Texas Chainsaw Massacre Sawyer Family Tree Explained

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre family is as gritty, bloody, and often confusing, as the franchise timeline itself. 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 and the Sawyer family is often at the center.

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 movies have also led to confusion regarding the full extent of the Sawyer Family tree – and the family’s various offshoots. It can be tough to figure out who is related to whom 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. However, 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.”

That was kind of confusing and off-putting on its own but things get taken up another notch with 2016’s Texas Chainsaw 3D. This worked as a direct sequel to the original 1974 film and here, Leatherface is revealed to be Jedidiah “Jed” Sawyer. In this film, it is revealed that Heather Miller (Alexandra Daddario) is actually Edith Rose Sawyer, a cousin of Jed’s. She ultimately helps him kill those responsible for the deaths of the other members of the original Sawyer family. Jedidiah Sawyer is also the character seen in 2017’s Leatherface.

The Slaughter Family

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation is where things first 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. Regardless of where it lies on the timeline, 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.

The Most Recent Texas Chainsaw Massacre Avoids The Family Confusion

Following Leatherface, the franchise remained dormant until Netflix brought it back with Texas Chainsaw Massacre in 2022. Ultimately, this entry acts as a direct sequel to the 1974 original, taking place 50 years later and even seeing the return of Sally, the sole survivor from that movie. Although reviews weren’t positive for this installment, the film did one thing that was considered a huge success. It avoided the Sawyer family drama and confusing. No family members were brought into the story outside of Leatherface himself, allowing this Texas Chainsaw Massacre to not muddy up the timeline.