In 1974,Tobe Hooperchanged horror forever withThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
Hansen wasn’t just any ordinary student.
Hansen’s biggest passion in life wasn’t horror movies, but writing.
Image Via Bryanston Distributing Company
He was especially drawn to poetry, publishing a collection along with several other books during his lifetime.
That’s really how I thought of it."
He instead created an unforgettable, three-dimensional person due to the humanity he put into the character.
Image via The Cannon Group Inc.
And he came up with most of what he did on his own.
He put what he found into Leatherface.
One guy, three horror icons.
Image via The Cannon Group Inc.
InThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Leatherface comes across as nearly childlike.
He’s often anxious, leading us to wonder what his backstory is.
Is his development arrested, or is there more going on, like abuse and trauma?
His family might belittle him, but they also need him.
Instead, we see who he is by how he moves.
He doesn’t simply move from point A to point B.
He’s all physicality and full of energy, bouncing around almost like he’s dancing.
AfterThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Hansen didn’t pursue a career in acting.
Hansen was interested but asked for a decent raise increase.
With that, Gunnar Hansen was out.
Here, he’s louder and more over-the-top.
So many other sequels treated him like he was little more than a brainless killer.
Take off the skin mask and slap on the hockey mask, and you’ll have the same guy.
The terror became all about nostalgia, but it could never recapture the magic of the original performance.
With Gunnar Hansen as Leatherface, he wasn’t just “a guy in a mask”.
He was poetry in motion.
Dinner with Leatherfaceis available to watch for free on Tubi.
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