The Most Disturbing Moments In Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Horror franchises, for better or worse, have a tendency to be rebooted with modern-day versions that rewrite history while striving to stay true to the original idea. The "Halloween" franchise did it to perfection with 2018's "Halloween" –– and the 2022 slasher film "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" attempts its own bloodthirsty retcon. While the film is worth a watch if you're a fan of Leatherface, we're here to focus on one thing, and that's disturbing moments. "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" has these moments in spades, and bloody mayhem to the max.
The 2022 slasher movie undoes all the previous sequels, positioning itself as a direct sequel to 1974's "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," despite being the ninth film of the franchise. The story follows a group of friends turned business partners: Sisters Lila (Elsie Fisher) and Melody (Sarah Yarkin), and their friends Dante (Jacob Latimore) and Ruth (Nell Hudson), venture to Harlow, Texas to gentrify what's left of the mostly deserted town. Of course, they knock on the wrong door –– disturbing the home where all-time slasher Leatherface lives –– and a bloodbath ensues shortly after, prompting the return of Sally Hardesty (Olwen Fouéré), the sole survivor of the original massacre, in a role that's eerily similar to Laurie Strode's (Jamie Lee Curtis) in 2018's "Halloween." Be warned: This chapter of Leatherface's blood-soaked killing spree is gory –– and here are the most disturbing moments in "Texas Chainsaw Massacre."
An introduction that comes straight from a nightmare
All worthwhile horror movies know how to set the stage for the devastating storm ahead. That brings us to the introduction of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," which explains the events that went down in the original film (just in case audiences forgot), including distressing images. Lila is watching these events play out on a TV at a remote Texas gas station, unaware of the chaos that's about to ruin her life. Furthering the setup, the gas station clerk asks where Lila and her friends are going. They tell him Harlow –– and he creepily responds by saying he's heard about them ... everyone has.
Not all disturbing scenes and events need to be flooded with blood and guts, though those elements tend to overtake "Texas Chainsaw Massacre." Subtler horror tends to be more sinister as it tries to play tricks on the mind, bringing a psychological edge to the screen. In the case of this film, the town, which doesn't want to change, is well aware of the interlopers' arrival. Though events play out differently, this scene gives the impression that the entire town is in on the nightmare, giving the newcomers little chance at survival when Leatherface inevitably makes his return.
The orphanage scene
Melody and Dante enter the broken-down orphanage to take down a confederate flag hanging from the balcony. They're surprised to find someone still living there, as they expected Harlow to be a complete ghost town. Even though they claim to be building opportunities and consider the scenery a perfect backdrop for investors (and social media), they're hellbent on totally taking over.
Inevitably, a large figure appears at the top of the steps, presumably the infamous Leatherface. His hair conceals his identity, despite it being pretty obvious that the giant resembles the man who wreaks havoc with his trademark chainsaw. Luckily for Dante and Melody, he's not (yet) equipped with said chainsaw. The police then enter the orphanage to remove the elderly Mrs. Mc (Alice Krige), who claims she owns the building. She unexpectedly vomits, appearing to be possessed. Leatherface, who Mrs. Mc, calls Leatherface her "boy," picks her up and takes her to the police van. Feeling bad about the outcome, Ruth gets in the van to see how the events play out. The entire scene is tense — it's clear that this group has disturbed the wrong people.
Leatherface's new mask
Mrs. Mc tragically dies on the way to the hospital — and along with her, whatever forces were keeping Leatherface calm. In a single swoop, he breaks one of the officer's arms and then proceeds to use the bones that are sticking out of the officer's arm to stab him. It doesn't get much more disturbing than killing someone with their own bones, especially when said bones are still attached to the body. But Leatherface is a special kind of killer. The driver, who's shot by a stray bullet from the other officer, wrecks the van.
In the aftermath of the crash, Leatherface removes Mrs. Mc from the vehicle and –– we hope you're not too squeamish –– cuts her face off and uses it as a mask. And just like that, Leatherface has been reborn. Because his killing rampage has only just begun, he finishes off the other officer in the front seat and catches Ruth before she can escape the vehicle, slicing her stomach open and presumably killing her.
In a later scene, Sally finds Mrs. Mc, sitting upright with her skinless face brutally on display.
Back to the orphanage
After Dante realizes he doesn't have the property title to the orphanage on his person, he and Melody go back to the building to see if they can recover it. Melody finds the title in the orphanage after Dante claimed he had it, which led to Mrs. Mc getting kicked out of her home, passing away, and reawakening Leatherface in the process. Shortly after, and to the surprise of no one, Dante sees Leatherface in the house –– reflected on the surface of a pot hanging from the ceiling.
In one of the most intense scenes of the film, Melody can't escape the orphanage because she's too afraid to leave as Leatherface is lurking around, just waiting to take out anyone who crosses him. She's hides in the closet, an odd choice since there's only one way out, while Leatherface grieves Mrs. Mc in the same room. Distressingly, he also puts makeup on his mask — which, a reminder, is made from Mrs. Mc's face. Leatherface proceeds to break open the wall and recovers a chainsaw. He drops it on the floor and Melody, now under the bed, gets a horrifying glimpse of his notorious murder weapon.
Lila's trauma
Though there are a plethora of gory scenes in the film, one of the most disturbing sequences depicts the event that led to Lila's trauma. She was involved in a school shooting, and because of this, she's against gun violence and relives the life-changing moment in her head throughout the movie's events. Inevitably, she's forced to use a gun to try to stop Leatherface –– yet, as horror aficionados know all too well, not even bullets can stop all-time slashers (whether or not they're based on real people).
The film bundles Lila's trauma, as well as its anti-gun violence message, inside the plot –– and though the message isn't always clear, Lila's devastation is easily one of the most disturbing parts of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre." After all, her main flashback is of her lying on the floor after being shot at school, looking into the eyes of a fellow student. As if it couldn't get any worse for Lila, she's doing her best to fight through the trauma while also dealing with an evil force that can't see reason and is virtually unstoppable.
Dante's brutal reveal
"Texas Chainsaw Massacre" raises the gory meter to the max, and Dante's death is a particularly disturbing example. Dante, thought to be dead after Leatherface stabs him, eventually wakes up and walks out of the orphanage. This, of course, would be way too easy of an escape. As he's walking back to the bus, where the rest of his group is partying, Richter (Moe Dunford), a local mechanic, confronts him. And then Dante's face is revealed — and, without getting too grisly, let's just say it's been mutilated. This version of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" isn't afraid to get violent, and the updated special effects can make it a little too realistic.
Richter is rightfully shocked by Dante's grisly condition, but to his credit, this still doesn't stop him from going into the orphanage to have his own showdown against Leatherface. Spoiler alert: Richter never stood a chance.
Richter's death
And this brings us to Richter's deadly demise. Now inside the same orphanage room where Melody is hiding under the bed, Richter comes face to face with the local legend that once put a town in total chaos. It appears, at first, that Richter stands a chance, but then Leatherface, in yet another totally savage scene, hits Richter's leg. The force leads to his limb bending in a way legs aren't supposed to bend. The audience, at this point, can safely conclude that he's going to be yet another victim of Leatherface's, yet anxiety is raging as Melody watches everything play out from her spot underneath the bed.
The overpowering Leatherface proceeds to kill Richter, then smashes his head in while his lifeless body rests on the floor. It's an unnecessary and barbarous act, and it underscores how this chapter of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" isn't afraid to push the limits –– and then go beyond those limits. All the while, Melody has an unwilling front-row seat.
Melody gets stuck under the floor
Melody finally escapes the bedroom ... only to get stuck under the floor after Leatherface throws his chainsaw at her from the top of the stairs. And then, as if things couldn't get any worse for her, Leatherface's chainsaw cuts through the floor from above, chasing her like an upside-down dorsal shark fin. He then inadvertently cuts through the sewage line and the contents spill out on Melody's head, adding insult to injury.
Though there are many terrifying moments in "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," the floorboard scene is one of the most intense due to the simple fact that Melody appears to be so helpless, she's already gone through so much as it is, and each death in the movie is more and more gruesome. Against all odds, she escapes the house with the help of Lila, though that's far from the end. Leatherface's madness rages on.
The entire bus scene
The bus scene is totally over the top, and will be too much for many viewers –– unless you like your slasher films to come with totally all-out bloodshed. To kick off this scene, the bus driver leaves his station, only for his head to come flying back into the bus moments later. A determined Leatherface follows. Yet instead of running or trying to stop him, the people on the bus turn on their phones and attempt to "cancel him" by filming him, not realizing their lives are in grave danger. There's a time and place for livestreaming and this isn't that time or place –– and the helpless passengers pay the ultimate price.
Leatherface begins to carve up the passengers, one by one, with his chainsaw. He even cuts a person in half, with half of her body falling out of the bus window. This is a nightmare-inducing eruption of gore, and the true definition of a massacre. Although it appears everyone is killed on the bus, Melody and Lila manage to escape. Unfortunately for them, Leatherface won't stop until everyone is dead.
Sally's death by chainsaw
After all is said and done following the events of the inaugural movie in the franchise, "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," Sally Hardesty is the only survivor. Similar to the plot of "Halloween" (2018), the Sally we see in the 2022 "Massacre" has apparently waited her entire life to come face to face with Leatherface once more. Because virtually no one's safe in horror films, not to mention the main characters tend to get assertive when they believe they've finally won, Sally doesn't get the revenge she's always dreamed of. Yet her death is one of the "better" kill scenes in a film that's flooded with them.
Because Leatherface is seemingly one of the strongest beings alive –– even after all these years have passed –– he lifts her body with the chainsaw he's plunged inside her ... and blood showers down on him. Though this bloodbath doesn't immediately kill Sally, it presumably leads to her death. As audience members witness earlier in the film with Dante, you just never know if someone is truly dead in a slasher film, although in this case, it definitely looks like Sally's seen her last "Massacre."
Melody's untimely demise
Melody's death isn't just shocking — the way it happens is merciless and extremely disturbing to boot. In the closing moments of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," Melody and Lila think they've finally killed Leatherface — and they foolishly take their sweet time riding off into the sunset, which ends up giving Leatherface enough time to revive himself from the many injuries he sustains during the bloody fracas.
Just as Melody and Lila believe they've gotten away, Leatherface pulls Melody out of the car and cuts her head off with his trusted chainsaw. He then raises it in the air, taunting Lila as her self-driving car takes her away. He even appears to celebrate by waving his chainsaw, a classic Leatherface move.
Ultimately, "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is jam-packed with disturbing scenes, deaths, and — you guessed it — chainsaw massacres that help reaffirm Leatherface is in a slasher category all by himself.