Conversation with the director, cast of new 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'

Warning: major spoilers ahead.

“Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (2022) follows its iconic 1974 predecessor in a bloodfueled extravaganza that will terrify (and delight) old fans and new viewers alike.

Director David Blue Garcia, an Emmy award winner, first gained recognition from his debut feature film “Tejano” and was later offered the directorial position for “Massacre.” He brings a modern twist to a concept that relies on the outdatedness of rural Texas, producing a sequel that touches on current social issues while also staying true to the original film.

“There is a lot of our culture and society in this film,” Garcia said. “It touches on a lot of subjects like gentrification and school shootings, guilt and running from the past. But it doesn’t necessarily preach any of those things, either. It’s part of their world, it’s a part of the characters, but it’s not telling the audience how to think. It’s also a fun slasher film.”

One demonstrative difference is Garcia’s choice of casting. Instead of actors that aligned with typical horror tropes (e.g., blonde hair, blue eyes), he opted for Sarah Yarkin and Elsie Fisher, saying he enjoys that they look like normal college students. Yarkin, who plays leading lady Melody, discussed how involved the role of a horror heroine/victim was and the intense nature of filming.

“It was crazy,” Yarkin said. “When you read the script, you're like: ‘it's going to be gnarly, let's get crazy, let's get covered in shit and blood’. When you're actually doing it, it's totally insane. Like I was stuck under a bed for three days crying, or I’m crawling through a crawl space for three days covered in blood and poop. A lot of the movie is running from Leatherface or hiding, but at some points I get to take some action and I got to work with a stunt coordinator and that was really cool, to feel like I was an action hero.”

Fisher rose to fame after starring in Bo Burnham’s film “Eighth Grade”. Her character, Lila, has a backstory surrounding the events of a school shooting, leading to the actress focusing on trauma research for the role.

“A lot of the inspiration for Lila came