

What is the point of making a sequel so many years later if the character people want to see is completely different with no explanation given as to why? A character arc is good, but only if we get to experience the progression. While that may be true, that’s also the problem.
New texas chain saw massacre movie#
Some might argue that the new movie is set nearly fifty years after the original, so Leatherface has surely changed in that time. Out of the four people Leatherface kills in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), only one person is killed with a chainsaw. This is nothing like the generic, silent stalker seen in the 2022 Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Making guttural noises, he runs to the window to look outside before sitting down and putting his hands on his head in worry. There is a scene in the original where Leatherface, after killing his third victim, frantically runs through his house as if he’s looking to make sure no one else has wandered inside. Leatherface is like a kid who knows he has done something wrong, but now that he’s started, he can’t stop. In the 1974 film, Leatherface is far from a stereotypical slasher villain. Texas Chainsaw Massacre doesn’t successfully match either. Tastes change over time, and what used to work for a low-budget horror film doesn’t necessarily work on a big-budget scale decades later, but a sequel should at least attempt to match the tone or the spirit of the movie it’s supposed to take place after. In general, a sequel should resemble the movie it follows in some way. Honoring the Legacy Leatherface’s kill count is difficult to keep up with in Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022). However, even though a solitary, practically inhuman killer may be a hit with a modern audience, this is where the problem with Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and requels in general, begins. This latest incarnation of Leatherface fits the mold of a monstrous, unstoppable killing machine perfectly. The movie provides a great mixture of practical and digital gore effects as Leatherface racks up his highest body count in the entire franchise. The party bus scene is a highlight for many people, whether they enjoyed Texas Chainsaw Massacre or not.įor people who turn on Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022) looking for some splatter, they’ll get it. Jason (2003), Friday the 13th (2009), Halloween (2007), and even The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003). The top ten box-office slashers also include other very bloody films including Freddy vs. David Gordon Green’s Halloween greatly increased the level of violence when compared to John Carpenter’s original, and its sequel, Halloween Kills (2021) took the violence even further. Another recent requel, Halloween (2018), sits atop the list with over $159 million. If you look at the highest grossing movies categorized as “slasher” on Box Office Mojo, it’s hard to dispute that audiences want blood. What modern viewers want in a movie like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, according to film studios, are violent and gory kills. The film industry is, of course, a business, so any movie with a decent budget needs to meet the expectations of modern viewers if it wants to succeed. The Modern Audience There is plenty of blood and violence in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Requels come loaded with unavoidable expectations, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre is the perfect case study for why these expectations can be nearly impossible to meet for the majority of viewers. The term “requel” is a combination of “reboot” and “sequel,” and it is a movie which either ignores or actively contradicts the events of previous sequels in favor of connecting to an earlier film in the franchise.

So, using a term that Scream (2022) helped popularize, Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a requel. Though this kind of polarized reaction to pretty much anything on the internet is nothing new, what is interesting about the Texas Chainsaw Massacre discourse is that both sides have a good point.ĭespite being part of a franchise, Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a direct sequel to only the first movie in the series, Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974). Many people loved it, many hated it, and a less boisterous segment thought the movie was okay. It seemed as if every second or third comment on social media was someone weighing in with their thoughts. What is a Requel? Olwen Fouéré takes over the role of Sally Hardesty originally played by Marilyn Burns.ĭuring the weekend of its release on Netflix, Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022) became an unavoidable subject within the online horror community.
