The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1994)

User Rating:

2.6/10   

Director:

Kim Henkel

Writers:

Kim Henkel (characters) and
Tobe Hooper (characters) ...

Genre:

Comedy | Horror

Tagline:

The American legend returns, to bring you back to the cutting edge of terror.

Plot:

A group of teenagers get into a car crash in the Texas woods on prom night, and then wander into an old farmhouse that is home to Leatherface and his insane family of cannibalistic psychopaths.

Plot Keywords:

Leatherface | Woods | Texas | Farmhouse | Car

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Renée Zellweger	...	Jenny (as Renee Zellweger)
Matthew McConaughey	...	Vilmer
Robert Jacks	...	Leatherface
Tonie Perensky	...	Darla (as Tonie Perenski)
Joe Stevens	...	W.E
Lisa Marie Newmyer	...	Heather (as Lisa Newmyer)
John Harrison	...	Sean
Tyler Cone	...	Barry
James Gale	...	Rothman
Chris Kilgore	...	Rothman's Chauffeur
Vince Brock	...	I'm Not Hurt
Susan Loughran	...	Jenny's Mother
David Laurence	...	Jenny's Stepfather
Grayson Victor Schirmacher	...	Grandfather
Jeanette Wiggins	...	Woman Eating Chocolates

Also Known As:

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (USA) (reissue title)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 4 (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for demented mayhem and torture, and for strong language.

Runtime:

95 min (uncut version) | Argentina:90 min | Canada:93 min | Sweden:86 min | USA:86 min (cut version) | Finland:82 min (video) (1997) | UK:83 min (DVD)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-16 (heavily cut) (1997) | Portugal:M/18 | USA:R (certificate #33268) | South Korea:18 | Italy:VM18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Canada:R | Germany:18 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 (video premiere) | Sweden:(Banned) | UK:18 (cut) | Iceland:(Banned) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Genre Pictures

Trivia:

Intended by director Kim Henkel to be the "real" sequel to the original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974). The characters of Vilmer and W.E. were intended to be the Hitchhiker and Cook characters from the original film. Jim Siedow was approached to reprise his Cook character, but was unable to.

Goofs:

Continuity: As Leatherface puts Heather in the freezer, Heather's silk gloves are rolled right down her arms in one shot, but are half-folded up in the next.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: August 18, 1973. News of a bizarre, chainsaw wielding family - reports which were to ignite the world's imagination - began to filter out of central Texas. Regrettably not one of the family members was ever apprehended and for more than ten years nothing further was heard. Then, over the next several years at least two minor, yet apparently related incidents, were reported. Then again nothing. For five long years silence...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Shocking Truth (2000) (V)

Soundtrack:

Mother

El Stinko

If the director of this film was trying to recapture the atmosphere of the first TCM, he did a terrible job. If he was trying to make some kind of comedy or satire, he did an even worse job. This one isn't scary, nor is it funny, not even unintentionally--it's too awful to even laugh at. Watching this movie is like having someone kick you in the head for two hours, only to find out that you have just survived the warm-up session and the worst is yet to come. Whenever you think the movie cannot possibly get any worse, it does. And then it does it again, and again, and... well, you get the idea.

I'm no stranger to B-movies or horror films or horror comedies. DEAD ALIVE is one of my favorite movies. I've watched SATAN'S CHEERLEADERS and various Troma films multiple times because I think they're so hilarious. I worship the EVIL DEAD trilogy. Basically I've been a huge horror fan for most of my life. It is with that background that I am warning you away from this movie. It is one of the worst I've ever seen and is completely without value. I am truly stunned that Renee Zellwieger (however she spells it) and Matthew McConaughey had careers after this. They never mention this movie in public, and for good reason.

In conclusion: Stay away, far away. Do not rent the video. If this comes on TV, change the channel. Utter garbage.