Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994)

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994) (see below for preview images)

Written and Directed by Kim Henkel
 
Starring: Renée Zellweger, Matthew McConaughey, and Robert Jacks as Leatherface
 
IMDb 3.2/10    Rotten Tomatoes 16% Freshness      Metacritic NO DATA
 
So, we all know the original story of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  If you don’t, where have TCM movie I’ve reviewed, I’m not going to go through the backstory yet again.  This time, it’s a bunch of kids after Prom stranded after a car wreck, finding themselves in the grips of Leatherface and his family, albeit a younger version of the family.
 
First and foremost, DO NOT let the fact the Zellweger and McConaughey star in this trick you into thinking that it is worth the watch.  Even though they are the only redeeming qualities of the film they just barely make it tolerable to watch.  Robert Jacks created this high pitched whining moan for Leatherface that was nothing short of awful and irritating.   While Zellweger and McConaughey do play their parts well, the story is written so badly that I feel it would be difficult for ANYONE to make it look good.
 
We’ve got our villain who is an infantile imbecile, another one who has some sort of weird mechanical contraption on his leg, some weird chick as his girlfriend (oh yeah, and their love is violent and well, disgusting really) and then these horrible and stupid teenagers, ugh!!!  I was ASKING for Heather and Barry to get splattered…and FAST!!!  Anything to shut them up!!!  (Leatherface DOES stuff Heather in a box so, I guess he felt the same way.)

The blood and gore we would normally think of is absent as is the whole cannibalism aspect of the original.  Excuse me?! WHAT?!  Can they even do that????  Isn’t that like a main part of the whole story and backstory of Leatherface??? Maybe I’m mistaken.  Moving on…  

I would have to say that the best part was the way McConaughey portrays a psycho killer.  He does have those wide, wild eyes and he did manage to somehow turn that sweet and kind smile and gentle laugh into something totally perverse, so I do give him that.  But, the rest of them, WOW!  Now, I don’t know if they got some bigger names to try to make this movie fly but, all they got was a crashing bird bomb.  
 
As you all know, I am VERY forgiving.  But, the only way I can in good conscience recommend this to ANYONE is if they are just TCM diehards.  Other than that, it should have stayed on the cutting room floor with the edit clippings.
 
RATINGS
1/5 Stars