All The Easter Eggs In Texas Chainsaw Massacre
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After half a century in hiding, Leatherface finally gets back to slicing and dicing unsuspecting strangers in the rip-roaring new horror film "Texas Chainsaw Massacre." The movie is a direct sequel to the 1974 classic slasher from Tobe Hooper and features the surprising return of the ruthless chainsaw enthusiast (here, Mark Burnham steps into the role originated by the late Gunnar Hansen), who's become a fixture of generations of nightmares.
In addition to bringing Leatherface and his weapon of choice back into action, the film also features the long-awaited return of the original final girl, Sally Hardesty (who was first portrayed by the late Marilyn Burns, with Olwen Fouéré taking over the role). Sally has spent decades looking for Leatherface, in hopes of serving him some very cold revenge after their last terrifying dinner together, so fans are in for one wild ride when these two forces of fury clash at last in the film.
Naturally, having such a tight connection to the first story means there are a ton of Easter eggs scattered throughout "Texas Chainsaw Massacre." So let's take a look at the many ways this film ties back to the original movie that helped to change the horror scene for good.
Warning — there are major spoilers below.
An introduction to remember
It doesn't take long for "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" to thrust audiences right back into the atmosphere of the original. Like the first film, the pic begins with a montage of crime scene footage and photos that are completely reminiscent of the eerie opening to "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre." Back then, this grisly introduction revealed that there was a grave-robber on the loose — and, of course, the truth of the matter was so much worse.
This time, the coverage that greets us is about the horrifying experiences of Sally Hardesty and her friends after their little road trip turned into a final destination. The reel is filled with vintage-style footage of the house of horrors that was Leatherface's family home, and director David Blue Garcia was able to use some shots from the original production to create this detail. We also get to see some of the official police work that followed the encounter, including some very shudder-inducing images from the files that remind us of every injury Sally's group suffered, along with the many weapons that were used against them by Leatherface and his family. The opening montage also answers a question many fans have had since those final moments of "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" — what happened to Sally Hardesty after she managed to get away from Leatherface? Although the official reporting here is that she never spoke of the massacre again, we soon find out that's not the case at all.
Perhaps the biggest throwback to the original film in this opening is the fact that it's voiced by actor John Larroquette, who narrated the introduction to the original film as well. As Garcia explained, "He has a very recognizable and distinct voice ... and he came on and he nailed it in his first take."
A macabre little museum
Audiences soon find out that the opening footage is actually part of a documentary that's playing on a loop at a local convenience store visited by a new quartet of friends — Melody (Sarah Yarkin), Lila (Elsie Fisher), Dante (Jacob Latimore), and Ruth (Nell Hudson). Not only is this moment a familiar one for fans, since a gas station was also the first stop before the frightfest commenced in the original film, but this place is chock-full of macabre memorabilia dedicated to the legend of Leatherface.
Everywhere you look, there are tasteless artifacts dedicated to the murders, from a grisly reimagination of the traditional "I Love Texas" symbol to chainsaw-shaped corkscrews. And even though the clerk of the shop has this video on repeat, he clearly knows more about the story than that, as he tells Lila what really happened to Sally. Turns out, after shutting the door to journalists looking to cash in on the story, she took matters into her own hands and became a Texas Ranger, hunting for Leatherface for decades, to no avail.
David Blue Garcia explained this choice of unsettling atmosphere, saying, "We wanted to suggest a bigger world that Sally Hardesty as a character has been living in this whole time. ... It's there to show that in the world of the story that this town still talks about these fantastic murders that happened. And they're not fantastic murders, they're awful murders that happened 40, 50 years ago."
A very personal connection
Another parallel with the first film that pops up early on in "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is the connection between Melody and Lila. The two are sisters, and one of them is a reluctant traveler. Fans of the original story might recall that Sally was the person spearheading her group's trip across Texas, and she apparently talked her brother, Franklin (Paul A. Partain), into coming along, despite it being a rather difficult journey for him even before the knife-wielding weirdo came into the picture.
In addition to the similar sibling connections between these characters, we also find out that Melody and Lila have a familial connection to the area they're visiting, just like the Hardesty duo did. Sally and Franklin used to visit their grandparent's place, which was unfortunately close to this house of horrors, while Melody has a history with the town of Harlow as well. She reveals that her grandmother used to live there, even reciting the town's catchphrase to prove her loyalty to the land during a tense encounter with local law enforcement, and her personal history with the area is probably why she and her business partners have set their sights on revitalizing it to create their own little oasis. Indeed, just like Sally's little adventure goes south very quickly, things get deadly for the sisters at the center of the new film as well.
A handmade mask
One of the earliest indicators that Leatherface and his kin are absolutely horrifying people comes near the beginning of 1974's "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," when we see what Leatherface's family did during one of those mysterious corpse-pillaging sprees. Audiences are presented with a flayed body ... whose skin has been turned into a mask by this killer in waiting.
And although Leatherface is immediately creepy in this movie — look closely at the moment when Dante tries to remove the flag, and you'll see a glimpse of him sitting in a chair of made of bones – the moment that his true, twisted persona comes back into view is following the accidental death of his beloved caretaker (portrayed by Alice Krige). It's here that he skins her lifeless body to make a new face for himself before arranging a very gory tableau that serves as a direct callback to the first film.
Filmmaker David Blue Garcia said of this scene, "It's an important moment in the film because this is the first time Leatherface has worn a mask in probably 40 years, 50 years, so he treats it with kind of a grandiose gesture."
Later, another throwback moment that may remind fans of a key '70s scene comes when Melody sees Leatherface putting makeup on his new mother mask, which is something of a wink to the iconic dinner scene when Leatherface apparently gussies up his disguise with some lipstick and blue eyeshadow. The shot of Leatherface applying makeup is also a major Easter egg for fans since it's a spooky reminder of one of the most infamous and unsettling deleted scenes from the original film.
A picture worth a thousand words
Another Easter egg that's bound to strike a scary chord with "Texas Chain Saw Massacre" fans is the photograph that the modern-day Sally keeps with her at all times to remind her of her terrible past. Sally keeps a Polaroid picture of herself in that gritty green van alongside her brother, Franklin, and her friends — Kirk (William Vail), Pam (Teri McMinn), and Jerry (Allen Danziger).
Not only does the photo serve as a visual reminder of exactly who she's fighting to avenge as she sets out to attack Leatherface, but the picture is also a callback to one of the creepiest scenes from the first film — and the exact moment when Sally and her pals realized something was very, very wrong on their journey. After picking up a strange hitchhiker on the side of the road — who turns out to be Leatherface's brother, Nubbins Sawyer (Edwin Neal) — he starts to act strangely, cutting himself with Franklin's knife before taking a Polaroid picture of him and demanding payment for this service. When his offer is refused, he then burns the picture and takes a stab at Franklin, which sets the tone for all of the sickening slasher action ahead.
As if the photo isn't enough of a reminder of what Sally went through, she's also apparently taken up butchering pigs as a hobby, which is another nod to the original film — especially when it comes to her own choice of leatherwear.
A killer move
Once Leatherface has committed to wrecking the newcomers to Harlow, he uses a lot of familiar moves to make his murders happen. His very first killing in the 1974 film, for instance, comes when he steps out to bludgeon the head of poor Kirk, and one of his most gruesome attacks in this new iteration involves him similarly destroying the skull of the poor handyman Richter (Moe Dunford).
Another of Leatherface's signature murder moves comes when he attacks the bus full of young entrepreneurs and attempts to infiltrate the bathroom hideaway of Melody and Lila by slashing his way through the door. The jagged hole in the door looks an awful lot like the zigzags he gashes in a door in the original film as well. Plus, there are some blink-and-you'll-miss-them flashes of familiar images contained in the windows during this grisly scene as well .
Perhaps the most striking similarity in Leatherface's behavior between the first film and this one comes at the very end of the movie. Just when Melody and Lila think the terror has ended and they begin to drive away in their autopiloted car, Leatherface reemerges and gets his hands on Melody, chopping off her head with a chainsaw and dancing around fancifully in the street as Lila screams in horror. The shot of her reaching out with terror on her face is a direct callback to Sally's final screams in the first movie.
Of course, there's still one more Easter egg to come for those who stick around for the post-credits sequence, as we see Leatherface finally give up on hiding out and returning to his former home, fit with the creepy windmill and clotheslines, once and for all.