Leatherface
costume (in English)
Introduction
This webpage is about the Leatherface costume I made for my own amusement. The page should be quite fascinating for anyone interested in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies and especially Leatherface and his costume as well as the props used in the films.
I decided to create this page in English because I believe that the majority of the people who are interested in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie series comes from outside my home country, Finland – this way the pleasure and utility offered by the page is much greater. Finnish TCM fans also surely know enough English to follow this page.
My interest in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
I got familiar with the TCM series in early 2004 when I went to the movies with my friend to see the 2003 remake of the original horror movie classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (sic) made 30 years earlier – I instantly found myself being a new fan of the series and especially Leatherface. Before, I had always been greatly fascinated by Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th series, so Leatherface was a natural addition to my favourites: there's something about these two characters that is simply cool. Obviously this coolness is based on the radical costumes and the bizarre masks. In other words I'm interested in all kinds of horror props or elements like decayed old houses, deep dark forests and only seemingly sane persons just to mention a few – or as mentioned, ruthless horror figures who wear frightening costumes and horrifying masks.
Although I find the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies (by this I basically only refer to the original and the remake rather than to the sequels and prequels) very enjoyable, I separately want to emphasise that I am not into modern horror movies in general as it is often just about gore and insane torture (e.g. Saw and Hostel). There's absolutely nothing that would turn me on in that particular genre or style, and I have never actually managed to understand whom those movies are made for. It is very difficult to give reasons for watching in detail how a living creature is sadistically and slowly destroyed. In my opinion there is a great difference between repulsiveness based on torment and fear based on a threat – I prefer the latter.
In other words I am very fascinated by anything creepy and scary which is not that violent itself. This is why I consider Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho one of the best horror movies or movies in general ever made. For the same reason probably the best scene in the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre in my opinion is where Pam goes into Leatherface's house and falls into the very dirty room filled with bones, feather and ornaments made of skin: that quite absurd scene with the unbelievably disturbed music and brilliant direction – along with the single, cackling chicken – is absolutely fantastic and I just never get tired of it. The psychedelic scene gives you enormous chills even though nobody is hurt (until Leatherface attacks ablazed a moment later). It's all about the environment, the ambience and the characters themselves rather than sick (shown) violence.
I personally believe that humans are very curious by nature which also explains a lot of my fixation for so-called non-violent horror: who wouldn't have wanted for example to go to the cemetary at night just to make sure that there's nothing one wouldn't actually want to face. Curiosity often takes over fear, which is irrational and thereby interesting and fascinating – especially when it also concerns me as I consider myself a person who in general prefers logical thinking.
Below, I will tell how I created my custom Leatherface costume and mask as well as the chainsaw. There is also a video available about the whole in the end of this page that gives a closer look at it.
The costume
Firstly, I want say that the costume is totally homemade since I wanted to be creative and put something personal into it – that's what Leatherface himself originally did. I didn't want (or need) to buy anything new, in other words all the clothing used for the costume is taken from my old wardrobe full of useless clothes. The costume is thereby on purpose quite different compared to the ones from the movies and doesn't in anyway try to be a detailed replica (this should actually be quite obvious without mentioning it). Although it's unique you can easily notice the important elements of a Leatherface costume such as an apron and a tie together with a very disheveled overall appearance.
My leatherface costume consists of the following (excluding the mask and the chainsaw):
- shoes: old dark sneakers, torn from here and there
- trousers #1: dark blue college trousers
- trousers #2: old light blue, farm dungarees (on top of trousers #1)
- shirt #1: a light coloured college sweater with a little shortened sleeves
- shirt #2: a dark flannel shirt, sleeves cut off to make it into a vest (on top of shirt #1)
- gloves: grotesque working gloves
- apron: an old apron for waist, attached with some torn clothing
- tie: a decent tie, ripped and cut
- wrist cloth: small pieces of cloth to cover the skin between the shirt and the gloves
In an very important and essential addition to improve the badness, all the clothes are covered more or less with dirt and real human blood. And yes, I was only kidding: it's animal blood, bought frozen from a grocery store. Still extremely disgusting, though.
The mask
As with the costume, I went totally for my own style. I didn't buy a Leatherface mask ready to use but created one of my own. Although it's Leatherface we're talking about, I didn't concentrate too much on the human skin factor that a traditional mask would have: my goal was just to make a mask looking as sick as possible.
The mask was actually pretty much work because I had to start from nothing – I didn't base the mask on any other mask but built it all the way myself. Below I briefly explain how it was done (not all minor, yet important details are clarified here).
The creation started with a large piece of contact plastic. I covered the plastic with newspaper and then sculpted it into a shape of a mask so that the plastic side was left inside and the paper side outside (at this point it actually looked like nothing but a hollow egg). Before doing anything else with the mask I dyed it with dark water colors to give it a messy appearance. After this I made the asymmetric holes for the eyes and mouth. The mouth hole was closed with a grill shaped piece of cardboard and painted red. The eye holes were covered with a clear white background and mixed with blood. The nose of the mask is again a single dimble of an egg carton.
The hair of the mask is made of newspaper, plastic bag and dog hair. It sounds crazy but looks very good in my opinion. I rolled some white plastic into thin, long pieces and attached them to the mask. I did the same thing to the paper along with the curly dog hair that was glued on the top of the mask. Finally I gently dyed the whole hair with black spray paint.
Because of the sharp edges in the neck area of the mask, I also attached some dark pieces of cloth around it. This made the mask both look better and possible to cover the pale skin of the one using the mask. Finally I once again threw some – or quite a lot to be honest – blood on the mask. The blood had absolutely a very crucial part in the whole.
As I mentioned, this was only a short and plain description about making the mask. I actually had to take care of lots and lots of details to make it look the way I wanted. The mask was without a doubt the most laborius part of the whole project.
The chainsaw
Leatherface is of course absolutely nothing without his weapon of choice, the chainsaw (although he may sometimes use a hammer or a hook instead). I wanted to accomplish my costume with a proper chainsaw without spending too much money on it. I absolutely didn't want to use a small plastic fake saw, but on the other hand I didn't want to buy an expensive replica of the one used in the movies, either. Anyway I had a vision of having a real saw with a very long bar. So I decided to visit a Finnish internet auction and browsed for chainsaws for sale. I got just two criterias for the saw: it had to be cheap and it had to have a proper appearance (the bodywork). I didn't even care if the saw was working or not because it could be fixed later if needed. Also the appearance and the blade size could be modified.
I got lucky and found an old Homelite XL-12 from the late 1960's (an excellent and authentic era) which was perfect for my means. It was the right size, cheap and ugly as hell: I got it for myself just for fifty euros – and then I had to spend twice as much to get it repaired since the chainsaw wasn't fully operating. Anyway, now I had the saw and it was ready for some tuning.
First I needed to change the size of the bar which was originally pretty short – at least for Leatherface. I asked for some help from a pal of mine who had the equipment for arc welding: he removed the chain and attached an extra bar to the original one, which now made the bar look twice as long. After that a longer chain was welded around the new bar. Obviously the chain itself wasn't meant to be moving anymore for safety reasons, although one cannot actually see that the chain doesn't move at all unless the person is right next to it, which is essential. In addition to the first chain, a bicycle chain was put around the other chain. Then two pieces of a hand saw was put on the bicycle chain. All this made the bar look significantly more gross and bigger. Next, a couple of welding sticks were melted randomly all over the bar to give it further more roughed-up look. Finally the blade was of course covered with a good amount of blood. This essential stage was now done.
As mentioned, at first the motor of the saw wasn't working properly, which often happens when one buys something for a low prize: "Nothing is as expensive as cheap". There was some problem with the carburetor and fuel injection, so I had to get it fixed by a real professional. This unfortunately cost some money but it just had to be done: one can't imagine Leatherface with a chainsaw that is out of order. As the repairing was done, the customized bar could be attached to the bodywork. Finally the chainsaw of course got some blood on it. At long last the chainsaw was ready for some action – i.e. to scare the crap out of everyone.
About the project in general + the video
Ever since I had seen the remake at the movies in 2004, I was interested in creating my own props related to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Finally in 2007 I began making the Leatherface costume, starting from the mask. Since the costume and the props weren't fully finished until 2010, it obviously wasn't a short, scheduled project. It was thereby more of a job totally dependent on inspiration with no hurry. Sometimes I might add more details to the mask, sometimes I was just thinking about how the chainsaw should look like – and sometimes I didn't make any adjustments to the whole for a year or so.
When I finally got everything done, I wanted to make a video presentation about the creation. Below you can watch the video of it with English subtitles (Finnish audio). The video explains pretty much the same I have written here, although the details of the costume, the mask and the chainsaw are of course a lot better visible and apparent as I demonstrate them. It's also more fun to watch than just read about it.
Finally I would like to mention about the interesting fact that I have done some studies in forestry in the past – during the time I also participated in a specific one week intensive course about chainsaws and their usage. In addition to the capability of using a chainsaw properly in normal circumstances, the skill also comes in handy for a wannabe Leatherface.
My contact information
If you want to contact me about the topic, give some feedback or just share your thoughts, feel free to drop me an email. The address is visible below.
Just to inform you, I don't have a profile on Facebook or anywhere else besides YouTube. In other words email and YouTube are basically the only ways to get a contact.
Simo Terho
If you liked this page, don't forget to check out my drawings of Leatherface.
This webpage is about the Leatherface costume I made for my own amusement. The page should be quite fascinating for anyone interested in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies and especially Leatherface and his costume as well as the props used in the films.
I decided to create this page in English because I believe that the majority of the people who are interested in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie series comes from outside my home country, Finland – this way the pleasure and utility offered by the page is much greater. Finnish TCM fans also surely know enough English to follow this page.
This is the only known image of me as
Leatherface.
My interest in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
I got familiar with the TCM series in early 2004 when I went to the movies with my friend to see the 2003 remake of the original horror movie classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (sic) made 30 years earlier – I instantly found myself being a new fan of the series and especially Leatherface. Before, I had always been greatly fascinated by Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th series, so Leatherface was a natural addition to my favourites: there's something about these two characters that is simply cool. Obviously this coolness is based on the radical costumes and the bizarre masks. In other words I'm interested in all kinds of horror props or elements like decayed old houses, deep dark forests and only seemingly sane persons just to mention a few – or as mentioned, ruthless horror figures who wear frightening costumes and horrifying masks.
Although I find the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies (by this I basically only refer to the original and the remake rather than to the sequels and prequels) very enjoyable, I separately want to emphasise that I am not into modern horror movies in general as it is often just about gore and insane torture (e.g. Saw and Hostel). There's absolutely nothing that would turn me on in that particular genre or style, and I have never actually managed to understand whom those movies are made for. It is very difficult to give reasons for watching in detail how a living creature is sadistically and slowly destroyed. In my opinion there is a great difference between repulsiveness based on torment and fear based on a threat – I prefer the latter.
In other words I am very fascinated by anything creepy and scary which is not that violent itself. This is why I consider Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho one of the best horror movies or movies in general ever made. For the same reason probably the best scene in the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre in my opinion is where Pam goes into Leatherface's house and falls into the very dirty room filled with bones, feather and ornaments made of skin: that quite absurd scene with the unbelievably disturbed music and brilliant direction – along with the single, cackling chicken – is absolutely fantastic and I just never get tired of it. The psychedelic scene gives you enormous chills even though nobody is hurt (until Leatherface attacks ablazed a moment later). It's all about the environment, the ambience and the characters themselves rather than sick (shown) violence.
I personally believe that humans are very curious by nature which also explains a lot of my fixation for so-called non-violent horror: who wouldn't have wanted for example to go to the cemetary at night just to make sure that there's nothing one wouldn't actually want to face. Curiosity often takes over fear, which is irrational and thereby interesting and fascinating – especially when it also concerns me as I consider myself a person who in general prefers logical thinking.
Below, I will tell how I created my custom Leatherface costume and mask as well as the chainsaw. There is also a video available about the whole in the end of this page that gives a closer look at it.
The costume
Firstly, I want say that the costume is totally homemade since I wanted to be creative and put something personal into it – that's what Leatherface himself originally did. I didn't want (or need) to buy anything new, in other words all the clothing used for the costume is taken from my old wardrobe full of useless clothes. The costume is thereby on purpose quite different compared to the ones from the movies and doesn't in anyway try to be a detailed replica (this should actually be quite obvious without mentioning it). Although it's unique you can easily notice the important elements of a Leatherface costume such as an apron and a tie together with a very disheveled overall appearance.
My leatherface costume consists of the following (excluding the mask and the chainsaw):
- shoes: old dark sneakers, torn from here and there
- trousers #1: dark blue college trousers
- trousers #2: old light blue, farm dungarees (on top of trousers #1)
- shirt #1: a light coloured college sweater with a little shortened sleeves
- shirt #2: a dark flannel shirt, sleeves cut off to make it into a vest (on top of shirt #1)
- gloves: grotesque working gloves
- apron: an old apron for waist, attached with some torn clothing
- tie: a decent tie, ripped and cut
- wrist cloth: small pieces of cloth to cover the skin between the shirt and the gloves
In an very important and essential addition to improve the badness, all the clothes are covered more or less with dirt and real human blood. And yes, I was only kidding: it's animal blood, bought frozen from a grocery store. Still extremely disgusting, though.
The mask
As with the costume, I went totally for my own style. I didn't buy a Leatherface mask ready to use but created one of my own. Although it's Leatherface we're talking about, I didn't concentrate too much on the human skin factor that a traditional mask would have: my goal was just to make a mask looking as sick as possible.
The mask was actually pretty much work because I had to start from nothing – I didn't base the mask on any other mask but built it all the way myself. Below I briefly explain how it was done (not all minor, yet important details are clarified here).
The creation started with a large piece of contact plastic. I covered the plastic with newspaper and then sculpted it into a shape of a mask so that the plastic side was left inside and the paper side outside (at this point it actually looked like nothing but a hollow egg). Before doing anything else with the mask I dyed it with dark water colors to give it a messy appearance. After this I made the asymmetric holes for the eyes and mouth. The mouth hole was closed with a grill shaped piece of cardboard and painted red. The eye holes were covered with a clear white background and mixed with blood. The nose of the mask is again a single dimble of an egg carton.
The hair of the mask is made of newspaper, plastic bag and dog hair. It sounds crazy but looks very good in my opinion. I rolled some white plastic into thin, long pieces and attached them to the mask. I did the same thing to the paper along with the curly dog hair that was glued on the top of the mask. Finally I gently dyed the whole hair with black spray paint.
Because of the sharp edges in the neck area of the mask, I also attached some dark pieces of cloth around it. This made the mask both look better and possible to cover the pale skin of the one using the mask. Finally I once again threw some – or quite a lot to be honest – blood on the mask. The blood had absolutely a very crucial part in the whole.
As I mentioned, this was only a short and plain description about making the mask. I actually had to take care of lots and lots of details to make it look the way I wanted. The mask was without a doubt the most laborius part of the whole project.
The chainsaw
Leatherface is of course absolutely nothing without his weapon of choice, the chainsaw (although he may sometimes use a hammer or a hook instead). I wanted to accomplish my costume with a proper chainsaw without spending too much money on it. I absolutely didn't want to use a small plastic fake saw, but on the other hand I didn't want to buy an expensive replica of the one used in the movies, either. Anyway I had a vision of having a real saw with a very long bar. So I decided to visit a Finnish internet auction and browsed for chainsaws for sale. I got just two criterias for the saw: it had to be cheap and it had to have a proper appearance (the bodywork). I didn't even care if the saw was working or not because it could be fixed later if needed. Also the appearance and the blade size could be modified.
I got lucky and found an old Homelite XL-12 from the late 1960's (an excellent and authentic era) which was perfect for my means. It was the right size, cheap and ugly as hell: I got it for myself just for fifty euros – and then I had to spend twice as much to get it repaired since the chainsaw wasn't fully operating. Anyway, now I had the saw and it was ready for some tuning.
First I needed to change the size of the bar which was originally pretty short – at least for Leatherface. I asked for some help from a pal of mine who had the equipment for arc welding: he removed the chain and attached an extra bar to the original one, which now made the bar look twice as long. After that a longer chain was welded around the new bar. Obviously the chain itself wasn't meant to be moving anymore for safety reasons, although one cannot actually see that the chain doesn't move at all unless the person is right next to it, which is essential. In addition to the first chain, a bicycle chain was put around the other chain. Then two pieces of a hand saw was put on the bicycle chain. All this made the bar look significantly more gross and bigger. Next, a couple of welding sticks were melted randomly all over the bar to give it further more roughed-up look. Finally the blade was of course covered with a good amount of blood. This essential stage was now done.
As mentioned, at first the motor of the saw wasn't working properly, which often happens when one buys something for a low prize: "Nothing is as expensive as cheap". There was some problem with the carburetor and fuel injection, so I had to get it fixed by a real professional. This unfortunately cost some money but it just had to be done: one can't imagine Leatherface with a chainsaw that is out of order. As the repairing was done, the customized bar could be attached to the bodywork. Finally the chainsaw of course got some blood on it. At long last the chainsaw was ready for some action – i.e. to scare the crap out of everyone.
About the project in general + the video
Ever since I had seen the remake at the movies in 2004, I was interested in creating my own props related to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Finally in 2007 I began making the Leatherface costume, starting from the mask. Since the costume and the props weren't fully finished until 2010, it obviously wasn't a short, scheduled project. It was thereby more of a job totally dependent on inspiration with no hurry. Sometimes I might add more details to the mask, sometimes I was just thinking about how the chainsaw should look like – and sometimes I didn't make any adjustments to the whole for a year or so.
When I finally got everything done, I wanted to make a video presentation about the creation. Below you can watch the video of it with English subtitles (Finnish audio). The video explains pretty much the same I have written here, although the details of the costume, the mask and the chainsaw are of course a lot better visible and apparent as I demonstrate them. It's also more fun to watch than just read about it.
Finally I would like to mention about the interesting fact that I have done some studies in forestry in the past – during the time I also participated in a specific one week intensive course about chainsaws and their usage. In addition to the capability of using a chainsaw properly in normal circumstances, the skill also comes in handy for a wannabe Leatherface.
My contact information
If you want to contact me about the topic, give some feedback or just share your thoughts, feel free to drop me an email. The address is visible below.
Just to inform you, I don't have a profile on Facebook or anywhere else besides YouTube. In other words email and YouTube are basically the only ways to get a contact.
Simo Terho
If you liked this page, don't forget to check out my drawings of Leatherface.