I think most of us are pretty big fans of Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, the duo behind the slasher masterpiece Inside (À l’intérieur), as well as Livide and Among the Living. I celebrated harder than my own birthday when I found out the French filmmakers were going to be directing Leatherface, the long-awaited prequel to Tobe Hooper’s Texas Chain Saw Massacre. I’m not sure there would have been a better choice.

After much anticipation, Bloody Disgusting is excited to exclusively premiere the red band trailer for Leatherface, which will see an exclusive DirecTV release on September 21, 2017, with a limited theatrical run and full VOD release through Lionsgate revved up for October 20, 2017.

While it’s hard to tell what the actual story is, the footage here is ridiculously good. Not only that but it really looks like something new and different, something the franchise has been starved for. Even better is that it looks way more focused than its predecessor, tossing aside the comedy and instead opting for heartbreak and carnage. I recall fans feeling let down by the lackluster moment when Leatherface first picks up his chainsaw in the 2003 remake; it appears that Leatherface really takes the time to crack into the psyche of the deranged killer and his family before the madness. Here, he gets the chainsaw for a birthday present. Why? That’s one of the many mysteries presented in this trailer. It’s all stitched together with grim shots of Leatherface assembling the first of his iconic masks. Holy hell I can’t wait until this fall!

Leatherface is rated R “for strong bloody violence, disturbing images, language and some sexuality/nudity.”

In Leatherface, Jessica Madsen plays one of four inmates (Sam Coleman, Sam Strike, James Bloor) who escapes from a mental hospital. One of them becomes the title character and iconic slasher. The quartet kidnaps a young nurse (played by Vanessa Grasse) and takes her on a road trip from hell. Along the way, they are pursued by an equally deranged lawman (Stephen Dorff) out for revenge. The Conjuring‘s Lili Taylor is Verna Sawyer.

Penned by Seth M. Sherwood, here’s the official synopsis:

In Texas, years before the events of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, in the early days of the infamous Sawyer family, the youngest child is sentenced to a mental hospital after a suspicious incident leaves the sheriffs’ daughter dead. Ten years later, he kidnaps a young nurse and escapes with 3 other inmates. Pursued by authorities including the deranged sheriff out to avenge his daughter’s death, the young Sawyer teen goes on a violent road trip from hell, molding him into the monster known now as Leatherface.

Leatherface was directed by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, the duo behind the slasher masterpiece Inside (À l’intérieur), as well as Livide and Among the Living.

When we talked with the filmmakers, they told us the film is “a brutal and nihilistic road movie that we hope will surprise and delight the fans…”