The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Overview

The series began with Tobe Hooper's 1974 film and is built around Leatherface, a hulking, masked killer who works with a family of cannibals in rural Texas. Over nearly fifty years the character has been played by several actors, and the story has been restarted again and again: a sequel, two more sequels, a remake, a prequel to the remake, a direct sequel to the original that ignores the others, a prequel to that, and finally a second direct sequel released on Netflix. In all there are nine films, plus comics, a novel and video games.

The franchise has been rebooted several times, which means the order of release is not a single story order. Reference sources describe four separate continuities, covered below. Anyone watching the series should treat each reboot as a new beginning. What the films share is a setting, a family and a killer with a power tool, and a long argument among fans about what made the first film work and whether anything later has matched it.

The 1974 original is one of the most influential horror films of its decade, and the library covers it in depth as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The later films are a record of how Hollywood has tried, with very different strategies, to turn a raw independent landmark into a franchise. Their commercial results range from a hit remake to a sequel that earned less than $200,000.

Release order

Titles without a link do not have their own PORTFLICK entry yet.

How the series evolved

The 1974 film: how it was made

Director Tobe Hooper and writer Kim Henkel, who formed a company called Vortex, drew on the crimes of Ed Gein for Leatherface and parts of the plot, even though the film is not a true story. Hooper has also cited Houston killer Elmer Wayne Henley and the climate of Watergate, the oil crisis and Vietnam as influences. The film was shot in central Texas, mostly at a farmhouse near Round Rock, in extreme heat. The cast was largely unknown, with Gunnar Hansen as Leatherface and John Larroquette as the narrator. Estimates of the budget range from roughly $80,000 to $140,000.

The film was bought by Bryanston Distributing Company and marketed as a true story, which helped draw audiences. The MPAA first rated it X and then R after cuts. It grossed more than $30 million in the United States and Canada, a huge return on its cost, but investor and profit arrangements left most of the cast and crew with far less than they had expected. Bryanston later went bankrupt, and New Line Cinema took over the distribution rights in 1983. Many countries banned or restricted the film, among them the United Kingdom, where the ban lasted until 1999.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)

Hooper returned for the sequel under a three-picture deal with the Cannon Group, run by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus. L. M. Kit Carson began the screenplay in January 1986. Hooper has said he saw dark humor in the first film that audiences and critics had overlooked, and he wanted a black comedy. Dennis Hopper played a lawman hunting the family, Caroline Williams as Stretch, Bill Moseley a new character called Chop Top, and Bill Johnson took over as Leatherface. Tom Savini worked on the effects.

The MPAA refused to give the film an R rating, and Cannon released it unrated on August 22, 1986. It earned about $8 million, from a budget of about $4.6 million. Roger Ebert gave it one star and called it a geek show, while Rotten Tomatoes today lists about 53 percent positive. It later gained a cult following.

Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990)

New Line Cinema bought the rights from Cannon and wanted to make Leatherface the center of the story. Jeff Burr directed from a script by David J. Schow, with Kate Hodge, Ken Foree and a young Viggo Mortensen in the cast, and R. A. Mihailoff as Leatherface. Filming took place in Valencia, California, in mid-1989 with a budget of around $2.5 million. Burr was reportedly fired a week into production and then rehired.

The MPAA first rated the film X for graphic violence, and New Line cut about four minutes to get an R. The UK's censors at first rejected it. It opened in January 1990 in 1,107 theaters and earned about $5.8 million in the United States, which made it the lowest-grossing entry until 1995. Critics panned it, with a 13 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. Some writers blamed the cuts for its lack of impact.

The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1995)

Kim Henkel, co-writer of the original, wrote, produced and directed the fourth film. It was shot in the Austin area in 1993 for a budget reported between $600,000 and $1 million and starred two then-unknown Texas actors, Renée Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey. It premiered at South by Southwest in March 1995 and had a limited release in 27 theaters on September 22, 1995.

Columbia TriStar picked up home video rights and planned a wider release, but delayed it until 1997, when it was re-edited and retitled Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. Henkel and his producer alleged that the studio waited for its stars' fame to rise, and litigation followed. The film earned only $185,898 across both releases, the lowest in the series, and holds about 15 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. A small cult following has grown around its black humor.

The Platinum Dunes remake and its prequel

The 2003 remake was the first film from Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes. Marcus Nispel directed in his feature debut from a script by Scott Kosar. Jessica Biel and R. Lee Ermey led the cast, Andrew Bryniarski played Leatherface, and John Larroquette returned as narrator. Filming began in Austin in July 2002. Original crew members, among them Hooper, Henkel and cinematographer Daniel Pearl, were involved. It opened at number one with $29.1 million and earned about $107 million worldwide on a $9.5 million budget.

Critics were largely negative: Rotten Tomatoes lists 37 percent, and Ebert gave it zero stars. Audiences were warmer. Its success helped set off a wave of horror remakes. The 2006 prequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, directed by Jonathan Liebesman, earned about $51.8 million worldwide on a $16 million budget and holds 17 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Neither film has any connection to the continuity of the earlier sequels.

Texas Chainsaw 3D, Leatherface and the 2022 film

Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013), directed by John Luessenhop and shot in Shreveport, Louisiana, was made as a direct sequel to the 1974 film with a modern setting. It opened at number one with $21.7 million but earned only $47.3 million worldwide. Gunnar Hansen and Marilyn Burns, from the original cast, appeared in it. Critics were largely negative, with a 20 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Leatherface (2017), directed by the French filmmakers Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, was a prequel to the 1974 film. Lionsgate shelved it in 2016. It premiered at the FrightFest festival in August 2017 and reached video on demand and a few theaters that October, grossing about $1.5 million. Because of the delay, Lionsgate and Millennium Films lost the rights. Legendary Pictures then acquired them, and the 2022 film, directed by David Blue Garcia, was released by Netflix on February 18, 2022. The first directors, Ryan and Andy Tohill, were replaced early in production and their footage was not used. Olwen Fouéré took over Sally Hardesty from the late Marilyn Burns. It debuted at number two on Netflix's global chart with about 29.2 million viewing hours in its first week, though critics were mostly negative.

Continuity: four separate timelines

The franchise's reference page identifies four continuities. The first runs through the original film and the 1986, 1990 and 1995 sequels, although those sequels do not agree with each other in every detail. The second is the Platinum Dunes pair, the 2003 remake and its 2006 prequel. The third consists of the 1974 film, the 2013 sequel Texas Chainsaw 3D and the 2017 prequel Leatherface. The fourth is the 1974 film followed directly by the 2022 film.

The 2022 film's producers have said it does not erase the 1986 sequel, so viewers can decide for themselves how the pieces fit. That looseness is a feature of the series, where each new creative team starts again from the one shared element, the first film. It also means the series can be entered almost anywhere, as long as the 1974 film is seen first.

Where the films stand today, and what comes next

The original is a landmark. The 1986 sequel has a devoted cult following and is the most likely of the sequels to be discussed seriously. The 1990 and 1995 sequels are mainly of interest to completists, though the latter has a small circle of fans for its early appearances by two future stars. The 2003 remake is both the series' biggest hit and one of its most criticized entries, which makes it a good case study in the gap between commercial and critical success. The newer films have not had a lasting impact.

Rights have moved again. The franchise's reference page reports that A24 acquired film and television rights in February 2026 and that a writer-director was announced for a new film in April 2026. Treat these as reported rather than confirmed here. For a path through the library, start with the slasher page, then read about Leatherface, compare the film with Night of the Living Dead, an earlier independent landmark by George A. Romero, and with Halloween and the Halloween franchise by John Carpenter, which turned a similar idea into a different kind of series.

Verified details

• Tobe Hooper directed both the 1974 original and the 1986 sequel.
• The 2003 film is a remake of the original, and the 2006 film is its prequel.
• The 2022 film was released on Netflix on February 18, 2022.
• The original film was bought by Bryanston Distributing, and New Line Cinema took over the distribution rights in 1983.
• The UK ban on the 1974 film lasted until 1999.
• The 1986 sequel was released unrated after the MPAA refused to give it an R.
• The 1995 film starred Renée Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey before either was famous.
• The 1995 film earned only $185,898 across its 1995 and 1997 releases.
• The 2003 remake opened at number one with $29.1 million and was the first film from Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes.
• Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013) included appearances by original cast members Gunnar Hansen and Marilyn Burns.
• Olwen Fouéré played Sally Hardesty in the 2022 film, taking over from Marilyn Burns.

Sources and further reading

• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (franchise), Wikipedia
• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974 film), Wikipedia
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Wikipedia
• Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, Wikipedia
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, Wikipedia
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003 film), Wikipedia
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, Wikipedia
• Texas Chainsaw 3D, Wikipedia
• Leatherface (2017 film), Wikipedia
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022 film), Wikipedia