Leatherface’s mask obsession

Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) took direct cues from Gein’s ghastly handiwork. Like Gein, Leatherface used masks made from human skin and crafted furniture from bones. Hooper later admitted he was fascinated by “the crimes that nobody could fully comprehend.” The result was a raw, relentless nightmare that blurred true crime and horror fiction—cementing Gein’s status as horror’s original muse.