Why Melody From Netflix's Texas Chainsaw Massacre Looks So Familiar
One of the most iconic horror villains of all time is getting a fresh coat of paint courtesy of Netflix. Leatherface is back from the dead in the newest "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," debuting exclusively on Netflix on February 18, 2022. The story's been transposed from the 1970s to the modern-day, with a group of influencers traveling to a small Texas town with the hope of revitalizing it and turning a nice profit in the process.
It follows in the footsteps of other modern-day horror adaptations, like "Halloween" and "Child's Play." And, of course, it wouldn't be a horror-fest without a slew of prospective victims for Leatherface to claim. In the central friend group who end up drawing the ire of Leatherface, we have Lila (Elsie Fisher), Dante (Jacob Latimore), Dante's girlfriend (Jessica Allain), and Melody (Sarah Yarkin).
There's a good reason if Melody stands out to you. Yarkin is an accomplished actress, and this isn't even her first time stepping into a horror franchise.
She appeared on an episode of American Horror Story
"American Horror Story" has become well-known for blending supernatural, fictional terrors with horrors that are all too real. That took a very literal direction with the season subtitled "Cult." The season tackled the 2016 presidential election, showing how various larger-than-life characters react when their political worldviews are shattered or reinforced. Someone who likely fell into the former category was Riley, who appeared in the episode "Charles (Manson) in Charge."
The episode opens with a flashback prior to the election taking place. Kai (Evan Peters) lets it known how much people love Donald Trump while hating Hilary Clinton, which doesn't sit too well with one of Winter's (Billie Lourd) friends, Riley (Sarah Yarkin). She opens up some old wounds for Kai, insulting him and basically telling him that he's a loser who's going to be sorely disappointed with Trump loses. Kai promptly hits her, and she informs him that she will go to the police.
It's an intense moment that shows just how politically divided people were in the lead-up to the 2016 election. And it wouldn't be the last time Yarkin would pop up in a horror property.
Yarkin previously showed up in Happy Death Day 2U
"Texas Chainsaw Massacre" isn't the first horror franchise Sarah Yarkin has joined. In 2019, audiences could see her as Dre Morgan in "Happy Death Day 2U." The sequel to the hugely popular "Happy Death Day" sees Tree (Jessica Rothe) once again enter a loop where every time she dies, her day resets. Only this time, she figures out why time is acting all funky. It's all courtesy of an experimental quantum reactor that's being worked on by a team of students consisting of Ryan (Phi Vu), Samar (Suraj Sharma), and Dre (Yarkin).
As Yarkin stated in an interview, it was a real treat to work on the film, especially seeing how she was such a big fan of the first one. She explained, "I watched it, and we watched it again on the flight to New Orleans before shooting." Yarkin may not have really had a chance to interact with Babyface in that film, but she more than made up for it coming face-to-face with Leatherface in "Texas Chainsaw Massacre."
She had a recurring role on Motherland: Fort Salem
War and social status collide on "Motherland: Fort Salem." The show takes place in a women-dominated world where witches have joined the U.S. Army. They must learn to harness their powers to put an end to a witch resistance group, but just because some of the witches are on the same side doesn't always mean they see eye to eye. That's the case with Abigail Bellweather (Ashley Nicole Williams) and Libba Swythe (Sarah Yarkin). The two come from diametrically-opposed families who have a long-standing rivalry. The girls carry on that tradition and constantly get in one another's faces during training.
The two may have disliked each other on the show, but it was nothing but love when the cameras stopped rolling. In an interview with Teen Vogue, Williams spoke about their dynamic, "We off the bat just hit it off. Onscreen you see us calling each other dumb, noodling [people] from dumb, noodling, nobody families. They'd yell cut, and we'd just burst out laughing."
No matter what she's in, Sarah Yarkin is always a highlight, so it should be great to see her become a full-blown scream queen in "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" on Netflix.