10 More Horror Movie Answers Fans Had To Wait For

In Tobe Hooper's revolutionary Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Sally Hardesty and her friends stumble upon a remote house, only to learn it's inhabited by the cannibalistic Leatherface and his psychotic family. What makes this deplorable bunch even more terrifying is the fact there's no rhyme or reason to their sadistic actions.

However, the sequel proves there's a bit more to it than that. Though details are brief, TCM2 provides some crucial insight into the flesh-eating family's behaviour. Before he developed a taste for human flesh, Leatherface's grandfather, Earl Smithing Sawyer, worked at an abattoir. Earl believed he was born for the job since he could slaughter animals faster and more efficiently than anyone else.

When the industry's workers were replaced with machinery, Earl became a relic overnight. Unable to provide for his family, the Sawyers were driven to cannibalism, with Earl believing that consuming human flesh rejuvenated his body, causing him and his children to develop an insatiable hunger for it. 

Considering Grandpa Sawyer is 137 years old in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, there seems to be some truth to his beliefs, as sickening as they may be As such, it seems like the Sawyers devour their prey, not purely out of bloodlust, but to prolong their lives.