The family and their victims from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (2023).
To see the characters as they appeared in the film franchise, see here.
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The Family
In General
A family of cannibalistic killers. You might have heard of them.
- Ax-Crazy: It's practically family tradition for them. All of them are unstable murderers who will inflict horrible deaths on whatever poor soul is unlucky enough to run into them.
- Cannibal Clan: Comes with the territory given the source material.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Despite the squabbling that occurs amongst them, it’s clear that the Family loves and cares about each other. The whole reason the events of the game take place is because they’re trying to cover each other’s tracks.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": With the exception of Johnny, Nancy, and possibly Sissy, none of the Family members are referred to by their names.
- Invincible Villain: It’s impossible for any of the Victims to kill Family members. The most that can be done to Family members is for them to be temporarily stunned; either by a bone shard to the back, a Victim jumping out of a hiding place, losing a grappling match, knocked down with a door slam, or for Leland to use his Life Saver ability to knock Family members down.
- Leave No Witnesses: The Family is hunting down the Victims for this reason. And for food.
- Put the "Laughter" in "Slaughter": When killing a Victim, a few of the Family members will sometimes burst into laughter.
- The Family That Slays Together: Everyone in the Family is a vicious killer, and the gameplay mechanic has them working together to hunt down Victims.
- Truer to the Text: Due to the involvement of Kim Henkel, the writer of the original film, the Family has their original surname of Slaughter instead of Sawyer, which originated in the sequel.
- Villainous Lineage: The Slaughter Family as a whole. Between Grandpa and the current generation, it’s clear that being a deranged, cannibalistic killer has been passed down for a long time.
Leatherface
The wielder of the titular chainsaw.
- Big Little Brother: Leatherface is the youngest of the three Slaughter brothers, but he is bigger and taller than both The Cook and The Hitchhiker.
- The Brute: He is by far the largest and most physically dangerous of the Family.
- Chainsaw Good: This is the Texas Chain Saw Massacre, after all.
- Dumb Muscle: He's not known for his cleverness.
- It Can Think: Despite his mental difficulties, it doesn't stop him from doing some intelligent decision making, such as eliminating obstacles that cut off the Family from sections of the map or destroying sections of the Family's abodes to prevent the Victims from making an easy escape.
- Malevolent Masked Men: As always, he wears masks made from the faces of his victims. He's the only member of the Family to do this.
- Mental Handicap, Moral Deficiency: He's mentally disabled and a brutal killer who acts at the behest of his deranged family.
- Obliviously Evil: Being mentally handicapped and raised by murderous lunatics, he doesn't comprehend how horrible the things he does actually are.
- One-Hit Kill: If he hits a Victim just when his chainsaw overheats, he can kill that Victim regardless of their health. The trick is not letting the chainsaw overheat - otherwise you won't be hitting anything for a good few seconds.
The Cook
The oldest of the brothers and the one least inclined to violence.
- Apologetic Attacker: The Cook sometimes apologizes while chasing a Victim if he killed another Victim first, or in reference to Maria.
- Broomstick Quarterstaff: He wields a broken broom handle instead of a blade like the rest of the Family.
- Delaying Action: His forte - he has 3 padlocks which he can use to make getting through certain doors more difficult, forcing Victims to spend more time grabbing unlock tools and unlocking doors. This also means they're more vulnerable mid-unlock, too.
- Evil Chef: His specialty is human meat.
- Only Sane Man: As far as sanity goes with the Family, he is the most orderly.
- Mighty Glacier: His base Savagery is among the highest, yet has the lowest Endurance stat of any Family member.
- Non-Action Guy: His low Endurance makes him unsuited for chasing Victims while his abilities tend toward tracking and delaying them, making him a good support unit.
- No-Respect Guy: Everyone backtalks or in general speaks disrespectfully to The Cook. If he’s not being blamed for the current predicament then he’s told to get back in the kitchen.
- Super-Hearing: His main ability is tracking Victims by listening.
- You Are What You Hate: Constantly tells the Victims he doesn't like doing what he does and promises to end them quickly if they come out, but he's called the Cook for a reason.
The Hitchhiker
The giggly, violent middle brother of the three Slaughter brothers.
- Giggling Villain: He really seems to enjoy himself while chasing the victims.
- I'm a Humanitarian: He expresses how hungry he is while hunting, and his motive for hunting the Victims seems to be because he wants to eat “meat”, particularly “headcheese”.
- Lean and Mean: One of the only two family members thin enough to fit through narrow spaces that victims can.
- Trap Master: Downplayed. He can't rig everything with a trap, but he can place down something akin to a bear trap that locks Victim movement and damages them.
- Verbal Tic: Because he laughs so much he tends to stutter or slur his words when he talks.
Johnny
A sadistic killer who gets the most enjoyment from the thrill of the hunt.
- Blatant Lies: Johnny claims that he never wanted to hurt Maria, but the prequel game Petals shows that he was the one who lured her onto the Family property.
- Canon Foreigner: He was created for the game.
- Covered with Scars: Johnny has several scars on his body, noticeably on his face and arms, and the new shirtless Johnny skin confirms that they are also on his torso. The scars are implied to have come from victims he killed and/or attacked who fought back.
- Early-Bird Cameo: You can see him in Maria's picture in the sunflower grove before he properly "introduces" himself to her.
- Freudian Excuse: He is a violent murderer who caused the events of the game, but the only reason he turned out the way he did was because he was raised by Black Nancy.
- Has a Type: Not a sexual preference but a victim preference. Based on the radio reports and dialogue from The Cook during gameplay, Johnny’s preferred prey seems to be college-aged women.
- Men Can't Keep House: In contrast to Nancy’s tidy house Johnny’s shack is a pigsty, with clutter on every surface and numerous empty beer bottles all over the place.
- Muscles Are Meaningful: Johnny has a muscular physique and it’s definitely not for show. He can barge doors and close crawl spaces very quickly, and he can hit Victims quick and hard. His blows are also powerful enough to disorient Victims.
- One-Man Army: Johnny is very strong and very fast. One can easily clear a round with Johnny taking out all the Victims.
- Reminiscing About Your Victims: Johnny will sometimes bring Maria up during gameplay, claiming that he was fond of her but excusing his actions for what was good for the Family.
- Sadist: Johnny very much enjoys killing and violence in general. He will shout with glee when he kills a Victim, and sometimes expresses excitement if a Victim grapples with him.
- Serial Killer: Although everyone in his Family could easily be described as one, the game specifically singles him out as "the closest thing to a true serial killer the Family has" in his description.
- Scarily Competent Tracker: His ability in a nutshell. He can make Victim tracks glow and check them out in order to find out which way they went.
- Stalker without a Crush: He was watching Maria for far longer than she realized. His laugh can be heard beyond the brush before Maria even enters the property, and his heavy footsteps can be heard in the sunflower field after she enters the property. The worst part is that you can actually see him in one of Maria's pictures (if you look right above the pickaxe in the sunflower picture, you can see Johnny between the sunflower stems).
Sissy
A former cult member who recently returned to her Family in Texas.
- Barefoot Loon: Runs around barefoot, and is nutty as squirrel poop.
- Blood-Splattered Wedding Dress: Sissy’s wedding dress outfit starts off with bloodstains on it, and more blood can get on her dress during a round when she attacks and kills Victims.
- Canon Foreigner: She was created for the game.
- Death by a Thousand Cuts: With the lowest base Ferocity of the family, Sissy isn't going to kill anyone quickly. But with her ability to follow victims through tiny gaps, all those tiny slashes start adding up for her unfortunate prey if they can't shake her.
- Freudian Excuse: Sissy wasn’t exactly a peach before she left home, but her current mental state is the result of her exposure to several different cults (one of which being the Manson Family).
- Hope Spot: The prequel Petals shows that she gave this to Maria when the poor woman tried to flee from Johnny. Sissy reassured Maria that she was safe…while both Johnny and Leatherface approached from behind.
- I Just Want to Be Loved: There is an implication that Sissy wants to be loved. This can be exemplified with her newest costume, which is a wedding dress.
- In-Series Nickname: In the unlocked extra credits, her nickname is revealed to be "Sunshine".
- Master Poisoner: Her signature skills involve poison, and her description notes her skills with poison being something she picked up in her years on the road.
- Noodle Incident: She is mentioned as being present on Spahn Ranch, the base of the Manson Family in the late 1960s, but any role in their actions she may have had are not described.
- Pet the Dog: If Sissy isn’t killing Victims then she’s squabbling with other Family members. However, she is arguably the kindest and most patient with Leatherface, encouraging him to stand up for himself and complimenting him if he does a good job.
- The Runaway: Sissy ran away and was gone for several years before returning before events of the game. The Family is none too pleased with her about this and they constantly call her out on this.
- Terrible Ticking: Sometimes when Sissy executes a Victim, she claims she can hear the Victim’s dying thoughts. From her dialogue, Sissy doesn’t like what she hears.Sissy: I…can hear…your thoughts! STOP IT!
Black Nancy
An individual associated with the Family, mentioned in Johnny's description as having raised him.
- Awesome, but Impractical: Her power on paper (Seeing exactly where the survivor is through their own camera) sounds quite broken in theory. But comes with the downside of the peeking being very grainy and hard to make out, stunning her after it's done, not being able to be shut off after it starts and coming with a very long cooldown.
- Baby Be Mine: Johnny is not her biological child. Rather, she “helped” (i.e. killed) Johnny’s mother when Johnny was a baby and took Johnny as her own.
- Black Widow: Nancy has been married three times, and all three of her husbands mysteriously “disappeared”.
- Canon Foreigner: She was created for the game.
- Evil Matriarch: The game explicitly states that Johnny turned out the way he did because of how Nancy raised him.
- Expy: Appears to be one of Luda Mae Hewitt, from the 2003 remake timeline.
- Mama Bear: Nancy is fiercely protective Johnny, and she sees hunting the Victims as necessary for “protecting” him.
- Neat Freak: Unlike the other maps (or even Johnny’s shack), Nancy’s home is very neat, tidy, and organized.
- Speak Ill of the Dead: Nancy refers to Maria as a “floozy” during in-game dialogue.
- Trap Master: Can leave barb-wire traps in doorways and narrow escape routes to hobble survivors.
Grandpa
The grandfather of every playable Family member. He is the only non-playable Family member.
- Blood Lust: His primary role in the game involves the Family feeding him blood, activating his ability to hear any victim currently moving and eventually even if they stand still.
- Evil Old Folks: Grandpa is well over 100 years old and looks every bit of it, and is just as evil as the rest of the Family.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Grandpa was a killer before any of the playable Family members were born. It’s safe to say that he had a profound impact on how all of them turned out. Also, when his power is at maximum he is able to detect any Victims still left on a map, thus allowing his kin to more easily hunt them down.
- Loved by All: Within the Family, everyone shows Grandpa love and respect. Not only does the family sing his praises in random conversations, but there is clear affection by every family member towards Grandpa when they feed him.
- Predecessor Villain: His Family often remarks at how great of a killer he was "when he was able". These days, he's perpetually in his rocking chair, completely inactive aside from occasionally letting out a ghastly scream.
- The Voiceless: Grandpa has no speaking lines, and only communicates through groans and screams.
The Victims
In General
A group of college-aged friends who are desperately looking for their missing friend, Maria Flores. Unfortunately, their search leads them straight to the Slaughter Family…
- A Friend in Need: It’s possible for Victims to save each other if they are being attacked, however the savior also runs of risk of meeting a gruesome end at the hands of these same Family members.
- Detect Evil: When a Family member is close to a Victim, a yellow aura frames the screen and a music cue kicks in.
- Determinator: All of the Victims embody this trope. No matter how scared or how badly injured they become, they are all determined to escape the Family and survive.
- Doomed by Canon: Since the events of the game are a prequel, and the Family is still active by the time the events of the movie come along, the fates of the six friends are canonically terminal. Even if they escape, the ominous message asking "But what is left of them?" all but outright confirms their eventual fates on the long Texas roads.
- My Friends... and Zoidberg: Six friends looking for a missing young woman…and Virginia, who’s looking for her son.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: All of their efforts to find Maria are in vain as she's already dead.
- Shoot the Shaggy Dog: If none of the Victims escape the Family, then not only did they not find Maria, they end up just meeting her fate at the hands of the Family.
- Time-Delayed Death: The entire reason you're trying to escape. You're bleeding out, you can't patch yourself up and hide long enough to heal up, so you have to get out. If you're knocked down by the Family too many times, you can bleed out from it too.
Julie Crawford
A sporty young woman from Southern California.
- Passionate Sports Girl: Julie’s bio describes her as having an active and sporty lifestyle.
- The Sneaky Guy: Julie has the highest base stealth stat of the Victims.
- The Speedster: Julie’s ability is Ultimate Escape, which allows her to move faster while using less stamina.
Leland McKinney
A college student native to Texas.
- The Big Guy: As a former wrestler, Leland is the toughest of the bunch.
- Dash Attack: Leland’s ability is Life Saver, where he charges and slams into a Family member, knocking them down and temporarily stunning them. This works on all Family members except for Leatherface.
- Glory Days: Leland’s bio reveals that he was a star wrestler in high school, but in college he’s failed to grasp the same notoriety.
- So Much for Stealth: Leland has the lowest base stealth stats of the Victims, thus he tends to be the loudest even unintentionally.
Connie Taylor
A young woman who grew up on a farm.
- Farmer's Daughter: Connie grew up on a farm, some of her outfits include shorts and short tops, and she’s handy with tinkering.
- Master of Unlocking: Connie’s ability is Focused, which allows her to break locks instantly.
- Tomboy with a Girly Streak: According to her official description, she is "not quite what you’d imagine a tomboy to be".
Sonny Williams
A small-framed but very intelligent college student.
- Black and Nerdy: Sonny is African-American and is described as being book-smart.
- Black Dude Dies First: He plays the trope straight if he's not chosen by a player. The Victim not chosen by a player is killed before the game itself even begins.
- Hyper-Awareness: Sonny’s bio describes him as having heightened situational awareness and great at making quick decisions, to compensate for his lacking physical strength.
- Sherlock Scan: Sonny’s ability is Heightened Sense, which allows him to see the location of Family members on a map.
Ana Flores
The determined de-facto leader of the survivors who is trying to find her sister.
- Final Girl: She's the designated final girl of the Victims. But there's nothing stopping her from being killed just the same, or more optimistically, there's no guarantee that she's the only survivor.
- The Hero Dies: While she can get away, nothing is stopping the Family from killing Ana like any of the other Victims. And if she's not chosen by a player, she never gets a chance to escape.
- Jack of All Stats: Ana’s base stats are the most balanced of the Victims.
- The Protagonist: She is technically this for the Victims, as the goal of finding Maria is primarily hers. It makes sense, as Maria is her big sister.
- Seeking the Missing, Finding the Dead: She is searching for her sister, Maria. Considering that she was kidnapped by the Slaughters, it is very unlikely she will find her alive, if even in one piece.
- Token Religious Teammate: In some of her voice lines, she prays to The Virgin Mary for her and her friends safety."Madre de Dios... please protect us. Please."
Danny Gaines
Maria Flores’s boyfriend, who set out to look for her as soon as she went missing.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Went through many foster homes as a child, and most of them were unpleasant experiences for him.
- The Dreaded: Danny serves as a heroic one against the Family due to his Study and Tamper ability, as it prevents the Family from immediately closing exits once they open. If there’s a Danny amongst the Victims during a round, chances are the Family will focus on getting rid of him first before the other Victims.
- The Engineer: His ability Study and Tamper allows for him to study key objects and tamper with exit mechanisms that prevent the family from stopping it.
- My Greatest Failure: He feels an incredible amount of regret that he didn’t accompany Maria on her trip.
- Remember the New Guy?: Despite being Maria's boyfriend, his existence is never even hinted at prior to his addition in DLC. It's explained that he actually went looking for Maria before Ana and the other Victims.
Virginia
A nurse desperately searching for her missing son, Jesse.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: In contrast to Johnny’s Covered with Scars, Virginia has two noticeable scars on the right side of her face along her jawline near her chin.
- Heroic Second Wind: If timed correctly, Boon can negate the effects of Nancy’s traps and Leatherface’s overhead swing by causing Virginia to stay on her feet instead of entering the wounded animation for the attacks. And in the case of the Leatherface attack, it serves the double effect of blinding Leatherface.
- Mama Bear: The entire reason she ended up in her current situation. Her son is missing and she knows something happeend to him, and she is determined to find and save him.
- Master Poisoner: Virginia’s ability is Boon, which allows her to create poison that she can use to contaminate blood buckets, or throw at Family members to temporarily blind them.
- White Mage: Virginia can be developed this way, where she can heal Victims and buffer attacks against them.
Other Characters
Maria Flores (Warning: Unmarked Spoilers)
Ana's sister who disappeared before the events of the game. She is a playable character in Petals, a prequel to the base game.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: She pleads with Sissy when she arrives at the Family's house, unaware that she's with the creep chasing after her. When she's taken into the house, she's reduced to futilely screaming and begging her life.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: First terrorized by Johnny, then lulled into false security by Sissy, followed up by being violently run through with a chainsaw by Leatherface. All while she's begging for her life.
- Dramatic Irony: Maria finds herself deeper on the Family property chasing one lone rabbit to get the perfect picture. When she flees for her life from Johnny, she crosses paths with a group of rabbits who are not as flighty as the original rabbit.
- Failed a Spot Check: Despite the fact that Maria is being blatantly stalked by Johnny in Petals (i.e. his heavy footsteps in the sunflower grove, and him appearing in a photograph she takes), Maria is completely oblivious to the danger she is in. It’s not until Johnny pounces that she realizes the situation, but by then it’s too late.
- Foregone Conclusion: Seeing as the Victims in the base game ended up in the clutches of the Family looking for Maria, it’s pretty clear that Petals doesn’t have a happy ending.
- Meaningful Name: "Flores" is the Spanish word for "flowers", reflecting her love of flowers and wildlife in general.
- Nature Lover: Maria is very knowledgeable about flowers, and her trip was to take pictures of wildlife for her scrapbook.
- Posthumous Character: Given the events of the prequel game, she is long gone by the time Ana and her friends show up to the scene.
- Precision F-Strike: During the Petals gameplay Maria speaks in a calm, sweet tone. So when Johnny ambushes Maria, her scream of, “What the fuck?!” is especially jarring.
- Schmuck Bait: A gate in the middle of nowhere with a “Private Property” sign that upon first visit was padlocked, and the second visit the padlock is gone and the gate is wide open. This being after an unknown man’s laugh is heard in the brush. Do you proceed forward through the gate, or go back to your car? Guess which option Maria chose.
