'Leatherface' release date news: 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' prequel's trailer hints at killer's beginnings

A screenshot of young "Leatherface" getting a chainsaw gift. Lionsgate

The original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" film premiered in 1974. Many versions later, a new movie about the deranged killer, Leatherface, is set to release later in the year.

The first trailer for "Leatherface" just came out and showed the chainsaw killer as a young boy and his journey thereon. Lucas Siegel of Syfy said, "The red band trailer is gory, terrifying, and shows the literal origin of the titular leather face."

The start of the trailer shows a young girl venturing into a barn when she sees a young boy wearing the mask of a horse. She gets startled by the boy then suddenly drops through the floor into a pit.

The next scene shows the young Leatherface blowing out the candles of his birthday cake then receiving a gift from his mother. The gift turns out to be a chainsaw. It is strongly suggested here that the psychopath's killer tendencies were shaped by his mother.

The later scenes display the older Leatherface sewing a human mask and putting it on his face. Then, a girl is seen being chased by the killer through a forest in the dark. The trailer ends with Leatherface holding a chainsaw in front of a frightened and bloodied policeman.

The official synopsis for the horror film explains that the youngest child of the Sawyer family is sentenced to a mental hospital after the mysterious death of the sheriff's daughter. After 10 years, he kidnaps a nurse and escapes from the hospital with three other mental 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," concludes the summary.

"Leatherface" will debut exclusively on DirectTV on Sept. 21. It will be followed by a limited theater run and video-on-demand release on Oct. 20.

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