Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation

“When a helpful family invites two lost couples in for a good ol’ down-home massacre, the prom night teens find themselves all dressed up … with no place to escape. Featuring fast-paced fun, standout stars and a horrific helping of the franchise’s own brand of gore, the “fourth Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie takes a comedic turn even more pronounced than the previous [films] combined” (Tales of Terror­)!”

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation opens on prom night when a group of teens, Jenny (Renée Zellweger), Heather (Lisa Newmyer), Sean (John Harrison) and Barry (Tyler Shea Cone) abruptly leave the dance when Heather discovers Barry kissing another girl. As the group debates Barry’s questionable behavior, they turn down a deserted road leading into a densely wooded area and crash into another car. Heather, Jenny and Barry head down the road and find an office trailer where Darla (Tonie Perenski) calls for help. Unfortunately, that help is Vilmer (Matthew McConaughey) who promptly visits the wreck site and kills everyone there. Unfortunately for the rest of the group, they come across a house further back in the woods where Vilmer brings back his unsuspecting victims to meet all kinds of horrors, including Leatherface.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation is a complete mess. Why it’s even called Texas Chainsaw Massacre eludes me, as Leatherface barely has anything to do with this and seems to be far less threatening than Matthew McConaughey. His character is basically what you’d imagine McConaughey would be like in real life on drugs, with no rhyme nor reason to anything he says or does. It could seem like a brilliant performance under the right circumstances, because you know half the stuff he says is off the cuff, improvisational ramblings, but for some reason in this film, surrounded by the rest of the bad writing and acting, it seems just as jumbled and incoherent as the rest of the film. Is there a reason that he has a bad leg and uses tv remotes to control some garbage looking contraption that makes him look like he walked in from the set of Top Gun? Not really, just something additional to make him seem more unbelievable and goofy than menacing.

Renée Zellweger’s character is entirely one-dimensional with virtually no development or backstory. The director’s cut does add a little bit about her home life that makes her more sympathetic, but she is basically just chased by one crazy after another. The supporting characters are all the same, pretty one dimensional and don’t add much to the story but cannon-fodder for this insane family, except for Darla. Her character is funny, seductive, with just the right amount of insanity to make her fit right in with all the rest of them.

Like the other Texas Chainsaw Massacre films, with the main objective of Leatherface creating skin suits and eating their victims, this film employs some outlandish Illuminati plot line in which Vilmer supposedly works for them and captures victims for them to do what they wish with. The plot line, which gets about five minutes of actual screen time, is a major cop-out, providing a horrible, unimaginative ending.

As interesting as it was seeing Matthew McConaughey and Renée Zellweger star in such a bad, low budget horror film, that interest alone wasn’t enough to spark any kind of enjoyment of this story for me. Nonetheless, there are fans of the film out there who wanted both version of the film available, and Scream Factory ensured it happened.

Video

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 1.85:1. The Theatrical version of the film is presented in HD, while the Director’s Cut contains standard definition inserts. Unlike some of their recent releases, this film didn’t make the cut to get a new transfer from source material, and the low-budget nature really does show. Grain is very excessive in the Theatrical, with some sequences lacking in clarity. The Director’s Cut and the standard definition inserts, for me, make the film almost unwatchable. Many of the sequences have subtle differences, so the SD inserts account for the majority of the film it seemed like. These differences do give a bit more substance to the film, but it will be up to you whether you want to trade that substance for consistent viewing clarity.

Audio

The audio is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo. No major issues with the audio track here. It doesn’t do anything overly impressive by any means, but gets the job done.

Special Features

The major thing it seemed like most people wanted was the inclusion of the Director’s Cut, it’s just a shame it’s in such poor quality. This isn’t something you can blame Scream Factory for, it’s just the way it is, and unfortunately that does hinder the enjoyment of it. I would have liked to see a new transfer of the Theatrical if possible, but with what I can imagine is a high cost, it’s understandable they have to pick and choose which ones make the cut.

Here’s what you’re going to see on this disc:

• Two Cuts Of The Film – The Theatrical Cut (87 Minutes – HD) And The Director’s Cut (93 Minutes – HD With Standard Definition Inserts)
• NEWAudio Commentary With Writer/Director Kim Henkel (On Director’s Cut)
• NEWThe Buzz Is Back – An Interview With Director Of Photography Levie Isaacks
• NEWMarked For Death – An Interview With Actor Tyler Shea Cone
• NEWIf Looks Could Kill: The Return Of A “Chainsaw Massacre” – An Interview With Special Makeup Effects Artist J.M. Logan And Production Designer Deborah Pastor
• Theatrical Trailer

Although the film lacks direction, depth, and pretty much any trait consistent with a good film, there are reasons it’s lasted this long. The ‘unique’ performances of the actors may not go over well with everyone, but there is a certain campiness to them that can bring enjoyment watching the film with that in mind. Scream Factory always strives to do its best with titles that the public wants, and for that we’re grateful.