Leatherface* debuted on DIRECTV on September 21, 2017, and opened in theaters and on demand on October 20, 2017[3](https://www.dreadcentral.com/reviews/249313/leatherface-2017/). The Australian Classification Board rated the home-video release R 18+ for high impact bloody violence, with a listed duration of 89 minutes[5](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/leatherface); listed runtimes elsewhere range from 1 hour 27 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/leatherface_2017) • [9](https://www.peacocktv.com/watch-online/movies/leatherface/a54ff8f7-b0bd-3e95-acd6-754690ddf73b).
Critical response was largely negative. The Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus reads: "Leatherface may wear the skin of a Texas Chainsaw Massacre prequel, but it proves gutless as an origin story and finds little invention in the horror tropes it's cannibalizing"[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/leatherface_2017). On Metacritic the film scored 40 out of 100 from 12 reviews, with 5 negative, 4 mixed, and 3 positive[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/leatherface/). [The Globe and Mail](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-globe-and-mail)'s John Semley gave 3 of 4 stars, writing that "like the film's punishingly gory set pieces, the storytelling itself is meaty"[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/leatherface_2017). The Los Angeles Times' Noel Murray called it "well-made pulp, not a masterpiece like Hooper's original," while IGN's review called it "the worst Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie ever"[10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2620590/criticreviews/). Reviewers repeatedly faulted the premise of giving a rational origin to a character whose power in the 1974 film rested on being incomprehensible[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/leatherface_2017).
## References
1. [LEATHERFACE Production Notes (Kinepolis)](https://kfd.kinepolis.be/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/LEATHERFACE-Production-Notes-ITL.pdf)
2. [Leatherface (2017), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/leatherface_2017)
3. [Leatherface (2017) review, Dread Central](https://www.dreadcentral.com/reviews/249313/leatherface-2017/)
4. [Leatherface movie review, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/leatherface-2017)
5. [LEATHERFACE, Australian Classification](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/leatherface)
6. [Leatherface Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/leatherface/)
7. [Leatherface streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/leatherface)
8. [Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury talk Leatherface, Projected Figures](https://projectedfigures.com/2018/04/13/alexandre-bustillo-and-julien-maury-talk-leatherface/)
9. [Watch Leatherface, Peacock](https://www.peacocktv.com/watch-online/movies/leatherface/a54ff8f7-b0bd-3e95-acd6-754690ddf73b)
10. [Leatherface (2017) Metacritic reviews via IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2620590/criticreviews/)
11. ['Texas Chainsaw 3D' Screenwriter Explains Film's Confusing Timeline, ComicBook.com](https://comicbook.com/horror/news/texas-chainsaw-massacre-3d-movie-timeline-problem-explained/)
12. [Next 'Texas Chain Saw Massacre' Movie Likely a Reboot, ComicBook.com](https://comicbook.com/horror/news/texas-chain-saw-massacre-sequel-reboot-remake-leatherface/)
13. [Retrospective: Leatherface (2017), I Choose to Stand](https://www.ichoosetostand.net/2019/02/retrospective-leatherface-2017.html)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Horror and slasher series film entries › 2010s releases › Released 2016 to 2019*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license