Having recently covered the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise in my “An Overview Of The Weird Texas Chainsaw Massacre Franchise“, I’ve since managed to watch each and every film in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series. Considering how integral the Texas Chainsaw Massacre was for my love of horror films, I thought it would be interesting to do a ranking of all of the films in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise and to explain my thoughts and opinions on each entry.
9. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
I’m sure it’ll be pretty controversial to say that the 2006 film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, the prequel to the 2003 Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, is the worst Texas Chainsaw Massacre film but I think it commits the gravest sin that any piece of entertainment can commit, it’s boring. If you think about it hard enough with relation to the 2003 movie, you will quickly realise how the film is going to end, taking away any tension that The Beginning might’ve been able to muster in the first place. Besides that, the movie provides us little in the way of meaningful answers to questions we might’ve had after watching the remake, instead ticking off a list of pointless small details from the 2003 film. Additionally, having heard that this film was the goriest Texas Chainsaw film, I was very disappointed to find no where near the level of gore that I was hoping to see (I watched the uncut version BTW).
8. Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III
Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III was New Line Cinema’s attempt to set up a new ongoing horror franchise similar to their Nightmare on Elm Street series. The result is a typical slasher film that fails to live up to its predecessors. The only saving graces in this film are the talentedly charming Ken Foree and an early career appearance from Viggo Mortensen. Besides that, the film proceeds in a very generic fashion and, more importantly, the film doesn’t make any sense as a sequel to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. In the past, I was under the impression that Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III was a sequel only to the original film but an uncredited appearance from Stretch, the protagonist of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, nullifies that idea.
7. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The new Texas Chainsaw Massacre film, released only in February of this year, attempts to follow the Halloween 2018 formula by bringing Sally Hardesty, the protagonist of the original film, back to face off against Leatherface. This faceoff is dampened by the fact that the original actress, Marilyn Burns, is no longer with us and had to be recast. Besides that, the film tries a few new ideas but ultimately feels uninspired with Leatherface himself feeling more like a Jason Voorhees or a Michael Myers, the characters felt generally uninspired and, most disappointing to me, the gore felt surprisingly fake with the much hyped bus massacre sporting an unhealthy amount of CGI.
6. Texas Chainsaw 3D
The 2013 Texas Chainsaw 3D comes close to being enjoyable. The idea of seeing what happened immediately after the aftermath of the original film is interesting and Alexandra Daddario is quite a sympathetic protagonist. There’s also some decent gore in this film although there are plenty of special effects that are subpar. However, the rest of the cast is pretty uninteresting and the final act of the film is completely nonsensical and takes much more from the film than it adds.
5. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
I think it’s important to emphasise that, from this point onwards, I actually enjoy watching these films. The 2003 remake is very much a Hollywood movie with a main cast that looks like casting went to a model agency to get their protagonists, a more traditional movie structure and very early 2000s horror colour scheme. Regardless, I find this movie oddly enjoyable with some surprisingly well-crafted moments that stay in your mind long after watching and great performances from Jessica Biel, R. Lee Ermey and Andrew Bryniarski.
4. Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation
I’m sure many will be surprised to see Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation rank so highly on this list. To be fair, objectively speaking, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation is the worst Texas Chainsaw Massacre film and a sorry excuse for a horror film. However, its complete ineptitude lends numerous scenes a strong comedic quality and seeing Renee Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey so early in their career is surprisingly enjoyable. As far as I’m concerned, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation is The Room of horror films and deserves to be watched for that fact alone.
3. Leatherface
Leatherface, a prequel to both the original film and Texas Chainsaw 3D, has received criticism for not feeling like a Texas Chainsaw film. However, I found the change in style to be quite refreshing and reminded me of the tone and style of The Devil’s Rejects. While there are some minor story elements that I’m not fond of, the existence of Verna Sawyer in a timeline that includes the original film still annoys me, I found the characters to be surprisingly intriguing in a degenerate “what are they gonna do next” type of fashion and I ultimately found it to be quite enjoyable.
2. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is a complete tonal shift from the original film, replacing the realistic, intense atmosphere with an over-the-top black comedy style. This can be incredibly off-putting to people but I have to say that I really, REALLY, enjoy The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. This film feels, to me at least, like the only legitimate sequel to the original film as all the family members are back, although only one actor, Jim Siedow, returns, and we have an excellent addition to the family in the form of Chop Top, played by horror legend Bill Moseley. I also love the two protagonists Stretch, played by Caroline Williams, and Lefty, played by Dennis Hopper, who deliver terrific performances that lend to the zany, comedic nature of the movie. The gore is superbly over the top, which makes sense since Tom Savini worked on the film, and the dark comedy of the film works incredibly well with its horror elements.
1. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
It might be cliché but there is no doubt in my mind that the original 1974 film “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” is the best Texas Chainsaw film. I absolutely adore the original movie with its gritty atmosphere, unsettling music, solid acting and arguably the best chase scene I’ve ever seen in a horror film. It’s also worth noting that there is hardly any gore in this film, mainly due to the fact that Tobe Hooper was attempting to create a PG film, but the film is shot in such a manner that the violence still manages to unnerve you with little details like the twitching of a body, the sight of a bucket with blood in it, a bloody hook etc. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre truly deserves its title as one of the best horror films ever made.
Let me know your thoughts on my ranking of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, which parts of the ranking do you agree or disagree with, which Texas Chainsaw Massacre films you like or dislike, your thoughts on the franchise as a whole 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 or amazon.com for all of your needs!