Decoding the terrifying Grandpa Sawyer from ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’
When we think of horror’s scariest villains, Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre often comes to mind. Yet, is he actually the most frightening member of his bizarre, cannibalistic family? Sure, he chases after his victims with a chainsaw, wears masks made of human skin on his face, and doesn’t hesitate to sling people on meat hooks while they’re still alive, but does he have the same creepiness factor as Grandpa Sawyer?
It’s safe to say that they’re both terrifying in their own way, but the scariness of Grandpa Sawyer is often underappreciated. Director Tobe Hooper managed to create a character so visually tormenting and nightmare-inducing that he doesn’t even have to do much to leave a lasting impression on the viewer. We are first introduced to Grandpa when Sally Hardesty, the last remaining member of the group who falls victim to Leatherface and his family, finds him sitting in a chair.
She believes she has just discovered a corpse, making her fear for her life even more. The teenage girl just wants to get out of the Sawyer household, which is decorated with rotting flesh and bones, and when she finds him sitting in a rocking chair, it’s enough to make her scream. However, she soon comes into unfortunate contact with the old man when Leatherface captures her and slices her finger, proceeding to force it into Grandpa Sawyer’s mouth.
It turns out he is alive – he is just incredibly old. The only way for him to stay alive (if you can call his condition that) is to suck the blood of younger people, like a vampire. Sally is repulsed and screams as he suckles on her finger, with the film emphasising the grotesque noises. It’s a horrible scene that is certain to make your skin crawl, conveying the true depravity of the family’s behaviour.
The special effects make-up worn by actor John Dugan, who was actually only 21 when he first played the role, is horribly good. While you can tell that it’s someone wearing prosthetics, this still doesn’t take away from the sheer creepiness of the finished result. His face is so wrinkled and uncanny, with massive eye bags, a bulbous, rounded nose, no eyebrows, a sagging neck, and tufts of white hair. The paleness of his skin, including his lips, makes him look like he should’ve been dead for years prior, but instead, he’s still going, surviving (barely) on blood.
We learn more about the villainous character as the film series unravels, which reveals that he was once a successful butcher who eventually raised a family who seemed to inherit his propensity for violence and murder. They decided to keep him alive for as long as possible due to his sheer skill – although it is revealed that he no longer has the strength to kill when the family tries to get him to use an axe on Sally.
Grandpa Sawyer sits at the head of the table, slumping into his chair while still commanding power over his bumbling and relentlessly brutal grandsons. It appears that his legacy as the greatest killer the family has ever seen allows him to emit a strange force over them, compelling them to keep murdering, not just to keep him alive, but to do him proud.
