Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation
Encyclopedia
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (originally known as The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre) is a 1994
independent
American
comedy
-horror film
written and directed by Kim Henkel
, and starring Renée Zellweger
and Matthew McConaughey
, both before they became mainstream
stars. The film is a loose remake of and quasi-sequel to the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre
(1974), which Henkel had co-written with Tobe Hooper
. It only has loose connections to the previous two sequel films, which are mentioned in the film's opening prologue as "two minor, yet apparently related incidents" which happened after the events of the original film.
The plot centers on a group of teenagers who find themselves in a secluded area of forest on their prom night
, only to cross paths with a family of murderers, among them the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface
. The movie was filmed in Pflugerville, Texas
in 1994 on a budget of $600,000, and was released at several film festivals under the title, The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It was then shelved for several years, and was re-cut and released under the title, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation in late summer 1997, after its two lead actors had both become major hollywood stars.
) on prom night who decide to leave early and end up getting into a car accident. However, when one of Jenny's friends, Heather, notices her boyfriend is missing, she looks around for him until she finds him cheating with another girl. In her state of madness, Heather starts up Barry's car with Jenny and her boyfriend Sean in the backseat with Barry chasing after the car. Heather stops the car and lets Barry in and fights with him about the cheating. While on the drive to clear her anger, Jenny gets in a wreck in the woods with another car whose driver passes out after saying he is not hurt.
Heather, Barry, and Jenny, split up to find help while Sean keeps an eye out at the scene of the crash. Heather, Barry, and Jenny then run into an insurance office in the woods as well as an insurance agent working there named Darla (Tonie Perensky) who calls up her husband Vilmer Sawyer (Matthew McConaughey
), a trucker with a cybernetic leg, to aid the scene of the crash and also to bring along his pickup truck. Once there Vilmer examines the passed out teen with Sean, but breaks the kid's neck and runs over Sean with his pickup. Jenny, Heather, and Barry split up leaving Jenny alone. Heather and Barry end up finding the house belonging to the cannibals as well as finding Leatherface and his brother W.E. Sawyer (Joe Stevens) who threatens Barry with a shotgun while Heather is put up on a meathook by Leatherface. Barry asks W.E. to put the gun down just so that he can use the bathroom. W.E. gives him the permission to use it and Barry walks into the house, uses it, but only to find a skeleton in the bathtub as well as the remains of previous victims in there. After that, he is immediately hit over the head with a sledgehammer by Leatherface (Robert Jacks).
Jenny, now on her own runs into Vilmer who attacks her, and chases her with his pickup only to lose her, but also knowing she'll run into Leatherface. Jenny as planned ends up running into and from Leatherface and takes shelter in the house, but when she runs up the stairs to escape from Leatherface, who cuts down the door to get in, she finds a stuffed Texas Ranger as Leatherface gets in through the door even more. Jenny grabs a gun and fires it a Leatherface scaring him, but then he chases her up to the roof. Jenny falls off it as Leatherface tries attacking her on top of it. Once on the ground, Leatherface jumps out and chases her through the woods. Jenny is chased by Leatherface until she runs into the insurance office only to find Darla who subdues her along with W.E. who shows up too. Darla eventually after buying some pizza takes her back to the house and explains to Jenny right before dinner the shocking truth of why the family do what they do. She tells her that Vilmer works for a very old secret organization that nobody knows about that still operates to this day (this is supposed to be the Illuminati, since the word can be seen earlier in the film written on Vilmer's truck). Jenny tries to escape by running out of the house into Darla's car for dear life, but gets attacked/subdued by Vilmer.
Jenny finds herself at the dinner table along with a family of "corpses". She awakes and finds Darla telling her that she can't help her, since she was subdued when she first met Vilmer and supposedly had a device put in her head that will make her head explode if she does anything to help her. Darla hears someone outside the house and it turns out to be Rothman (James Gale), who is the leader of the secret organization Vilmer works for, and came to check if Vilmer is doing his work properly. Rothman is furious when he sees what Vilmer has been doing with Jenny, and he explains what they are really supposed to do: show people the true meaning of horror. Rothman then shows some strange tattoos and piercings and licks Jenny's face. After that, Jenny tries to escape again and she manages to use a remote control used to operate Vilmer's robotic leg to stop him from catching her, giving Jenny the advantage to escape.
When Vilmer regains the control of his robotic leg, he sends Leatherface to chase after her with his chainsaw. Leatherface chases Jenny through a road in which a truck suddenly apears, driven by an old couple that help Jenny get into their truck so she can be safe. Leatherface then appears again on top of the pickup truck, driven by Vilmer, trying to reach Jenny with his chainsaw. After the truck crashes, Jenny runs again and Vilmer gets out of the pickup truck so he can also chase her until a plane that's passing by hits Vilmer in the face and kills him. Leatherface then starts to scream in horror and stops chasing Jenny. Suddenly, a black car is seen on the road and Jenny gets into it. It's revealed that Rothman is inside the car. He tells Jenny not to worry, apologizes for all of the events and explains that this was intended to be a "spiritual experience". Meanwhile, Leatherface watches the black car and proceeds to start up his chainsaw and swing it around. After Jenny tells Rothman "fuck you" inside the car, he tells her that he can take her to a hospital or a police station. Once Jenny's at the hospital, she consults with a cop (John Dugan), who assures her that the police will investigate this entire situation and figure everything out eventually. When at the hospital, she sees none other than Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns
), who notices Jenny's state of shock. The movie ends with Leatherface swinging his chainsaw around in anger (a reference to the iconic scene in the first film) due to the death of Vilmer.
.
After a lengthy post-production
- wrapped up in 1994 - the film screened at the South by Southwest Film and Media Conference
in 1995. Prior to this, during the film's post-production stage, Columbia Pictures reportedly signed to distribute the film theatrically (along with its home-video
release) in October 1995, and agreed to spend no less than $500,000 on prints and advertising.
The company subsequently had the film re-edited numerous times, and changed the title from its original production-title, The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, to Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. According to producer Robert Kuhn, Columbia Pictures pushed the film back to await the release of star Renée Zellweger
's new film, Jerry Maguire
(1996), which the filmmakers had no problem with. Matthew McConaughey's agent then purportedly put "pressure" on Columbia Pictures to not release the film theatrically, which caused complications between Henkel and the company. The film-makers had also considered releasing through Cinepix Film Properties back in 1993.
In a 1997 interview with the Austin Chronicle
, Robert Kuhn stated that:
Eventually, the film reached the big screen in a limited release
in under 20 U.S. cities under a collaboration of Columbia Pictures and Cinepix Film Properties on August 29, 1997, in an edited version, and under the title Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. The subsequent home-video releases also occurred through Columbia Pictures. The film was released by Sony Pictures on VHS
in September 1998, and did not receive a DVD
release until July 13, 1999. The original Columbia/Tristar DVD release has since been reissued, with an alternative cover art.
originally released the film as The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre in a small number of cinemas in 1994, as well as showing it at the South by South-west Film and Media Conference
in 1995. This version was later pulled from theatres, and the film was re-released in 1997 under the title Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. The original, unedited cut of the film features a few differences, including:
The original cut also featured different musical effects, a handful of different transitional shots, as well as a few scenes tinted different colors.
The most widely-available cut of the film, titled Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, does not contain this footage. The Canadian DVD release of the film through Lions Gate home entertainment remains the only known home-video release that includes all of the cut footage from the original version of the movie. The version titled The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre runs for 95 minutes, while the version titled Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation runs for only 86 minutes; a nine-minute difference.
The versions of the film available differ from country to country, but Herald Videogram released the original Return cut on laserdisc
in Japan.
and by movie fans on the Internet Movie Database
(see below) considered this the worst of the Chainsaw Massacre films. A small handful praised the film - as seen on the original VHS and DVD box covers. John Anderson of the Los Angeles Times
referred to the film as "[a] giddy mix of gruesome horror and campy humor", while most others dismissed the film with negative reviews. The Internet film review
aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes
has ranked the film 15% "rotten" , with merely four positive reviews out of a collected twenty-seven. Most audiences reacted extremely negatively. On the Internet Movie Database, out of nearly 8,000 votes, the film rates a 2.7 out of 10 stars. 40% of viewers gave the film 1 star out of a possible 10, while 16% give it 2 stars.
In Sweden
, Germany
and Iceland
the authorities banned the movie outright, deeming it too violent. Many stores in Iceland do however carry the film, despite the ban. Intending viewers can find it in small video stores in Sweden
.
's Debbie Harry
, produced a song with Harry titled Der Einziger Weg (English: The Only Way) — a single written for and featured in the film. The song was released by Eco-Disaster Music in 1997 as a single on compact disc
, featuring Debbie Harry on the cover with a portrait of Jacks as Leatherface, featured in his three costumes, on the wall behind her.
1994 in film
1994 was a significant year in film.The top grosser worldwide was The Lion King, which to date stands as the highest-grossing traditionally-animated film of all time...
independent
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
American
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
-horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
written and directed by Kim Henkel
Kim Henkel
Kim Henkel is an American screenwriter, director and producer.Henkel was born in Virginia and grew up in several small towns in South Texas. He started at the University of Texas at Austin in 1964 majoring in English and graduated in 1969...
, and starring Renée Zellweger
Renée Zellweger
Renée Kathleen Zellweger is an American actress and producer. Zellweger first gained widespread attention for her role in the film Jerry Maguire , and subsequently received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her roles as Bridget Jones in the comedy Bridget Jones's Diary ...
and Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...
, both before they became mainstream
Mainstream
Mainstream is, generally, the common current thought of the majority. However, the mainstream is far from cohesive; rather the concept is often considered a cultural construct....
stars. The film is a loose remake of and quasi-sequel to the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent horror film directed and produced by Tobe Hooper, who cowrote it with Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, and Gunnar Hansen, who respectively portray Sally Hardesty, Franklin Hardesty, the...
(1974), which Henkel had co-written with Tobe Hooper
Tobe Hooper
Tobe Hooper is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for his work in the horror film genre. His works include the cult classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre , along with its first sequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 ; the three-time Emmy-nominated Stephen King film adaptation...
. It only has loose connections to the previous two sequel films, which are mentioned in the film's opening prologue as "two minor, yet apparently related incidents" which happened after the events of the original film.
The plot centers on a group of teenagers who find themselves in a secluded area of forest on their prom night
Prom Night
Prom Night refers to:* Prom, a dance for American and Canadian high school students* Prom Night , starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Leslie Nielsen* Prom Night , a re-imagining of the 1980 film starring Brittany Snow and Idris Elba...
, only to cross paths with a family of murderers, among them the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface
Leatherface
Leatherface is the main antagonist in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre horror-film series and its spin-offs. He wears masks made of human skin and engages in murder and cannibalism alongside his inbred family. He is considered by many to be one of the first major slasher film villains alongside Michael...
. The movie was filmed in Pflugerville, Texas
Pflugerville, Texas
Pflugerville is a city in Travis and Williamson counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 16,335 at the 2000 census. A July 1, 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 39,653...
in 1994 on a budget of $600,000, and was released at several film festivals under the title, The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It was then shelved for several years, and was re-cut and released under the title, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation in late summer 1997, after its two lead actors had both become major hollywood stars.
Plot
The film begins with four teenagers, Sean (John Harrison), Heather (Lisa Marie Newmyer), Barry (Tyler Shea Cone) and Jenny (Renee ZellwegerRenée Zellweger
Renée Kathleen Zellweger is an American actress and producer. Zellweger first gained widespread attention for her role in the film Jerry Maguire , and subsequently received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her roles as Bridget Jones in the comedy Bridget Jones's Diary ...
) on prom night who decide to leave early and end up getting into a car accident. However, when one of Jenny's friends, Heather, notices her boyfriend is missing, she looks around for him until she finds him cheating with another girl. In her state of madness, Heather starts up Barry's car with Jenny and her boyfriend Sean in the backseat with Barry chasing after the car. Heather stops the car and lets Barry in and fights with him about the cheating. While on the drive to clear her anger, Jenny gets in a wreck in the woods with another car whose driver passes out after saying he is not hurt.
Heather, Barry, and Jenny, split up to find help while Sean keeps an eye out at the scene of the crash. Heather, Barry, and Jenny then run into an insurance office in the woods as well as an insurance agent working there named Darla (Tonie Perensky) who calls up her husband Vilmer Sawyer (Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...
), a trucker with a cybernetic leg, to aid the scene of the crash and also to bring along his pickup truck. Once there Vilmer examines the passed out teen with Sean, but breaks the kid's neck and runs over Sean with his pickup. Jenny, Heather, and Barry split up leaving Jenny alone. Heather and Barry end up finding the house belonging to the cannibals as well as finding Leatherface and his brother W.E. Sawyer (Joe Stevens) who threatens Barry with a shotgun while Heather is put up on a meathook by Leatherface. Barry asks W.E. to put the gun down just so that he can use the bathroom. W.E. gives him the permission to use it and Barry walks into the house, uses it, but only to find a skeleton in the bathtub as well as the remains of previous victims in there. After that, he is immediately hit over the head with a sledgehammer by Leatherface (Robert Jacks).
Jenny, now on her own runs into Vilmer who attacks her, and chases her with his pickup only to lose her, but also knowing she'll run into Leatherface. Jenny as planned ends up running into and from Leatherface and takes shelter in the house, but when she runs up the stairs to escape from Leatherface, who cuts down the door to get in, she finds a stuffed Texas Ranger as Leatherface gets in through the door even more. Jenny grabs a gun and fires it a Leatherface scaring him, but then he chases her up to the roof. Jenny falls off it as Leatherface tries attacking her on top of it. Once on the ground, Leatherface jumps out and chases her through the woods. Jenny is chased by Leatherface until she runs into the insurance office only to find Darla who subdues her along with W.E. who shows up too. Darla eventually after buying some pizza takes her back to the house and explains to Jenny right before dinner the shocking truth of why the family do what they do. She tells her that Vilmer works for a very old secret organization that nobody knows about that still operates to this day (this is supposed to be the Illuminati, since the word can be seen earlier in the film written on Vilmer's truck). Jenny tries to escape by running out of the house into Darla's car for dear life, but gets attacked/subdued by Vilmer.
Jenny finds herself at the dinner table along with a family of "corpses". She awakes and finds Darla telling her that she can't help her, since she was subdued when she first met Vilmer and supposedly had a device put in her head that will make her head explode if she does anything to help her. Darla hears someone outside the house and it turns out to be Rothman (James Gale), who is the leader of the secret organization Vilmer works for, and came to check if Vilmer is doing his work properly. Rothman is furious when he sees what Vilmer has been doing with Jenny, and he explains what they are really supposed to do: show people the true meaning of horror. Rothman then shows some strange tattoos and piercings and licks Jenny's face. After that, Jenny tries to escape again and she manages to use a remote control used to operate Vilmer's robotic leg to stop him from catching her, giving Jenny the advantage to escape.
When Vilmer regains the control of his robotic leg, he sends Leatherface to chase after her with his chainsaw. Leatherface chases Jenny through a road in which a truck suddenly apears, driven by an old couple that help Jenny get into their truck so she can be safe. Leatherface then appears again on top of the pickup truck, driven by Vilmer, trying to reach Jenny with his chainsaw. After the truck crashes, Jenny runs again and Vilmer gets out of the pickup truck so he can also chase her until a plane that's passing by hits Vilmer in the face and kills him. Leatherface then starts to scream in horror and stops chasing Jenny. Suddenly, a black car is seen on the road and Jenny gets into it. It's revealed that Rothman is inside the car. He tells Jenny not to worry, apologizes for all of the events and explains that this was intended to be a "spiritual experience". Meanwhile, Leatherface watches the black car and proceeds to start up his chainsaw and swing it around. After Jenny tells Rothman "fuck you" inside the car, he tells her that he can take her to a hospital or a police station. Once Jenny's at the hospital, she consults with a cop (John Dugan), who assures her that the police will investigate this entire situation and figure everything out eventually. When at the hospital, she sees none other than Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns
Marilyn Burns
Mary Lynn Ann Burns , better known as Marilyn Burns, is an American actress, best known for her roles in the horror cult films The Texas Chain Saw Massacre , and Eaten Alive...
), who notices Jenny's state of shock. The movie ends with Leatherface swinging his chainsaw around in anger (a reference to the iconic scene in the first film) due to the death of Vilmer.
Cast
- Renée ZellwegerRenée ZellwegerRenée Kathleen Zellweger is an American actress and producer. Zellweger first gained widespread attention for her role in the film Jerry Maguire , and subsequently received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her roles as Bridget Jones in the comedy Bridget Jones's Diary ...
as Jenny - Matthew McConaugheyMatthew McConaugheyMatthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...
as Vilmer Sawyer - Robert JacksRobert Jacks (actor)Robert Jacks was an American actor who is credited with being in only three films.-Biography:Jacks was born Robert Nick Jacks in Monterey, California. His nickname was Robbie to all his friends and family. Robert Jacks was a close friend to Lord of the Rings actor Viggo Mortensen...
as LeatherfaceLeatherfaceLeatherface is the main antagonist in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre horror-film series and its spin-offs. He wears masks made of human skin and engages in murder and cannibalism alongside his inbred family. He is considered by many to be one of the first major slasher film villains alongside Michael... - Tonie Perensky as Darla
- Joe Stevens as W.E. Sawyer
- Lisa Marie Newmyer as Heather
- Tyler Shea Cone as Barry
- John Harrison as Sean
- James Gale as Rothman
- John Dugan as the cop (cameo)
- Paul A. PartainPaul A. PartainPaul A. Partain was an American actor, perhaps best known for his role in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre as the "annoying" handicapped Franklin Hardesty.Partain was born in Austin, Texas...
as the orderly (cameo) - Marilyn BurnsMarilyn BurnsMary Lynn Ann Burns , better known as Marilyn Burns, is an American actress, best known for her roles in the horror cult films The Texas Chain Saw Massacre , and Eaten Alive...
as Sally Hardesty (cameo)
Release history
The film had a very rough and complicated release history, including re-editing and re-issue into cinemas (thus the film has different versions and alternate titles). The process occasioned disputes between the filmmakers and distributors at Columbia PicturesColumbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
.
After a lengthy post-production
Post-production
Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...
- wrapped up in 1994 - the film screened at the South by Southwest Film and Media Conference
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
in 1995. Prior to this, during the film's post-production stage, Columbia Pictures reportedly signed to distribute the film theatrically (along with its home-video
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
release) in October 1995, and agreed to spend no less than $500,000 on prints and advertising.
The company subsequently had the film re-edited numerous times, and changed the title from its original production-title, The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, to Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. According to producer Robert Kuhn, Columbia Pictures pushed the film back to await the release of star Renée Zellweger
Renée Zellweger
Renée Kathleen Zellweger is an American actress and producer. Zellweger first gained widespread attention for her role in the film Jerry Maguire , and subsequently received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her roles as Bridget Jones in the comedy Bridget Jones's Diary ...
's new film, Jerry Maguire
Jerry Maguire
Jerry Maguire is a 1996 American romantic comedy-drama film starring Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding, Jr. It was written, co-produced, and directed by Cameron Crowe...
(1996), which the filmmakers had no problem with. Matthew McConaughey's agent then purportedly put "pressure" on Columbia Pictures to not release the film theatrically, which caused complications between Henkel and the company. The film-makers had also considered releasing through Cinepix Film Properties back in 1993.
Austin Chronicle
The Austin Chronicle is an alternative weekly, tabloid-style newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demographic...
, Robert Kuhn stated that:
Eventually, the film reached the big screen in a limited release
Limited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
in under 20 U.S. cities under a collaboration of Columbia Pictures and Cinepix Film Properties on August 29, 1997, in an edited version, and under the title Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. The subsequent home-video releases also occurred through Columbia Pictures. The film was released by Sony Pictures on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
in September 1998, and did not receive a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
release until July 13, 1999. The original Columbia/Tristar DVD release has since been reissued, with an alternative cover art.
Alternate versions
Columbia PicturesColumbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
originally released the film as The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre in a small number of cinemas in 1994, as well as showing it at the South by South-west Film and Media Conference
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
in 1995. This version was later pulled from theatres, and the film was re-released in 1997 under the title Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. The original, unedited cut of the film features a few differences, including:
- a subplot that involves Jenny's stepfather abusing her in the opening scene
- more dialogue between Heather and Barry in the car
- a longer conversation between Jenny and Darla in the bath-room
The original cut also featured different musical effects, a handful of different transitional shots, as well as a few scenes tinted different colors.
The most widely-available cut of the film, titled Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, does not contain this footage. The Canadian DVD release of the film through Lions Gate home entertainment remains the only known home-video release that includes all of the cut footage from the original version of the movie. The version titled The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre runs for 95 minutes, while the version titled Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation runs for only 86 minutes; a nine-minute difference.
The versions of the film available differ from country to country, but Herald Videogram released the original Return cut on laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
in Japan.
Reception
In general, critical opinion by critics on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
and by movie fans on the Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
(see below) considered this the worst of the Chainsaw Massacre films. A small handful praised the film - as seen on the original VHS and DVD box covers. John Anderson of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
referred to the film as "[a] giddy mix of gruesome horror and campy humor", while most others dismissed the film with negative reviews. The Internet film review
Film criticism
Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films, individually and collectively. In general, this can be divided into journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, and other popular, mass-media outlets and academic criticism by film scholars that is informed by film theory and...
aggregator
Review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services . This system stores the reviews and then uses them for purposes such as: creating a website for users to view the reviews, selling information to third parties about consumer tendencies and creating databases for...
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
has ranked the film 15% "rotten" , with merely four positive reviews out of a collected twenty-seven. Most audiences reacted extremely negatively. On the Internet Movie Database, out of nearly 8,000 votes, the film rates a 2.7 out of 10 stars. 40% of viewers gave the film 1 star out of a possible 10, while 16% give it 2 stars.
In Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
the authorities banned the movie outright, deeming it too violent. Many stores in Iceland do however carry the film, despite the ban. Intending viewers can find it in small video stores in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
Soundtrack
The film's sound-track featured many local Texan bands, and never got a full C.D. release. However, star Robert Jacks, a friend of BlondieBlondie (band)
Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
's Debbie Harry
Debbie Harry
Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
, produced a song with Harry titled Der Einziger Weg (English: The Only Way) — a single written for and featured in the film. The song was released by Eco-Disaster Music in 1997 as a single on compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, featuring Debbie Harry on the cover with a portrait of Jacks as Leatherface, featured in his three costumes, on the wall behind her.