There are only a few iconic films that have defined an entire genre since The Texas Chainsaw Massacre first premiered in 1974. Now, almost 50 years later, fans are getting the tenth installment of the slasher film franchise.
In Netflix’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre, David Blue Garcia tackles directing one of the most gruesome sequels to date. While famed horror writer Fede Alvarez penned the modern version of the classic story to parallel some of the social issues happening in today’s world.
At a recent press day, The Movie Mensch got to hear from the cast and crew about taking on this exciting project, and here is what we learned.
Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, and Nell Hudson, who star in the film, recounted the first time they learned of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. When we asked the cast what their initial reactions were when Garcia came to them and asked them to be a part of the film, Yarkin said she felt like such a “phony” during the audition.
“I felt like a phony because I’ve been playing younger my whole life, and the character (Melody) is written as a 25-year-old,” Yarkin said.
She remembers she was then offered the role and was shocked because she had always portrayed younger characters.
Hudson then added that she did the audition over Zoom since she’s based in London. “It involved a lot of screaming.” Unlike like Yarkin’s audition, which was more drama-based.
Fisher then chimed in to say that she was one of the last people to be cast. She also recalls seeing the original when she was “way too young,” before she should have been able to see the original, according to her. But she said it was nice to be able to deal with the trauma the first one caused by making this version.
Yarkin, on the other hand, says she tries not to watch horror movies often because she gets scared. However, when she got the role, she knew she had to watch it. “And watching it a night alone was not a smart idea,” she said jokingly.
Hudson also elucidated about filming some intense and horrifying sequences. “It was a lot harder than I expected,” she said. She continued to insist that she was a huge horror fan and with that, one would expect a small amount of “desensitization.” But that wasn’t the case.
She went on to emphasize how iconic the entire franchise is. “I grew up in a rural village in England and even as a child, we had all heard of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” Hudson stressed.
Writer Fede Alvarez then shed light on the decision to have a school shooting as the backdrop for the film. Fede explained that they “knew the Sally (Hardesty) character was going to be there,” so we wanted to create something they had in common. “Something to unite them so Lila (Fisher) could see the potential of her path,” Alvarez explained.
All in all, it’s truly remarkable how the team was able to pull off making the tenth installment of Leatherface so fresh and fun for all fans of the franchise.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre is now streaming on Netflix.