“DINNER WITH LEATHERFACE” (2024) Is A Full-Course Tribute To A Horror Legend (REVIEW)

In recent years, we’ve seen several documentaries about the lives of the men behind some of our favorite boogeymen.  Films like “To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story” “Hollywood Dreams and Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story” have told…well, the stories of how these performers grew up, came to Hollywood, and eventually filled the shoes, masks, and gloves of today’s famous slasher villains.  Along with Hodder and Englund, the third head of the modern horror hydra is Bubba “Leatherface” Sawyer, himself, Gunnar Hansen. Director Michael Kallio’s latest “Dinner With Leatherface” aims to finally tell the story of how Hansen, the gentle giant born in Reykjavik, Iceland, became synonymous with cannibalism and power tools.

From his days as a college student in Texas, to his time spent inhabiting the “borrowed” skin of Leatherface, to finding appreciative fans on the convention circuit, Hansen’s life is explored by a bevy of talking heads and horror luminaries like Barbara Crampton, Felissa Rose, and Hodder to name a scant few. Instead of focusing on his origins, the film starts with an always appreciated, but boilerplate appreciation of “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” in the horror canon before segueing to an exploration of Hansen and his indelible performance. Though it’s a kick to see Bruce Campbell talk about how “Chain Saw” gave the crew of “The Evil Dead” hope to eventually make an indie movie of their own.  

Hansen in a candid interview (Source: JoBlo Horror YouTube)

Hansen is lauded for making Leatherface stand apart from the other masked maniacs he inspired.  At his core, he was just a mentally challenged artist who wanted to protect his home from outsiders, which Hansen, a real actor, implicitly understood. Instead of playing the “Simple Jack” angle, he volunteered at an institution for the mentally handicapped to make Leatherface feel real, compounding the terror director Tobe Hooper unleashed upon a fraught nation.  

Kallio isn’t the first one to document the seminal ilm, but it’s gratifying to see a focus on the unique take Hansen brought to the (dinner) table. Some of the praise becomes a little too fawning at times, especially when director John Vincent says “[Hansen] IS the movie” (sorry, but come on).  Still, it’s actually heartwarming to see most of the subsequent Leatherface actors pay tribute to Hansen, who they each hold in high regard.  Say what you will about “Texas Chainsaw 3D,” but watching that film’s Leatherface, Dan Yeagher gush to Hansen’s face about his influence really dials in how necessary Hansen was to horror history.

Like the title implies, Kallio’s film has a light, breezy tone that presents Hansen as an unassuming guy missed by all.  His film hits the usual beats that would interest fans of the genre, including a cheeky opening crawl that spoofs the one from “Chain Saw” down to the original font.  It’s not particularly deep, but Kallio manages to make you wonder why Hansen hasn’t been explored before.

Edwin Neal still repping his razor. (Source: JoBlo Horror YouTube)

The Blu of “DInner with Leatherface” maintains the standard look and sound of most of these documentaries. The interviews are well-lit and uncomplicated and it sounds sharp in 5.1 Surround.  The special features include an audio commentary by Kallio and editor Josh Wagner, and several deleted interview sections with the likes of the late Jeff Burr, special features majordomo Michael Felsher and Danielle Harris.  It’s endearing to see Harris at a convention as she introduces an interview she did with Hansen at a previous con.  Hansen became a mainstay on the convention circuit, and it’s an additionally fitting tribute to the big lug as she asks him random questions.

Michael Felsher of Red Shirt Pictures, playing against type. (Source: JoBlo Horror YouTube)

Gunnar Hansen was also a poet, who wrote a memoir about shooting “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” (“Chain Saw Confidential”) and a passionate documentarian.  He unfortunately passed ten years ago, but “Dinner with Leatherface” is a solid eulogy for fans, friends, and even the uninitiated. Know your history, kids.

“Dinner with Leatherface” releases on February 25th from MVD Entertainment.

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