Michael Kallio’s Dinner with Leatherface, the new documentary focusing on the work of actor Gunnar Hansen, kicks things off appropriately enough with an examination of the man’s most famous role; the crazed cannibal Leatherface in Tobe Hooper’s 1974 fright flick masterpiece, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
But, after portraying ol’ Face, Hansen (almost) entirely abandoned acting to focus on art and activism for over a decade until he returned to the sinister screen in Fred Olen Ray’s Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers in 1988!
It’s via the interviews of those that worked with him on projects like those mentioned above (as well as many more) that we get a true sense of what it was like to create alongside the man, which by all accounts was as very positive experience.
Time is also given to exploring Hansen’s time on the popular horror convention circuit, where other horror luminaries such as Bruce Campbell (the legendary Ash from the original Evil Dead trilogy), (probably) everyone’s favorite Jason Voorhees actor, Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood) and Re-Animator‘s Barbra Crampton to name but a few, weigh in on what Hansen thought of his fanbase… again, kind, pleasant… it’s a recurring theme here folks, believe me!
Among the first hand accounts mentioned up yonder, archival interview footage of HGansen appears here as well, which is a true bonus for any fan…
Speaking of “bonus”, the bonus material assembled for this Anchor Bay Blu-ray release include extended interviews with filmmaker/historian Michael Felsher and filmmaker Jeff Burr (Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III), a convention-set interview with actress Danielle Harris (Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers), a trailer for a never-realized film from Kallio starring Hansen (it looked like S.O.V. (or Super-8 here) madness, and you know that is indeed my bag, baby), and a collection of interview outtakes.
Dinner with Leatherface is a heartwarming, at times hilarious, glimpse into the professional life of an absolute horror biz icon, and if you count yourself as a Gunnar Hansen fan you owe it to yourself to check this one out!
