A very familiar voice will be heard in the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie. Set to release on Netflix in February, the new film serves as a sequel to the original installment of the slasher movie franchise that was released by director Tobe Hooper in 1974. That film began with an opening narration by John Larroquette, and per Variety, it's now been confirmed that Larroquette is coming back nearly five decades later to serve as the narrator once again for the new film.
Traditionally, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies begin with a narrator catching the viewers up to speed on the story. Larroquette did the narration for the first film as a favor to Hooper, though he did come back to serve the same role for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot released in 2003; his voice was also featured in that movie's 2006 prequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. A handful of new movies have been made in the years since, but this new Netflix flm is the first time since 2006 Larroquette was involved.
David Blue Garcia directs the new film using a screenplay by Chris Thomas Devlin. Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues crafted the story. The film picks up decades after the events of the original movie and ignores all of the other sequels, only acknowledging the survival of Sally Hardesty after the deaths of all of her friends. Original co-writer Kim Henkel produces with Alvarez, Sayagues, Ian Henkel, Pat Cassidy, and Shintaro Shimosawa.
Sally Hardesty Returns With a New Actress in the Role
Sally Hardesty appears in the new film, bringing back the final girl who survived the original movie for the first time in the series since. As original actress Marilyn Burns passed away, Olwen Fouéré plays the character in the new installment. Netflix previously released a firsts look photo at Sally's return. This time, it appears she's coming back to settle the score with Leatherface almost five decades after the killings of her brothers and close friends. You can read the synopsis below.
"Melody (Sarah Yarkin), her teenage sister Lila (Elsie Fisher), and their friends Dante (Jacob Latimore) and Ruth (Nell Hudson), head to the remote town of Harlow, Texas to start an idealistic new business venture. But their dream soon turns into a waking nightmare when they accidentally disrupt the home of Leatherface (Mark Burnham), the deranged serial killer whose blood-soaked legacy continues to haunt the area’s residents — including Sally Hardesty (Olwen Fouéré), the sole survivor of his infamous 1973 massacre who’s hell-bent on seeking revenge."
In years past, there have been many new takes and reimaginings of Leatherface's story. Because of the success of Blumhouse's Halloween films, the approach with this Netflix movie has been to bring back the original final girl for a rematch with Leatherface. Whether this film will lead to more sequels on Netflix might depend upon how the story ends, but if enough horror fans wind up tuning in, chances are Leatherface will continue to rev up the saw in new movies for years to come.
Netflix will release the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie on Feb. 18, 2022.