SIMILARITIES
1. Obviously, given that it was a sequel to the original, there were a lot of similarities between this film, its predecessor, and the original. This included the flash bulb sound effect, the teens crossing the country in a van and meeting their doom in the form of the psychopathic family of cannibals.
2. There were four TCM alums who made cameo appearances in this film. Marilyn Burns, who played Sally Hardesty in the original film, plays Verna Carson in this one. Gunnar Hansen, the first man to portray Leatherface, returned as Boss Sawyer in the opening sequence, as did John Dugan (Grandpa). And Bill Moseley, Chop-Top from TCM Part 2, took over the role of Drayton Sawyer from Jim Siedow, who passed away in 2003.
3. The character of Sheriff Hooper was named after Tobe Hooper, who wrote and directed the first two films in the series.
4. An early draft of the script had Leatherface's name being Jebadiah Sawyer. This was later changed to Jedidiah Sawyer, which was the name of the young Hewitt boy in the 2003 remake.
5. When Heather looks at the list of bodies found in and around the Sawyer farmhouse, the name 'Bubba Sawyer' is listed with his age being 17, meaning he was the Hitchhiker killed by the truck. In TCM Part 2, Leatherface's name was listed as 'Bubba Sawyer'. As well as that, two names list 'John Doe' and one 'Jane Doe', which reference the cannibalized remains of 'Pam', 'Kirk' and 'Jerry' from the original film.
6. Like in the original film, the first victim is bludgeoned to death while wandering the house alone. In the original, it was Kirk. In this one, it was Darryl.
7. The opening sequence to the film is similar to that of 'The Devil's Rejects' (2005), in which a massive shootout ensues at a farm house.
8. Before the group heads out for Texas, Kenny references the 'great BBQ' they have there. This is a nod to the original films as well, as Drayton had human meat on his BBQ at the gas station, and which he won awards for in TCM Part 2.
9. The group encounters a hitchhiker just like in the original and 2003 remake. And just like the other times, it meant bad news for those involved.
10. While en route, the group drives by a dead armadillo. This is also a nod to the original film.
11. The members of the group were patterned after those in the original. There were 3 guys (Ryan, Kenny and Darryl), and 2 girls (Heather and Nikki). In the original it was 3 guys (Kirk, Jerry, Franklin) and 2 girls (Sally, Pam).
12. The tall staircase leading to the wine cellar (and ultimately Leatherface) was similar to the staircase used in the 2003 remake at the Hewitt House, as well as its 2006 sequel.
13. The infamous chase through the woods scene has been duplicated many times, and was again here, as Leatherface chased Heather to the carnival.
14. While at the carnival, Leatherface encounters the Pig Mask killer from the 'Saw' movies. This was inserted by producer Carl Mazzocone, who also produced the 'Saw' series as well.
15. While following the blood trail, Officer Marvin finds a lady's powder area, complete with dresses and make-up. This is a nod to Leatherface's feminine side, which was never really explored that deeply in the series.
16. When Officer Marvin finds Nikki in the freezer, it is a nod the original, where Jerry finds Pam.
17. The bones hanging from the ceiling in both the original Sawyer House and later in Leatherface's dungeon in the Carson House, are nods to the original, which had the same thing. The producers really did their homework on this one.
18. Throughout the film, Leatherface walks with a limp, which he did to himself with the chainsaw at the end of the original film.
19. In the opening sequence, Boss Sawyer (Gunnar Hansen) sits in the exact spot where he sat as Leatherface in the original when he freaked out about all the people showing up that he had to kill.
20. Like the original, they kept no air conditioning on in the van for authenticity (while the actors works 13-14 hour days inside in blazing 100-degree heat!).
21. The chainsaw used in the charred remains of the Sawyer House, and later hung in Johnny B. Red's bar, was the actual chainsaw used in the original film.
22. The camouflaged cars where the Miller's find a baby Heather was a nod to the original, where similar cars were hidden near the farm house.
23. The group arrives in the town of Newt to get supplies, which is referenced by Drayton (Jim Siedow) in the original. In it, he tells Sally they don't have a phone and she would have to go all the way to Newt to call.
24. As the group approaches the Carson House, there is a rear shot of Nikki. This was similar to a shot of Pam in the original, when she walks by the infamous swing on her way to the farm house.
25. When Heather shuts the door to the armoire and finds the dead body of Verna Carson, this is a nod to Roman Polanski's film 'Repulsion' (1965).
26. When Heather gets knocked out by Leatherface, she comes to and witnesses the morbid scene of the macabre. This is similar to what happened to Stretch in TCM Part 2.
27. The tie worn by Leatherface at the factory is the same style tie he wore at the end of the original, when Sally jumps out the window and he is forced to chase her.
28. The scene where Carl abducts Heather in his car was designed to be similar to when Drayton abducted Sally in his truck in the original film.
29. The scene where Heather is tied up at the factory was designed to be similar to that of Fay Wray in 'King Kong' (1933), where the heroine is at the mercy of the monster.
30. The meat grinder kill was similar to kills used in 'Saw 3' and 'Saw 4'.
31. The scene where Leatherface was face-to-face with Heather in the factory was similar to the dinner scene in the original film, where he was face-to-face with Sally.
32. The climactic fight between Burt and Leatherface was designed to mimic the fight between Lefty and Leatherface in TCM Part 2.
33. The character of Darryl, while an obvious nod to the hitchhiker character of the original, was also a nod to Brad Pitt's character J.D. in 'Thelma & Louise' (1991).
34. The still photo of the townie holding the chainsaw above his head was a nod to TCM Part 3, where the iconic shot featured Leatherface holding the saw above his head.
35. Leatherface peeling the face of Marvin is similar to TCM Part 2, when he did the same thing L.G., as well as the 2003 remake and its 2006 sequel, when he did it to the male lead characters Kemper and Eric, respectively.
36. Verna's last name Carson is a nod to Kit Carson, who co-wrote TCM Part 2.
Know any similarities that I don't have here? E-mail them to us at: lairofhorror@yahoo.com and you will get credit for them.
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