Roughly based on the life of the 1950’s serial killer Ed Gein, in 1974 Tobe Hooper began the age of the slasher film genera with the now classic horror movie “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” & its spine chilling villain Leatherface. This old horror movie, to this day, has stood the test of time and has spawned a series of following sequels.
It wasn’t until 1986 when the next installment of the classic was released simply called The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. Starring Dennis Hopper, this clearly didn’t have the same raw effect that the original did and was even hokey as most of the 80’s horror movies were. However, as the long awaited second Leatherface movie, it did draw an audience.
In 1990, Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III was released. As we left the 80’s we saw a difference in this version. Less hokey & more back to the basics of horror, however, the movie still could not stand up to its predecessors. It received terrible ratings and did not fare well.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation released in 1994 was considered the least favorite amongst fans. Despite having the talented upcoming actors Renee Zellweger & Matthew McConaughey, the movie basically fell flat on its face being a reminisce of a typical hokey 80’s fick. Audiences started growing tired of slasher flicks. Overall, horror movies drew less attention than they did only a decade earlier.
Despite the failure of an interested audience, in 2003, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was resurrected. Not as a next installment but rather a remake. Good choice too as this was easily the most popular of the entire franchise. Starring Jessica Biel, this movie is not simply creepy, it’s outright a very scary movie. Long gone are the days of bad acting and hokey dialog. This movie delivered the scare factor that people were hoping for as they filled theater seats.
2006 we were given the next chapter with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. Starring Jordana Brewster, this version of the slasher movie also delivered a good scare. Again, this delivered us no more bad acting and hokey scenes. Just good old horror movie style goodness.
And now, in 2013, they have brought us a new way to see this chainsaw phenomenon with all the glory of 3D in Texas Chainsaw 3D. This looks to be yet another scary take on these chainsaw yielding, people slaying entertaining horror movies.