Lili Taylor Joins Texas Chainsaw Prequel Leatherface

Seasoned screen actress Lili Taylor has reportedly joined the cast of ‘Leatherface,’ a prequel to horror classic ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.’

According to Bloody Disgusting, Taylor will appear alongside superstar Stephen Dorff, acclaimed horror actress Angela Bettis (’May,’ ‘The Woman’) and young ‘Eastenders’ actor Sam Strike, who plays one of four teenage inmates of a mental institute - one of whom will grow up to be the titular killer.

Bettis will portray the mother of the future Leatherface, whilst Dorff portrays an unhinged lawman out for revenge, but details of Taylor’s character have not been revealed.

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While closely associated with comedy and drama after breaking through in the 1980s with such films as ‘Say Anything,’ Taylor is no stranger to the horror genre, thanks to roles in offbeat vampire movie ‘The Addiction,’ the much-maligned remake of ‘The Haunting,’ and most recently James Wan’s ‘The Conjuring,’ plus TV's ‘Almost Human’ and Netflix series ‘Hemlock Grove.’

While ostensibly a follow-up film to 2013′s commerically successful but critically lambasted  ‘Texas Chainsaw 3D,’ hopes are high that ‘Leatherface’ may take the iconic horror series back to a somewhat higher level than it has seen this past decade, thanks to both the cast, and the hiring of acclaimed French directorial duo Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury (’Inside,’ ‘Livide,’ ‘Among the Living’).

It will be the eighth film in the series. Tobe Hooper’s 1974 original ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ - widely acknowledged as one of the greatest horror movies ever made - went on to spawn the more divisive, tongue in cheek sequel ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2,′ also directed by Hooper, in 1986.

This was followed by 1990′s ‘Leatherface: the Texas Chainsaw Massacre III’ and 1994′s ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre: the Next Generation,’ neither of which have too many supporters. ‘Next Generation’ is most notorious for featuring early performances from Renee Zellwegger and Matthew McConaughey.

The series was revived by Michael Bay’s production house Platinum Dunes and New Line Cinema with their ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ remake in 2003. While fans and critics were divided, the relatively low-budget (under £6 million) remake proved highly profitable (over £70 million worldwide) at the box office, arguably kick-starting the wave of horror remakes which has still yet to subside 12 years later.

This was followed up with 2006′s ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre: the Beginning’ - which, yes, was a prequel - before Twisted Pictures and Lionsgate Films bought the rights to the franchise and made 2013′s standalone sequel ‘Texas Chainsaw 3D.’

Produced by  Christa Campbell, Lati Grobman and Carl Mazzocone with a screenplay by first time feature writer Seth M Sherwood, ‘Leatherface’ is expected to saw its way onto screens in 2016.

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