Leatherface (2017)
The 2017 prequel that shows how young Jedidiah Sawyer became Leatherface.
Leatherface is a 2017 American horror film directed by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo and written by Seth M. Sherwood, starring Stephen Dorff, Vanessa Grasse, Sam Strike and Lili Taylor. The eighth film in the franchise, it is a prequel to the 1974 film and Texas Chainsaw 3D and tells the origin of Leatherface.
Last updated 2026-10-28 from the source article.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Julien Maury; Alexandre Bustillo
- Producer
- Christa Campbell
- Lati Grobman
- Carl Mazzocone
- Les Weldon
- Screenplay
- Seth M. Sherwood
- Based on
- Characters, Tobe Hooper; Kim Henkel
- Starring
- Stephen Dorff; Lili Taylor
- Music
- John Frizzell
- Cinematography
- Antoine Sanier
- Editing
- Sébastien de Sainte Croixe; Josh Ethier
Facts from the source article.
Background
In 1955 the Sawyer family kills Betty Hartman in a barn, and her father, Sheriff Hal Hartman, takes young Jedidiah Sawyer away and has him locked up at the Gorman House Youth Reformery, despite his mother Verna. Ten years later Verna sets off a riot there, and an inmate called Jackson escapes with nurse Lizzy White, the inmate Bud and the violent pair Ike and Clarice, with Hal hunting them. Jackson turns out to be Jedidiah. After his face is badly injured, the Sawyers take him home, Verna gives him a chainsaw, and he kills Hal and Lizzy and makes a mask from their faces.
Sam Strike as Jedidiah Sawyer / Jackson
Sam Strike portrays Jedidiah Sawyer, later known as Jackson, one of four inmates who escape the mental institution and eventually becomes Leatherface. Strike was drawn to the script for its character-driven horror. He aimed to show contrast between the character's kind side and his transformation into a killer, believing environment and heredity played roles. He incorporated elements from the original film but offered his own interpretation. To make the change believable, Strike gained physical weight to handle the heavy chainsaw. He felt the character's rage bursts led to his permanent monstrous state and developed a battle cry for those moments. The screenplay included a backstory where Jedidiah was adopted by a family wanting a girl, forcing him to wear drag, foreshadowing his gender ambiguity in the 1974 film, but this was cut from the final version.
Lili Taylor as Verna Sawyer
Lili Taylor plays Verna Sawyer, the mother of Jedidiah and matriarch of the Sawyer family. Taylor was attracted to the project because the directors wanted to blend styles reminiscent of Terrence Malick's Badlands and The Virgin Suicides. She focused on Verna's maternal instincts rather than her murderous nature, portraying the character as having denial or compartmentalization about her role as a mother and the family's killings. The film reunites Taylor with Stephen Dorff, with whom she previously worked in the 1996 film I Shot Andy Warhol.
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