Why A24 Chose Curry Barker to Revive Texas Chainsaw Massacre for Gen Z

A24 recently won feature rights to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, for which a separate TV series is also in the works under A24. The series will be directed by JT Mollner and produced by Glen Powell and Dan Cohen at Barnstorm.

However, what has excited us more is that the distribution company chose Curry Barker to revive Texas Chainsaw Massacre film, as per Deadline. Barker is currently enjoying success with Obsession (2025), which has earned an impressive IMDb rating of 7.6 and a critics’ score of 96% at the time of writing. 

A24 has already established its name as a distribution company that has a distinct target audience: Gen Z. Gen Zs are a more politically charged and socially conscious generation. They are even more ethnically and racially diverse, and yet, they crave heroes who are marked with flaws. 

They know when something is fake or manufactured, having grown up on a constant stream of content across platforms like TikTok and YouTube, full of AI slop. They have a sharp eye for tone and sincerity and therefore instantly reject formulaic blockbusters in favor of films that feel personal, risky, or even uncomfortable. 

Keeping this in mind, A24 knew which direction to take when it came to reviving one of the classic horror franchises, Texas Chainsaw Massacre.   

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Curry Barker to revive Texas Chainsaw Massacre—Will Leatherface be reimagined?  

Barker is a YouTuber who became an instant hit with his debut, Obsession, which premiered at TIFF Midnight Madness last year. Obsession went on to play SXSW and now opens in theaters on May 15, 2026. The film is about a young couple’s relationship that goes toxic after the boy makes a simple wish. 

Digging deeper into the current reviews of the film, we get to know that Barker puts something on screen that keeps you “wrecked beyond belief” for days. The unforgettable story that is extremely twisted and cynical is what Barker is adept at. And the same is expected from his reimagining of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre film. 

To give you a bigger picture, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre has four sequels, each of which ignores the other follow-ups, before getting a remake with its own prequel, followed by a new direct sequel and a prequel to the original. 

Barker disclosed that the 2003 Marcus Nispel-helmed remake was his favorite of the franchise. He said, 

“It was like my first horror movie I’d ever seen when I was a kid, and I actually think it’s a decent remake.” [Source]

He aims to keep the respect for the source material tight in his new project and still make something different. For that, he plans to delve into the “uncomfortability of the family” that raised the chainsaw-wielding serial killer. 

The 2006 original story showed the beginning of Hewitt timelines, where Leatherface is Thomas Hewitt. He is shown as a man whose mother died during childbirth and was cast into a dumpster. His foster mother took him from there and was later employed at a slaughterhouse. 

The franchise was originally seeded in 1974, created by Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel, starring Gunnar Hansen as the murderous Leatherface. Hooper admitted that the story was loosely inspired by the 1950s real-life murderer and bodysnatcher Ed Gein. His particular actions of making furniture and masks with human skin directly influenced the film’s grisly props.

Barker believes something disturbing was happening at the farm where Leatherface grew, and the area has considerable potential that has not been tapped yet. He wants to keep the rawness of the franchise together and make it stronger. 

However, looking back at A24’s vision of appealing to Gen Z, the film could lean into the psychological and emotional tropes of the character under Barker’s direction. Barker could use this opportunity to reframe the killer who has suffered trauma and generational dysfunction.

Gen Zs are far more interested in why someone becomes a monster than simply watching them act like one. It means further exploration into the eerie dynamics of the family that raised him, not just as villains, but as a broken system that normalizes violence, manipulation, and emotional decay.  

Translating Barker’s strength seen in Obsession, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake could mean shifting the horror from external gore to internal dread. Leatherface’s identity crisis—his masks, his silence, his dependence on family approval—can be explored as symbols of fractured selfhood, something Gen Z deeply connects with in an era shaped by online personas and social pressure.