Leatherface: The Dystopian Boogeyman

[Abishai100]

Indeed it does. Leatherface is really a sort of modern era gargoyle.

That's why I wanted to draw attention to the two depictions of the iconic American horror film psycho presented in the attached image in this post.

On the left is the well-known image of Leatherface running down the street from his house in suit-and-tie from the original Tobe Hooper film, and fans have re-presented the film-still by presenting it in black-and-white.

On the right is another iconic scene from the Hooper film in which Leatherface is eerily ripping apart a human victim on a table while a female victim hangs screaming on a metal hook behind the ghoul.

The image on the left symbolizes the brutishness of Leatherface, a creep in a suit-and-tie (probably a spin on the old 'wolf-in-sheep's-clothing' adage). The image on the right symbolizes the hellish purgatory created by Leatherface's terrible deeds.

So the two images do seem to suggest that we really have *two* renditions of Leatherface:

1. the psychosis 'diplomat'
2. the terror 'angel'

This 'philosophical bifurcation' implies that Leatherface is a sort of demon-knight, which is why perhaps we associate the psycho's chainsaw with a 'doomsayer sword' (e.g., Excalibur).

IMO, Leatherface is the modern Grendel.

[anglewitch]

Oh, I thought leatherface was some member of crazy cannibalistic family that like making head cheese out of people for a living.

[Abishai100]

Originally Posted by anglewitch

Oh, I thought leatherface was some member of crazy cannibalistic family that like making head cheese out of people for a living.

Well, it's not like that's an exaggeration. Tobe Hooper gave the world an image of pure mania in Leatherface.

If ever you were spooked about your car breaking down in the afternoon while on a cross-country drive, forcing you to use the telephone at a strange-looking house, you really feel the goosebumps now --- i.e., "Let's hope Leatherface doesn't live there!"

I mean, what do American comic book superheroes such as Green Arrow (DC Comics), a super-archer, and Spider-Man (Marvel Comics), a web-soaring urban vigilante, symbolize? They represent partly our gratitude for cops and firefighters and those who are real heroes in civilization.

Well, Leatherface represents the super-infamous criminal (or 'bad guy') --- i.e., Charles Manson, Adolf Hitler, Ted Bundy, etc.

That's why I like the description of Arkham Asylum (DC Comics), a fictional housing center for the criminally insane and the place where the masked urban crusader Batman places his criminally insane adversaries for study/treatment.

Arkham helps us understand the ethics characterization complications in society art that reflect controversial portrayals of 'intolerable evil.'

[Abishai100]

A key feature of Leatherface is his chainsaw. So this post is meant to raise the question, "What would Leatherface be without his chainsaw?"

1. Leatherface has used weapons other than a chainsaw (e.g., sledgehammer)
2. Fictional warriors/characters in horror/fantasy/adventure films have also used chainsaws --- e.g., Army of Darkness, The Running Man
3. If a 'copycat killer' used a chainsaw, we wouldn't automatically call him 'Leatherface'
4. The chainsaw is still a 'normal' tool, so technically, anyone can use it


So what if we invented a horror story fictional psycho who also used a chainsaw but for very different reasons? Would we still compare him to Leatherface?

Personally speaking, Leatherface gave me the goosebumps about the destructive power of chainsaws.



====

Sam was a strange American man of 30 years of age. He worked at Home Depot and advised on the tools and hardware section. Sam's alcoholic father died when he was young, and he was raised by his emotionally deranged mother whom he loved very much until the day she died. Sam never met someone he could take in as a wife and preferred the simple quiet life. He loved horror-comics and was a big fan of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre horror film franchise, which presented stories of a chainsaw-wielding cannibal named Leatherface who wore a mask made out of the skin of his human victims. Sam was a true American eccentric.

One Saturday morning, as Sam was about to return a copy of a horror film to a video store, a runaway dog ran up to him and bit him in the knee (not seriously). Sam nevertheless had to go to the hospital to get the bite treated, and the trauma of the incident forever changed the way Sam looked at the animal kingdom. Sam decided to pick up a copy of the nature-conscious book Walden (Thoreau) and critique why human beings were so willing to praise the magic and enchantment of nature and animals. After reading the book, Sam decided he wanted to be the opposite of Thoreau.

Sam picked up a sturdy chainsaw from the Home Depot and brought it home for Thanksgiving. He then fashioned a mask for his face made out of turkey feathers. Sam started calling himself the Animal Demon. Sam decided that as the Animal Demon, he would bring pure eeriness and angst towards animals on planet Earth. He would create this terror and mayhem with his new chainsaw. Sam realized that as Animal Demon, he had become something like the 'spiritual brother' (or demonic brother!) of Leatherface. Over the next four years, Sam killed countless dogs, cats, cows, sheep, rodents, badgers, and rabbits with his chainsaw.

A young boy named Timmy who had a dog named Lassie whom he cherished lived near Sam and would sometimes hear the sound of a chainsaw coming from Sam's basement. Timmy decided to go explore the house with his dog Lassie on Christmas Day and present the strange neighbour with a gift of cookies for the holiday season. To his horror, a man (Sam) in a turkey-feather mask opened the door, carrying a bloody chainsaw. In the background, Timmy could hear the sound of clucking chickens. Timmy screamed and Lassie started barking really loudly and tried to bite the man (Sam) on his leg. As the man (Sam) turned his chainsaw on in rage, Timmy ran and simply hoped Lassie was running with him.

When Timmy got home he shut the door behind him and locked it but realized Lassie was nowhere to be seen. Thinking that Sam (the 'Animal Demon') had caught and was killing Lassie, Timmy called the police and within 15 minutes, the police arrived to inspect Sam's house with Timmy and his parents, in search of Lassie. When police searched Sam's house, they found Lassie tied up and squealing (though unhurt) in the basement. However, they also found bloody body parts of various animals strewn across the basement. The police realized Sam was a maniac and hauled him off to prison where he got a life sentence.

News reporters asked Timmy if he thought he met the 'real Leatherface,' but Timmy replied that the strange neighbour Sam called himself the 'Animal Demon' and was simply a ghoul who murdered and stalked defenceless animals with his terrifying chainsaw. Timmy grew up and became an animal rights activist, and Sam (the Animal Demon) died in prison. Timmy always wondered, though, if Sam was in some odd and haunting way, a 'metaphysical brother' of the bizarre fictional chainsaw-wielding cannibal Leatherface.

====

[Abishai100]

IMO, the only horror film character that can be paired adequately with Leatherface is Carrie.

Carrie (or Carrie White) is the main character of the Stephen King horror novel which bears her name; she is an emotionally strange American teenager girl who uses her telekinesis to create pure mayhem at her prom when she is treated cruelly. Brian De Palma adapted the Stephen King novel into a very iconic American horror film starring Sissy Spacek.

Like Leatherface, Carrie symbolizes anti-social insanity. They both seem to resent themselves and are not hesitant to take it out on others.

While Michael Myers (from the Halloween horror film series) may be better matched with Leatherface in terms of strength and battle-equivalence, Carrie is the best match for Leatherface in terms of self-loathing.

This is something to consider when analysing why/how Leatherface signifies ugliness. Leatherface is an ugly man, and Carrie is an ugly female (spiritually speaking). It's a match made in heaven or hell.





Carrie (Horror Wiki)

[Sculpt]

Originally Posted by Abishai100

====

Sam was a strange American man of 30 years of age. He worked at Home Depot and advised on the tools and hardware section. Sam's alcoholic father died when he was young, and he was raised by his emotionally deranged mother whom he loved very much until the day she died. Sam never met someone he could take in as a wife and preferred the simple quiet life. He loved horror-comics and was a big fan of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre horror film franchise, which presented stories of a chainsaw-wielding cannibal named Leatherface who wore a mask made out of the skin of his human victims. Sam was a true American eccentric.

One Saturday morning, as Sam was about to return a copy of a horror film to a video store, a runaway dog ran up to him and bit him in the knee (not seriously). Sam nevertheless had to go to the hospital to get the bite treated, and the trauma of the incident forever changed the way Sam looked at the animal kingdom. Sam decided to pick up a copy of the nature-conscious book Walden (Thoreau) and critique why human beings were so willing to praise the magic and enchantment of nature and animals. After reading the book, Sam decided he wanted to be the opposite of Thoreau.

Sam picked up a sturdy chainsaw from the Home Depot and brought it home for Thanksgiving. He then fashioned a mask for his face made out of turkey feathers. Sam started calling himself the Animal Demon. Sam decided that as the Animal Demon, he would bring pure eeriness and angst towards animals on planet Earth. He would create this terror and mayhem with his new chainsaw. Sam realized that as Animal Demon, he had become something like the 'spiritual brother' (or demonic brother!) of Leatherface. Over the next four years, Sam killed countless dogs, cats, cows, sheep, rodents, badgers, and rabbits with his chainsaw.

A young boy named Timmy who had a dog named Lassie whom he cherished lived near Sam and would sometimes hear the sound of a chainsaw coming from Sam's basement. Timmy decided to go explore the house with his dog Lassie on Christmas Day and present the strange neighbour with a gift of cookies for the holiday season. To his horror, a man (Sam) in a turkey-feather mask opened the door, carrying a bloody chainsaw. In the background, Timmy could hear the sound of clucking chickens. Timmy screamed and Lassie started barking really loudly and tried to bite the man (Sam) on his leg. As the man (Sam) turned his chainsaw on in rage, Timmy ran and simply hoped Lassie was running with him.

When Timmy got home he shut the door behind him and locked it but realized Lassie was nowhere to be seen. Thinking that Sam (the 'Animal Demon') had caught and was killing Lassie, Timmy called the police and within 15 minutes, the police arrived to inspect Sam's house with Timmy and his parents, in search of Lassie. When police searched Sam's house, they found Lassie tied up and squealing (though unhurt) in the basement. However, they also found bloody body parts of various animals strewn across the basement. The police realized Sam was a maniac and hauled him off to prison where he got a life sentence.

News reporters asked Timmy if he thought he met the 'real Leatherface,' but Timmy replied that the strange neighbour Sam called himself the 'Animal Demon' and was simply a ghoul who murdered and stalked defenceless animals with his terrifying chainsaw. Timmy grew up and became an animal rights activist, and Sam (the Animal Demon) died in prison. Timmy always wondered, though, if Sam was in some odd and haunting way, a 'metaphysical brother' of the bizarre fictional chainsaw-wielding cannibal Leatherface.

====

What the hell is this?

Did you create his fictional story? It's made to sound real, but has no verifiable info. You havent identified it. thanks!

[Dead Bad Things]

Carrie as consort or an arch enemy...?

[Abishai100]

1. the fictional story of the pseudo-Leatherface Sam is supposed to sound real but is in fact simply a monogram used to illuminate the general chainsaw usefulness in storytelling; I made the story, but it's meant to infer chainsaw-war images from already-made films such as Army of Darkness

2. I would say Carrie is first an arch-enemy and then (later) a consort; incidentally, maybe there should be a Freddy vs. Jason type film in which the coupled ghouls actually work together for something

[Sculpt]

Originally Posted by Abishai100

1. the fictional story of the pseudo-Leatherface Sam is supposed to sound real but is in fact simply a monogram used to illuminate the general chainsaw usefulness in storytelling; I made the story, but it's meant to infer chainsaw-war images from already-made films such as Army of Darkness

2. I would say Carrie is first an arch-enemy and then (later) a consort; incidentally, maybe there should be a Freddy vs. Jason type film in which the coupled ghouls actually work together for something

1. nicely written story! i just re-read and understood how you were announcing it.

Originally Posted by Abishai100

IMO, the only horror film character that can be paired adequately with Leatherface is Carrie.

Carrie (or Carrie White) is the main character of the Stephen King horror novel which bears her name; she is an emotionally strange American teenager girl who uses her telekinesis to create pure mayhem at her prom when she is treated cruelly. Brian De Palma adapted the Stephen King novel into a very iconic American horror film starring Sissy Spacek.

Like Leatherface, Carrie symbolizes anti-social insanity. They both seem to resent themselves and are not hesitant to take it out on others.

While Michael Myers (from the Halloween horror film series) may be better matched with Leatherface in terms of strength and battle-equivalence, Carrie is the best match for Leatherface in terms of self-loathing.

This is something to consider when analysing why/how Leatherface signifies ugliness. Leatherface is an ugly man, and Carrie is an ugly female (spiritually speaking). It's a match made in heaven or hell.

I agree Leatherface and Carrie symbolizes anti-social insanity, specifically killing innocents. But (based on original films) i dont see either being self-resentful.

I didnt see Leatherface resenting himself, nor making any self commentary. Rather he appears to have no self-analysis.

He did wear a leathermask, but does the film itself indicate why? If a child puts on a mask, is it because of self-loathing? We can attach self-loathing, but I think it presumptive.

I wouldnt characterize Carrie (pre-murderous break) as resenting herself either. She was shy, meek, humble and lacked social skills, and she wanted to become more engaging, but she was not self-resentful. She was unsure of the morality of her telekinesis, but decided it was neutral. She compassionately realized her mom had psychoses. None of these issues were self-resentful.

[anglewitch]

Originally Posted by Abishai100

A key feature of Leatherface is his chainsaw. So this post is meant to raise the question, "What would Leatherface be without his chainsaw?"

1. Leatherface has used weapons other than a chainsaw (e.g., sledgehammer)
2. Fictional warriors/characters in horror/fantasy/adventure films have also used chainsaws --- e.g., Army of Darkness, The Running Man
3. If a 'copycat killer' used a chainsaw, we wouldn't automatically call him 'Leatherface'
4. The chainsaw is still a 'normal' tool, so technically, anyone can use it


So what if we invented a horror story fictional psycho who also used a chainsaw but for very different reasons? Would we still compare him to Leatherface?

Personally speaking, Leatherface gave me the goosebumps about the destructive power of chainsaws.



====

Sam was a strange American man of 30 years of age. He worked at Home Depot and advised on the tools and hardware section. Sam's alcoholic father died when he was young, and he was raised by his emotionally deranged mother whom he loved very much until the day she died. Sam never met someone he could take in as a wife and preferred the simple quiet life. He loved horror-comics and was a big fan of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre horror film franchise, which presented stories of a chainsaw-wielding cannibal named Leatherface who wore a mask made out of the skin of his human victims. Sam was a true American eccentric.

One Saturday morning, as Sam was about to return a copy of a horror film to a video store, a runaway dog ran up to him and bit him in the knee (not seriously). Sam nevertheless had to go to the hospital to get the bite treated, and the trauma of the incident forever changed the way Sam looked at the animal kingdom. Sam decided to pick up a copy of the nature-conscious book Walden (Thoreau) and critique why human beings were so willing to praise the magic and enchantment of nature and animals. After reading the book, Sam decided he wanted to be the opposite of Thoreau.

Sam picked up a sturdy chainsaw from the Home Depot and brought it home for Thanksgiving. He then fashioned a mask for his face made out of turkey feathers. Sam started calling himself the Animal Demon. Sam decided that as the Animal Demon, he would bring pure eeriness and angst towards animals on planet Earth. He would create this terror and mayhem with his new chainsaw. Sam realized that as Animal Demon, he had become something like the 'spiritual brother' (or demonic brother!) of Leatherface. Over the next four years, Sam killed countless dogs, cats, cows, sheep, rodents, badgers, and rabbits with his chainsaw.

A young boy named Timmy who had a dog named Lassie whom he cherished lived near Sam and would sometimes hear the sound of a chainsaw coming from Sam's basement. Timmy decided to go explore the house with his dog Lassie on Christmas Day and present the strange neighbour with a gift of cookies for the holiday season. To his horror, a man (Sam) in a turkey-feather mask opened the door, carrying a bloody chainsaw. In the background, Timmy could hear the sound of clucking chickens. Timmy screamed and Lassie started barking really loudly and tried to bite the man (Sam) on his leg. As the man (Sam) turned his chainsaw on in rage, Timmy ran and simply hoped Lassie was running with him.

When Timmy got home he shut the door behind him and locked it but realized Lassie was nowhere to be seen. Thinking that Sam (the 'Animal Demon') had caught and was killing Lassie, Timmy called the police and within 15 minutes, the police arrived to inspect Sam's house with Timmy and his parents, in search of Lassie. When police searched Sam's house, they found Lassie tied up and squealing (though unhurt) in the basement. However, they also found bloody body parts of various animals strewn across the basement. The police realized Sam was a maniac and hauled him off to prison where he got a life sentence.

News reporters asked Timmy if he thought he met the 'real Leatherface,' but Timmy replied that the strange neighbour Sam called himself the 'Animal Demon' and was simply a ghoul who murdered and stalked defenceless animals with his terrifying chainsaw. Timmy grew up and became an animal rights activist, and Sam (the Animal Demon) died in prison. Timmy always wondered, though, if Sam was in some odd and haunting way, a 'metaphysical brother' of the bizarre fictional chainsaw-wielding cannibal Leatherface.

====

I have the same reaction as Sculpt up there.

Wtf?