Sally Hardesty

Sally Hardesty
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre character
Marilyn Burns portraying Sally in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
First appearance	The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Last appearance	Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013)
Created by	Tobe Hooper
Portrayed by	Original series: (1974–1994) Marilyn Burns Reimagined series: (2003) Jessica Biel
Information
Gender	Female
Family	Franklin Hardesty (brother)

Sally Hardesty (named Erin Hardesty in the 2003 reboot) is a fictional character in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise. She was portrayed by Marilyn Burns in the original series and by Jessica Biel in the rebooted series and serves as the primary protagonist of both the 1974 film and the 2003 reboot. She has been regarded as one of the earliest examples of the final girl trope. Outside of the films, Hardesty is mentioned in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre comics.

In The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Sally and her paraplegic brother, Franklin, travel with three friends - Jerry, Kirk, and Pam - to visit the grave of the Hardesty's grandfather after reports of grave robbing in the area. Afterwards, they decide to visit the old Hardesty family homestead. Along the way, they pick up a hitchhiker who talks about his family who worked at the old slaughterhouse. He borrows Franklin's pocket-knife and cuts himself, then takes a Polaroid picture of the others and demands money for it. When they refuse to pay, he burns the photo and slashes Franklin's arm with a straight razor. The group forces him out of the van and drive on. They stop at a gas station to refuel, but the proprietor tells them that the pumps are empty. They continue toward the homestead, planning to return to the gas station on the way back when it has received fuel delivery. When they arrive, Kirk and Pam find a swimming-hole dried up but hear a generator running. They stumble upon a nearby house. Kirk, Pam and Jerry are soon killed by Leatherface. Sally and Franklin become concerned when they can't find their friends. Leatherface appears and kills Franklin with a chainsaw and Sally runs to the old house. She runs up stairs and finds the desiccated bodies of an old couple. She jumps out of the second story window to escape Leatherface and runs to the gas station. The proprietor ties Sally up and forces her into the back of his truck and drives to the house. Sally is tied to a chair at a dinner table and Leatherface and the hitchhiker bring the desiccated body of the old man downstairs who sucks the blood from Sally's cut on her finger. They decide that he should be the one who should kill her. After several failed attempts of the old man trying to hit Sally with a hammer, she manages to escape and jump through the window and flee. She reaches the road and a semi-truck stops to help her but Leatherface attacks the driver. She jumps into the back of a pickup truck that stops to help her, escaping Leatherface.