Retro Review: Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994)

Retro Review 2

This is the fourth installment in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre film series.  If you have seen it, you already know.

JennyI remember the first time I watched this film, stumbled on it on HBO or something.  At first, I thought this film wasn’t too bad, I do think it is better than Texas Chainsaw 3D.  But nope this one either doesn’t hold up or it was just plain terrible.  Watching the film years after the first time, really makes a difference.  This is not good, I do think the tried different things, but they also seem to recycle characters and situations.  This film really gets campy and the gore level is not really there.  One thing I am confused about, who in the hell are these people and how do they connect to the Sawyers?  It seems every film after the second we get to meet a different part of the family.  But no it seems this family and the Sawyers are apart of big conspiracy, what?

This one is about these teenagers who were at a dance or the prom and drive down a dark road and they get into a crash with another car.  One of the teens is Renée Zellweger as Jenny, yep the same big time actress, well not so much now.  Just so happens there is a real estate office near.  Darla works there and calls her boyfriend Vilmer and guess who plays Vilmer, Matthew McConaughey and it was one of his first big roles.  Ok lets get to the chase, eventually the teens meet Leatherface who is balls deep into cross dressing at this point.  This film just is not good at all.  It is a mixed mess of a horror film and I really don’t recommend.

I will say one thing, I liked how insane Matthew McConaughey played his character.  He was so over the top and fit the family well.

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Then there is the worthless, Leatherface.  I hate the way he is protrayed in the movie, worst depiction of Leather face and not to mention, every time he changed his outfit, it gets worse.  Yikes.  Check out the image, terrible…I loved the gritty look, the apron, hell the Leatherface from the second movie looked a little silly, but this is a joke of a horror icon.

tumblr_m4ha0hCcKG1r159loo1_r3_1280Originally released the film as The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre in a small number of cinemas in 1994.  This version was later pulled from theatres, and the film was re-released in 1997 under the title Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation.  This was after Matthew McConaughey and Renée Zellweger’s careers took off and I guess it was thought the film would be better with two stars, nope still steamy poop.

I think part of the reason I may have liked it originally, could be how different I thought it was.  Going back and watching the first three movies and even the remakes.  It just is no good.  If you do go ahead and try to watch this one, tread lightly…it is not good.

IMDB.com has it at 3.1

I rate this one 4.4

 

About Ray Marek III 699 Articles
I have been watching horror films since I was 6 years old. The story, one Saturday night, my mom and I were watching movies and she fell asleep on the couch. We had the channel set on HBO and the movie we were watching ended and the next one, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge. This was some time in 1986. I watched then entire film, I was sitting on the edge of my seat. When my mom woke, she asked me what just ended and I told her, “Freddy”. That was all I talked about for weeks and finally she broke down and rented more horror films for me. She rented, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre part 2, Re-Animator, Friday the 13th VI: Jason Lives and Halloween II. I watched all and fell in love with horror films forever. 5 Horror Films to Watch Inferno (1980) A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) The Beyond (1981) Friday the 13th VI: Jason Lives (1986) Horror of Dracula (1958)