Texas Chainsaw Massacre Sawyer Family Tree Explained

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise is gritty, bloody, and often confusing, especially where the Sawyer Family is concerned – here’s a breakdown of the iconic inbred cannibals’ family tree. The new Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2022, Netflix’s latest iteration of the horror classic, ignores most of the confusing continuity of the franchise. Nonetheless, Netflix’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre functions as a direct sequel to the original 1974 movie, which is widely considered as one of the greatest horror movies ever made.

With the first Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Director Tobe Hooper created a horrifying world (based on a true story) that has yet to be matched by any of the movie’s sequels, reboots, or remakes – all of which largely complicate the franchise’s overall story. Yet, even throughout these confusing and loosely connected timelines, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise still holds up as one of the most popular horror franchises of all time.

The original 1974 film is a horror classic that introduced audiences to the Sawyer Family, the franchise’s terrifying family of incestuous cannibals. Since then, the various timelines within the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise have also led to confusion regarding the full extent of the Sawyer Family tree – and the family’s various offshoots. Here’s a quick breakdown of who is related to who within the Sawyer Family – as well as the Slaughter Family and Hewitt Family, which are essentially rebrands of the original Sawyer Family.

The Sawyer Family

In the original 1974 film, the lead villain, Leatherface, is living with his father and brothers Drayton and Nubbins Sawyer. His brothers are killed in the original film’s continuity. In Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986), Robert “Bobby” Sawyer, better known as “Chop Top,” is introduced as another one of Leatherface’s brothers. Another brother, Edward “Tex” Sawyer, is introduced in Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990), which also introduces Leatherface’s daughter, Babi Sawyer. This film also features an extended family who calls Leatherface “Junior.” In Texas Chainsaw 3D (2016), a direct sequel to the original 1974 film, Leatherface is revealed to be Jedidiah “Jed” Sawyer. His cousin Heather Miller (aka Edith Rose Sawyer) helps him kill those responsible for the deaths of the other members of the original Sawyer family.

The Slaughter Family

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation is where things start to get confusing, with Leatherface living with a new family called Slaughters instead of Sawyers. It’s difficult to place this film on the timeline. However, for an easy point of reference, just remember that the Slaughter Family is the one with Matthew McConaughey and The Illuminati. The Slaughter family is comprised of brothers Leatherface, Vilmer Slaughter, W.E. Slaughter, and Vilmer’s lover, Darla, as its main members. Due to the flawed continuity of the series, the appearances of W.E, Grandpa Sawyer and Sally Hardesty Enright in The Next Generation seem to contradict the events of Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III.

The Hewitt Family

In yet another reboot of the franchise, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006) reveals Leatherface’s real name is Thomas Brown Hewitt and his mother’s name is Sloane. In this continuity, Leatherface is raised by the Hewitts, a family of inbred cannibals. The family is loosely based on the Sawyer Family from the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise. The Hewitt family consists of Luda May Hewitt, The Tea Lady, Jed Old, Charlie (aka Sheriff Hoyt), Emma Hewitt, and Hannah Hewitt. Charlie steals the identity of Sheriff Winston Hoyt in order to lure teenagers from the freeway to be killed by Leatherface. After the events of Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, the fate of the members of the Hewitt family remains unknown for the remainder of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre‘s overall timeline.

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