First poster for Fede Alvarez reboot of 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' lands

Hacking and slashing its way online is the first poster for the reboot of iconic horror movie The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

It's suitably creepy, but with a definite arty feel too, a sinister face pressed into canvas, then adorned with impressionist brush strokes.

It also features the ominous, if wordy tagline: “In 1974, the world witnessed one of the most bizarre crimes in the annals of American history. In 2021, the face of madness returns.”

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Despite the tone suggesting the contrary, the 1974 crime was, of course, a fictional one, despite being inspired by the real-life antics of serial murderer Ed Gein.

With director Tobe Hooper presiding, a group of friends fall foul of the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface and his family of cannibals on a trip to their old family homestead.

Hooper's movie became a classic of the horror genre, but for better or worse, it spawned a franchise of seven more movies, of diminishing quality and returns.

Michael Bay was the first to reboot the series in 2003, with Hooper and original co-writer Kim Henkel on board as producers.

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Bay produced a second movie, a prequel, in 2006, before a 3D version tanked in 2013, and an origin story, Leatherface, did the same in 2017.

This latest incarnation has somewhat better pedigree, however, with Fede Álvarez producing, the director responsible for the blood-soaked reboot of Evil Dead in 2013, and the relentless Don't Breathe in 2016.

It's said to be focussing on an older Leatherface, who is now 60, and two the young women who encounter him in the wilds of Texas.

However, it's not been plain sailing.

Sibling directors Ryan and Andy Tohill, hired in February this year, were fired after just a week of filming on the movie's set in Bulgaria, according to Deadline.

David Blue Garcia, director of the low-budget 2018 thriller Tejano, replaced them.

It's due out in 2021.

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