Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2022

As a retro VHS tape rewinds itself, the gruesome events of yesteryear unfold on screen - a haunting reminder of the brutal slaughter that befell a group of unsuspecting teenagers in rural Texas. The sole survivor, Sally Hardesty, had managed to escape the clutches of Leatherface (Mark Burnham), the chainsaw-wielding psychopath who wore the faces of his victims as gruesome trophies. As the tape reaches its climax, Leatherface’s mask comes off, and he vanishes into the darkness, leaving behind a trail of terror.

Meanwhile, in a gas station convenience store, Lila (Elsie Fisher) is mesmerized by the VHS tape playing on the television. Her curiosity piqued, she asks the attendant about Sally Hardesty’s fate, only to be met with a solemn tale of a woman haunted by the memory of her slaughtered family and friends.

As Lila steps out into the sunlight, she reunites with her sister Melody “Mel” (Sarah Yarkin) and their companions, Dante (Jacob Latimore), a social media influencer with a vision for transformation, and his girlfriend Ruth (Nell Hudson). The group is en route to Harlow, an abandoned Texas town that Dante has purchased at a bankruptcy sale. His plan is to resell the properties to affluent young adults who crave a more idyllic, modern community.

However, their journey is marred by a heated confrontation with Richter, a fiery Texan, and an encounter with the two police officers responsible for maintaining order in Harlow. The townspeople are wary of Dante’s intentions, sensing that his vision for renewal may not align with their own interests. As tensions simmer beneath the surface, the group begins to realize that they are not alone in this forgotten town - and that the shadows of the past are still very much present.

As the quartet arrives in Harlow, they’re introduced to Richter, the enigmatic contractor overseeing the town’s revitalization efforts. However, their initial encounter with Mrs. Mc (Alice Krige), a feisty old woman who claims ownership of her orphanage, sets off a chain reaction of events. Mrs. Mc’s assertions that she’d paid off her debt and remained the rightful owner of the property offend Dante, who sees her as a relic of the past and a potential obstacle to his plans for the town. Despite Mel’s reservations, Dante decides to call in the authorities to evict Mrs. Mc, only to witness her suffering a medical episode as she’s being escorted out of the house.

As the ambulance rushes Mrs. Mc to the hospital, the group is shocked by the sudden turn of events. The tension is palpable as they realize that their actions may have contributed to her untimely demise. Meanwhile, Lila wanders through the town, her gaze falling upon Richter’s workshop, where she discovers an arsenal of weapons, including an assault rifle. Her past experiences as a survivor of a mass school shooting come flooding back, and she confides in Mel about her crippling guilt and sense of inadequacy.

In the midst of this chaos, Ruth texts Dante with devastating news: Mrs. Mc has passed away. The man accompanying her in the ambulance begins to unravel, his grief turning violent as he lashes out at the officers around him. In a shocking display of strength and brutality, he snaps one officer’s arm off, then stabs another in the throat before shooting them both. The ambulance crashes into abandoned farm equipment, sending the town spiraling further into chaos.

As news of Mrs. Mc’s eviction and passing spreads throughout Harlow, Richter seizes the opportunity to exact revenge on Dante. He steals the keys to his car and the party bus, demanding that Dante prove himself as the rightful owner of the orphanage before he’ll return them. With time running out, Dante frantically searches through his files, only to come up empty-handed. Mel, now consumed by regret over their treatment of Mrs. Mc, insists they search her home for any clues that might lead them to the deed she so fervently claimed was hers.

As Ruth’s consciousness slowly returns, she’s met with a gruesome scene in the side mirror of her crashed vehicle. The massive figure of Leatherface (Mark Burnham) is seen applying Mrs. Mc’s disfigured face to his own, a disturbing ritual that leaves no doubt about his depraved nature. Seizing the police radio, Ruth desperately tries to call for help, but her cries fall on deaf ears - except for one lone gas station attendant who unwittingly becomes her only lifeline. Meanwhile, Leatherface’s brutality continues unabated, as he dispatches the other officer with Mrs. Mc’s oxygen tank, a merciless display of his unyielding cruelty. Ruth’s attempts to play possum and escape are foiled by Leatherface’s keen senses, ultimately leading to her demise at the hands of his razor-sharp blade. As her life slips away, Leatherface begins his treacherous trek back to Harlow, where chaos and carnage await.

Back at the orphanage, a senseless slaughter is unfolding as Dante and Mel search for the deed, only to have their quest interrupted by Leatherface’s brutal onslaught. The imposing figure attacks Dante, leaving him maimed and helpless before moving on to terrorize Mel, who has taken refuge under a bed. The sound of revelers outside serves as a catalyst for Leatherface’s rage, prompting him to retrieve his trusty sledgehammer and begin demolishing the bedroom wall. In a moment of macabre irony, he uncovers his beloved chainsaw, its revving engine serving as a chilling harbinger of doom.

As the partygoers outside continue their revelry, Richter stumbles upon Dante’s lifeless body, his warnings to the group about Leatherface falling on deaf ears. In a desperate bid to escape the clutches of death, Richter grabs a handgun and makes his way towards the orphanage, only to be met by the partygoer, who forces Lila and the investors back onto the waiting bus. Mel, still hiding under the bed, is forced to watch in horror as Leatherface dispatches Richter with a brutal combination of sledgehammer blows and glass shards.

In a final act of desperation, Richter tosses the keys to the vehicles to Mel before succumbing to his mortal wounds. With Richter’s demise, Leatherface delivers the finishing blow, crushing his skull with the sledgehammer in a gruesome display of unrelenting violence. As the orphanage descends into chaos and terror, it becomes clear that for these unsuspecting victims, there is no escape from the merciless clutches of Leatherface.

As Sally’s drive unwinds, she happens upon the scene of a gruesome accident - the ambulance crash site, ravaged by the unhinged Leatherface. Her curiosity piqued, she pulls over to investigate and is met with the unsettling sight of Mrs. Mc’s lifeless form transformed into a macabre monument by the chainsaw-wielding maniac. Meanwhile, Lila disembarks from her bus ride in search of Mel and stumbles upon Dante’s lifeless body, a grim harbinger of the horrors that await.

As Leatherface retreats to another room to tend to his trusty chainsaw, Mel seizes the opportunity to make a break for freedom, only to be caught by the deranged killer. The sisters engage in a desperate struggle, with Mel tumbling through the floorboards of the decrepit building. Leatherface, undeterred, unleashes his now-functional chainsaw to tear her apart from beneath, but Mel manages to escape through a basement window as Lila intervenes, shattering the glass to facilitate her sister’s hasty retreat.

The sisters flee to their bus, brandishing the keys, and demand the driver depart immediately. However, their escape is short-lived, as the vehicle inexplicably stalls, stranding them in a sea of chaos. The driver ventures out to investigate, only to have his severed head hurled back onto the bus by Leatherface’s merciless hand. The investors, paralyzed with fear, resort to recording Leatherface on their phones, threatening to “cancel” the killer - but their taunts only serve as a precursor to their brutal slaughter at the hands of the chainsaw-wielding madman.

Lila and Mel narrowly escape through an emergency exit in the ceiling and embark on a desperate bid for freedom. As they flee, they spy a car idling in town and make a break for it, only to discover that Sally is behind the wheel - but instead of departing, she refuses to leave, opting to pursue Leatherface back to the orphanage.

Upon arrival, Sally finds herself face-to-face with her old tormentor. She levels a shotgun at his head, demanding acknowledgment of her identity and the atrocities he perpetrated against her family and friends. However, Leatherface remains mute, his expression as impassive as the grave, before pushing past Sally when he detects Mel and Lila’s presence outside. Realizing that Leatherface either has forgotten or no longer cares about her, Sally unleashes a furious assault and flings her car keys to the girls, sending them fleeing into the night.

Here’s my rephrased version:

As the battle between Sally and Leatherface reaches its frenzied peak, the chainsaw-wielding psychopath proves to be an unyielding force, shrugging off Sally’s initial attack with a brutal efficiency. Despite managing to land a few shots and inflict a deep wound on Leatherface’s stomach, Sally ultimately finds herself at the mercy of his merciless blade as he lifts her off the ground and plunges her further onto its spinning teeth. Flinging her lifeless body into a heap of trash, Leatherface turns his attention to Mel, who attempts to run him down with their car but narrowly dodges the attempt, leaving Mel crashed and crippled. As Mel lies impaled through the leg, unable to escape, Leatherface approaches her with an air of nonchalance, ignoring her apologetic pleas for mercy over the fate of Mrs. Mc. Meanwhile, Lila flees the scene without her sister.

But Sally’s spirit refuses to be extinguished, and she summons the last vestiges of her strength to take aim at Leatherface as he stalks Lila, unloading a hail of bullets that leaves him wounded but far from defeated. As Leatherface stumbles towards Mel, Sally’s words echo in Lila’s mind: if she flees now, she’ll be forever haunted by the horrors that have unfolded around her.

In a moment of resolute defiance, Lila decides to stand and fight alongside her dying sister, taking up the shotgun as Sally’s life slips away. As the sisters’ bond is strengthened in their final moments together, Mel finds an opportunity to free herself from the wreckage, only to be drawn into Leatherface’s latest trap.

In a heart-stopping sequence of events, Lila finds herself ambushed and tumbled into a watery pit alongside Leatherface, who emerges first but ultimately meets his match as Mel joins the fray. As Leatherface struggles to regain control, Lila seizes her chance to reclaim her shotgun and deliver a devastating blow that sends the chainsaw-wielding killer tumbling into the depths below.

As the water closes over Leatherface’s lifeless body, the sisters share a poignant moment of reconciliation before escaping in a self-driving car. But their brief respite from terror is short-lived, as Leatherface reappears to drag Mel outside and mete out a gruesome punishment: decapitation with his beloved chainsaw.

In the aftermath, Lila’s anguish is palpable as she watches her sister’s severed head being cavorted with by Leatherface in a macabre dance. And as the credits roll, we’re left with a haunting glimpse of Leatherface making his way back to the very place where it all began: the home where he first took innocent lives and forever scarred Sally’s family.