The Masked Murderer in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre Films - Research Paper Example

Leatherface and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The chain saw and the hands that use it to murder people was rather unlikely in a strictly conservative Texas town. The monster Leatherface, as featured in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre film of 2003, has a storyline that lacked evidence, but the people's fear of Leatherface came not just from a movie that was made to look real but from one based on a true serial killer's life. Leatherface, who is currently popularized in films and costumes, also represents the result of the pressures of a strictly conservative and religious family. This paper shows the storyline of Leatherface especially how he got the name "Leatherface" as well as the brutality of the murders that he has committed along with his accomplices -- his own family. In the historical and cultural context, the paper discusses the origins of the movie, both the real and the fictitious elements. This is followed by the section on metaphorical implications where the film is analyzed based on the reasons that Leatherface had for the murders as well as the other motives that must have influenced him. Current popular culture fascination also demonstrates how people have become obsessed with the character of Leatherface through a film sequel as well as through costumes and other paraphernalia.

The Storyline

It was August 18, 1973, when the story happened although there could be other stories about Leatherface, but this day in 1973 was especially significant because of the massacre. On this day, five young adults traveling to Mexico came across a hitchhiker who curiously shot herself after mentioning something about a bad man. Responsible citizens as they were, the five friends decided to call the police. They were in countryside Texas at that time and the only sheriff, Sheriff Hoyt, was said to be at the mill. When they tried to find him, it was then that the horror began. Leatherface was actually a family member of Sheriff Hoyt's and all the other people who led them to him (Bay et al.).

Leatherface murdered all of the five friends except Erin because she was able to escape, and it was what he did to one of the victims that earned him the name Leatherface. As Erin and Kemper, two of the five friends, followed the trail to Sheriff Hoyt's house in the woods, an amputee named Monty met them. It was then that Leatherface killed Kemper with a sledgehammer and dragged his body to the basement. Leatherface then cut out Kemper's facial skin and used it to cover his rotting face. This is how he acquired the nickname "Leatherface." His mother Luda Mae revealed later to Erin that Leatherface felt tormented throughout his life because of a skin disease that destroyed his face (Bay et al.).

Leatherface was a brutal killer. When Erin realized that Kemper was missing, she went back to the remaining three friends and along with Andy, she went back to the house in the woods. It was then that Leatherface cut off Andy's two legs with a chain saw and hung him on a meat hook in the basement. Erin made it back to her two other friends Morgan and Pepper but unfortunately, they were caught by Sheriff Hoyt for possession of marijuana and were all taken to the woods (Bay et al.).

Leatherface had a dysfunctional family of crazy people who helped him carry out his murderous acts. As Leatherface killed Pepper, Erin and Morgan were helped by Leatherface's brother Jedidiah to escape. Morgan was caught and he was also killed by Leatherface with a chain saw. Erin sought help from the Tea Lady but had tea that was drugged. She then woke up tied to a chair with the whole family of Leatherface at the dining table. The truth was finally revealed at this point -- the Sheriff and Luda Mae, the woman who told the five friends to seek the sheriff, were family members of Leatherface (Bay et al.). Nonetheless, the storyline of Leatherface ended up with Erin escaping.

Historical and Cultural Context

Historically, Leatherface was not proven to be real, but the movie and the legend made him seem real and this added to the fear. According to an author Gunnar Hansen, the college students who were murdered in 1973 actually went to Corsicana, Texas during that time. However, prior to that, the notorious cannibal family in that place was already well known for their killings and mutilations (Hansen 9). However, this was only a legend and there were no true evidence for this. It was confirmed by a particular site, "Chasing the Frog," that the movie The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), along with its original installment in 1974, was largely fiction. According to this account, both the 1974 and 2003 versions of the film were based on the real life killer Ed Gein, who was alleged to have murdered several people from 1954 to 1957. However, Ed Gein used women's skin to cover his own body. It was more like a sexual fascination and not a skin disease. He also did not use a chain saw but used a pistol to kill his victims and sharp objects to gut them. Moreover, it was not in Corsicana, Texas but in La Crosse, Wisconsin that Ed Gein committed the alleged murders. Moreover, it was noted that Ed's first victim was his own brother Henry, whose head he hit many times and who he left on the farm ("The Texas Chainsaw Massacre").

Based on the film, the circumstances that drove the monster's action was the skin disease and the feeling of helplessness that Leatherface always had (Bay et al.). However, if one would base the motives of Leatherface on the life of Ed Gein, then his motives for murder were more complex than just a mere skin problem. In fact, it was not a skin problem but a mental illness of transvestism or dressing up as a woman using a woman's skin. This may have been brought about by a strict family background that prevented Ed from expressing his true homosexual feelings ("The Texas Chainsaw Massacre").

Metaphorical Implications

The metaphor of Leatherface is a person who has become a criminal because of deep physical and emotional insecurities. In the film, Leatherface had a skin disease that he wanted to cover with human skin (Bay et al.). This shows that those who are insecure about their appearance and who live in a Western culture that praises beauty most likely become envious and vengeful. Moreover, the character reference of Leatherface was a killer with a fetish for female skin, Ed Gein. Ed had a mother named Augusta, who was a deeply religious woman and who often preached the Christian Bible to Ed and to his brother Henry. Moreover, she was "a strict, hard woman, who never wavered from her own beliefs, which she ingrained into the family" ("The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"). Moreover, Ed was often "ignored by other kids at school" as he grew up shy, and he was often seen as quiet and ridiculed as "feminine" perhaps because he was often scolded by his mother when he made friends ("The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"). Thus, it is possible that Leatherface represents something against the strict Christian culture of America and shows how religion and conservatism could turn an innocent child into a monster. Far from the strictly religious image of Ed Gein's family, the family of Leatherface in the film is described as "quite screwed-up, with one vicious scheming brother; a violent older brother...and a hundred-and-eight-year-old patriarch" who was childish yet respected and ferocious (Hansen 17). In fact, as the family prays in the movie, one can see how religion causes insanity.

Furthermore, Leatherface is a picture of America's love for ritual, drugs and omens. In fact, aside from the subject of marijuana, the film contains some elements of ritual or ceremonial aspects. For example, there were "mummified corpses...ceremonially included in the family gatherings" and that the house was "grotesquely decorated with human and animal remains -- bones, feathers, hair, skins" (Clover 192-193). The ritual of masochism is also evident in the film. In fact, as the theme of masochism evolved into sadism in a brief period of time, one would realize that "the masochistic monster takes on the role of director" for as she shot herself in the mouth, she somehow sent the message to the rest of the five friends that they too would suffer the same fate as her (Briefel 19). In this part of the film, the ritual shows an omen that awaits the five people.

Current Pop Culture Fascination

Currently, horror fans are preparing for the sequel of the film, after 14 years. The 2017 release of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is subtitled Leatherface. It will showcase the original story of the killer. There will be the same elements of the classic version of the film: "lots of gore, creepy family dinners and a mask made of human skin" (Stolworthy). The film though follows the events in the life of four mental patients who escaped and were pursued by the police. One of the escaped patients, Leatherface, kidnapped a young nurse in this film (Stolworthy). This new film is said to "[eschew] formulaic sequel and reboot options in favor of serving as a straight-up origin story for the 1974 original's central character" (Cowen). Thus, this shows the deep fascination of some slasher and horror film fans over Leatherface.

Leatherface has also been a popular choice of topic and costume of horror fans when it comes to Halloween. In fact, many costumes of Leatherface and the chainsaw are sold online and offline. The child and adult Leatherface costumes are sold along with the chainsaw. The costume is made up of a flesh-colored apron, a white short-sleeved shirt, a black tie, and the leather mask itself that looks like human skin. Each set of costume costs around $25 for kids and $30 for adults. In addition, there is also a deluxe Leatherface mask that costs around $50, slightly more expensive because the mask extends to the neck region, the hair is thicker and the facial expression more realistic, although a vinyl version of the mask is cheaper at $20. Other popular Leatherface paraphernalia include bloody chain saws and machetes ("Texas Chainsaw Massacre Costumes"). These costumes show the human fascination for the character of Leatherface.

An in-depth study of the origins of Leatherface, the masked murderer in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre films, shows a man who is a product of the pressures of physical and emotional insecurities as well as the pressures of a strictly conservative and religious environment. The fear of Leatherface comes from a film that was made to look real as well as a reference to a true criminal character in the person of Ed Gein. Currently, Leatherface is popularized in films and in costumes. Perhaps, the character of Leatherface lives on as there always exists a human fascination for insanity and for why people kill.

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