Texas Tuesday: Should Ken Foree have stayed dead in Leatherface?

Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III is a great sequel. At the end, Ken Foree comes back from almost certain death. But should he have?

Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III has a lot of villains but only one true hero…

Heroes In Horror

Throughout the history of horror, there have only been a handful of true heroes. While final girls often get the upper hand against villains, there are only a few true heroes of horror. Nancy Thompson, Dr. Loomis and Tommy Jarvis are some who come to mind. While The Texas Chainsaw Massacre has “Lefty” Enright from the first sequel, Leatherface, the second sequel, has Benny. And buddy, Benny is the man.

Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III — Courtesy of New Line Cinema

Should Benny Go Bye Bye?

If you’re a huge fan of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, you’ll know how awesome Benny truly is. Going toe to toe with Bubba, Benny radiates decent energy and heroism. With horror legend Ken Foree bringing him to life, Benny isn’t simply trying to survive — he’s trying to get everyone to safety. It’s a wonderful character bringing audiences to their feet hoping he can kill these sick bastards once and for all. That is until he dies. Or does he?

Recutting The Saw

While shooting Leatherface, the original plan was to have Benny die. While Foree brings the character to life in exciting, completely unexpected, ways, the script called for Benny’s death. But when New Line Cinema forces Jeff Burr to screen test, audiences want Benny to live and a new ending is shot. If you remember the 1990 sequel, you’ll recall Benny making a surprise return to the fold and saving the day one last time. It’s a great moment, but the question still remains — should he have returned?

Benny The Magnificent

More from Texas Chainsaw Massacre

While I love Benny, I’m not sure he should’ve returned. One of my favorite characters in horror, when Benny gets it I hurt. The problem is, bringing him back without reshooting his initial death hurts the credibility of the film. It’s entirely obvious he dies in the battle with Leatherface, but due to the studio wanting to appease ticket-buy customers, he comes back with only a scratch on his head. It’s a seriously idiotic move insulting viewer intelligence.

But don’t get me wrong, this is New Line’s fault. Director Jeff Burr, or the studio, should have sensed how audiences would take to Benny. With horror being deadly dark, Leatherface being one of the more pitch-black sequels in horror, fans gravitate toward characters bringing light. And with the talents of Foree, it’s obvious audiences wouldn’t like the man dying. They should have known. Good God, they should’ve known. And with the way the film stands, he shouldn’t have come back.

This has been another edition of Texas Tuesday. We’ll see you next week in the Lone Star state.

Next: Myers Monday: Is Halloween: Resurrection really that bad?

Love Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III? Dig Ken Foree in the 1990 sequel? Let the saw squad know what you think in the comment section below.

Home/Texas Chainsaw Massacre