For many years, I have had an affinity for disliking the 1994 sequel Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, which was originally released as The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. However, after a recent re-watch, I have come to appreciate what Kim Henkel was going for with this installment and for that reason, I have given it a redemption.

Let’s go back to the beginning. The original 1974 film was a study in horror, meshing what would be the prototype for the slasher genre with psychological horror in terms of visuals and audience impact. The story of a cannibalistic family who victimizes a group of five friends had visuals that would force people to be turned off to meat or turn off the film within minutes after the opening credits.

There were walkouts in the theater based on the name alone as well as the assumption that based on the title, it would be a gory horror film. However, there was barely any blood in the film with the exception of a blood-soaked final girl in Sally Hardesty in the film’s final moments.

In 1986, the late director Tobe Hooper (who co-created the original film with Kim Henkel) made The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 for Cannon Films with L.M. Kit Carson writing the script. The family was back and introducing new characters that were related to both sides of the spectrum. On the protagonist side, we have Texas Ranger “Lefty” Enright (Dennis Hopper), the uncle of Sally and Franklin Hardesty. On the antagonist side, we have Robert “Chop-Top” Sawyer (Bill Moseley, in an amazing film debut at 35), the twin brother of the original film’s Hitchhiker, a former Vietnam War veteran who has gone completely psycho and carries his twin brother’s corpse like a ventriloquist does with his dummy.

In 1989, New Line Cinema scored the rights to the franchise and came up with a third installment that took the franchise out of left field. Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III gave Leatherface a new family, complete with a wheelchair-bound mother, two brothers, and in complete shock mode, a young daughter!

Which brings us to The Return to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Clearly disappointed with the previous installment, Kim Henkel decided to make a “true” sequel to the original film in terms of its tones but change one major factor. The idea of cannibalism was wiped out. Instead, Henkel decided to bring forth a conspiracy theory in the form of the Illuminati using the “family” as a tool to experiment with fear. Unfortunately for them, one of the family members takes things to a whole new level even they didn’t expect and in what could be considered a surprise, it’s not Leatherface himself.

However, before we get into that, let’s talk about the original film. The film had a bit of a different extended opening in terms of eventual final girl Jenny (Renee Zellweger in her lead role debut) as we learn she has endured so much abuse from her stepfather. She is a wallflower who is getting ready for her prom with local kid Sean (John Harrison). Joined by her friend Heather (Lisa Newmyer) and her philandering arrogant boyfriend Barry (Tyler Cone), the two head to the prom but after all four leave, they end up with a flat tire and stranded. While Sean stays behind and waits for a tow truck, the others look for help.

It is here we meet the driver, Vilmer Slaughter, played by future Hollywood star Matthew McConaughey. Interestingly enough, the actor, having just made his film debut as David Wooderson in Richard Linklater’s 1993 film Dazed and Confused (with Zellweger having a brief role that lasts 30 seconds on screen), had auditioned for another role. However, he ultimately was given the role of the psychotic Vilmer. Who proceeds to hit Sean and then run him over while popping in a cassette (remember those?) and acts like a racing commentator as he runs Sean over.

When Heather and Barry find an old farmhouse, Heather waits for Barry as he looks for anyone on property and it is this scene where we finally meet Leatherface. Decked out in an camo jacket, sporting a leather mask and long flowing locks, Heather is startled and Leatherface proceeds to put her in the freezer and lock her in there. This is still the only thing I find a bit annoying. All this Leatherface does in scream and scream very high-pitched nonetheless. I can’t blame Leatherface actor Robert Jacks for this as he was probably just instructed to do so when it called for it.

While Heather gets the freezer and Barry gets the sledgehammer, Jenny’s chase scene from Leatherface brings back memories of the original film. Jenny had met Darla, an insurance agent and after the chase, the two reunite only for the latter to reveal her true self. She is Vilmer’s girlfriend and she knocks Jenny out and puts her in the trunk of her car while she goes to get pizza for the family. That’s when we realize this is not the cannibal family we’re dealing with here. At first viewings and some later viewings, I threw my hands up and yelled at the television.

Little did I realize three decades later that I finally realized that Kim Henkel wanted to do something different compared to the original 1974 film. Jenny, finally have had enough, gains the confidence she desperately needed and confronts everyone, even telling a screaming (and by this time cross-dressing) Leatherface to sit down and shut up. When Rothman (James Gale), a mysterious man shows up and reprimands Vilmer, which at first assumption means that Rothman is the leader of the family. However, once Rothman exits the house, Vilmer goes insane, sets Heather on fire and kills her by crushing her with his foot.

Jenny soon escapes and leads to the final chase and this is where it all is finally revealed.

SPOILER ALERT

A plane out of nowhere shows up and kills Vilmer as he and Leatherface chase Jenny, who was rescued by a couple in an RV before Leatherface somehow causes the RV to turn over. Leatherface, seeing the death of his brother, screams in agony and a limousine pulls up, inviting Jenny in.

Rothman is in the limo, which horrifies Jenny. Rothman apologizes to Jenny and explains that he only wanted to scare people to prove that fear can be real. However, Vilmer took it too far and was enthused by killing people so he had to be stopped.

At the hospital, Jenny is comforted by a policeman when she sees a woman in a gurney being pulled in a room. As the cop asks if Jenny knew the woman, we see the patient taken to a hallway as the film fades to black. The patient is theorized to be Sally Hardesty, the original final girl of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, as the patient was played by Marilyn Burns, who played Sally. The policeman was played by John Dugan, who played Grandpa Sawyer in the 1974 film and the orderly pushing the patient is Paul A. Partain, who played Franklin Hardesty in the original film.

END SPOILER

As of late, when I see something fresh or different emerge in a franchise or a change of tropes, it makes the film at times more watchable. I believe this is what Kim Henkel was trying to do with The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He wanted to shy away from the cannibal angle and just make it an experiment on fear that goes way too far thanks to Vilmer’s antics and leadership.

I never thought I would say this after all these years as there are some films that I deemed unwatchable and will never watch again (I’m talking to you, Dragonball: Evolution). But, in the case with this film, I would watch it again.

While I can’t stand Leatherface screaming on a constant basis, it is Matthew McConaughey’s Vilmer that stands out with his over-the-top psycho brother act. It is even to the point where I have to laugh at it sometimes because some of the things he does is quite hilarious. As for Renee Zellweger, it is refreshing to see her go from this innocent wallflower to someone who’s had enough and has had so much pent-up frustration that the family’s actions finally open up the confidence she desperately needed to overcome and escape.

The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation brings something fresh to the franchise for its 1994 setting. While Matthew McConaughey clearly is having fun with his over the top performance, Renee Zellweger’s transformation when pushed definitely helps, but this Leatherface could have done with less screaming. Nevertheless, this movie earned redemption in my eyes.