With the release of a new Texas Chainsaw Massacre film via Netflix, I thought it would be worth doing an overview of this weird franchise. I’ve always been entranced by this series ever since I came across the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre film in a book dedicated to the best films of all time. I immediately recognised that the character of Leatherface, the chainsaw wielding man, was an intricate part of popular culture in the form of the man with the hockey mask and chainsaw, a blend of Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th franchise and Leatherface, and was immediately drawn to watch the film.
The original 1974 film “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” follows a group of young adults who are travelling to a home belonging to some relatives and end up running into Leatherface and his family. Something that will stand out to many people who watch the film is how surprisingly bloodless the film actually is. This is due to the director, Tobe Hooper, intending the film to get a PG rating from the MPAA. Not only did the film not get a PG rating, instead earning an R rating, but the film was also restricted or banned in numerous countries around the world. This is a shame as I have no hesitation in saying that The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is one of the greatest horror films I have ever seen with some incredibly believable performances, outstanding cinematography and music as well as one of the greatest chase scenes in the history of cinema. No matter what you think of horror films, I think you NEED to see The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
Twelve years after the release of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, the slasher craze was in full swing and The Cannon Group decided to fund a sequel to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2”. Tobe Hooper decided to ratchet up the comedy angle for the film and this aspect has received both praise and contempt and this has led to it being a very divisive film. Nonetheless, the film has garnered a cult following and is often viewed as one of the better Texas Chainsaw films.
The third Texas Chainsaw Massacre film was produced by New Line Cinema, who were seeing success with their Nightmare on Elm Street series at the time, and released in 1990 with the intention of turning it into an ongoing franchise. One of the more notable aspects of this film was the fact that it starred Viggo Mortensen, well before he gained recognition as a celebrity. However, the film flopped both commercially and critically and New Line Cinema quickly put their franchise plans on hold.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, originally called The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, was released in 1995 before seeing another release in 1997 to cash in on the newfound celebrity status of its actors. It was directed by Kim Henkel, the co-writer of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre film, and is generally seen as one of the worst Texas Chainsaw Massacre films. Nonetheless, the film is noteworthy for starring both Renee Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey early on in their careers.
By the early 2000s, Michael Bay and his newly formed production company, Platinum Dunes, announced their intention to produce a remake of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre film. This movie, titled “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, was released in 2003 and instantly became a box office hit, grossing over $100 million on a budget of $9.5 million. It’s also worth noting that the cinematographer for the original film, Daniel Pearl, came back to do the cinematography for the remake.
With the success of the remake, it seemed inevitable that some kind of follow-up would happen and, in 2006, a prequel called “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning” was released. The film had an increased budget of $16 million but only managed to gross about $52 million in the box office. While not bad, this was seen as disappointing and it was soon announced that Platinum Dunes had no intention of continuing to make Texas Chainsaw Massacre films.
In 2013, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D” was released as a direct sequel to the original 1974 film, ignoring all other films in the franchise. The film also featured several actors from previous movies such as Marilyn Burns, Gunnar Hansen, John Dugan and Bill Moseley, albeit as different characters with the exception of John Dugan. The film cost $20 million and made about $47 million worldwide. This was viewed as successful by Lionsgate, the distributor of the film, and it was decided to continue the franchise.
This continuation came in the form of “Leatherface”, a prequel to both the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre as well as the 2013 film. In contrast to so many of the other Texas Chainsaw Massacre films, Leatherface does not follow the usual Texas Chainsaw Massacre formula but instead follows a group who escape from a mental institution as they go on a road trip with one of the key mysteries being who is going to become Leatherface. The film was originally intended to be released in 2016 but was delayed for some inextricable reason and was eventually released through DirecTV in 2017 before getting a limited release in theatres and video on demand. Interestingly, the delay resulted in Lionsgate losing the rights to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise and the end to this particular continuity.
Finally, we reach the most recent film in the franchise, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” which was only just released on the 18th of February this year via Netflix. The film was produced by Legendary Pictures who acquired the rights after Lionsgate and decided to set it as a sequel to the original movie. It was originally intended to be released in cinemas before Netflix acquired distribution rights to the film. The film already seems to be a success with the movie topping viewership rankings in numerous countries although it can be hard to tell since I think Netflix’s metrics of what it considers to be a success can be quite nebulous.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise is definitely rough and weird with many highs and lows throughout this overview. Nonetheless, I have a strange affection for these films and am always eager to see what the future has in store for this series. Let me know your thoughts on my overview of the weird Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, which movies you have seen, which ones you’ve liked and which ones you’ve disliked, what you think about the series overall and any additional information you might have on the topic.
Hopefully you have found this article interesting and informative and, if you wish to seek any of the works I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk and amazon.com for all of your needs!