Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Why I Don’t Mind that it Isn't a Love Letter to the Original

By Xander Townsend | Misfit Media Editor

(Spoiler Free, Graphic Content)

When I first watched the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I probably would have been in my late teens, lights off, huddled up in blankets with a few of my friends who had decided to spend their Halloween night watching cult classic films in my shoebox apartment. Cult classic and 70's-80's horror films represent one of my favourite things about cinema. The unapologetic attempt to push the boundaries of what should and should not be shown on screen, with any almost anything being on the table (no matter how bizarre) has created some of my favourite horrific figures. Leatherface is no exception.

The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, released in 1974, was directed by Tobe Hooper and was one of the most impactful and establishing horror films in cinema history. Made for a quaint $80 000-$140 000, the movie racked in a beyond impressive $30 million worldwide at box office.

Netflix decided to take on this multi-million dollar franchise and bring us a sequel (ignoring the other 7 films made post 1970's), releasing this year (2022) on streaming services.

The new Netflix sequel to Texas Chainsaw Massacre, called (unironically) Texas Chainsaw Massacre, clearly has decided to bring the world originally created in the 70's into the modern era but didn't really bring the directorial artstyle with it. I know this would obviously bother most die-hard fans, probably even those who weren't as die-hard, but I have a very strong fondness for cult classic horror and I wasn't offended by this choice. 

Now, was the film generic? A little, yes. Did the film mimic other modern horror re-envisioning such as the recently released Halloween? Absolutely. But did it also present us some completely unrealistic yet conceptually and visually enthralling scenes? Completely.

One of the most famous scenes from this film has been accurately labelled 'the bus scene'. I won't spoil the film for those who haven't seen it, but this modernisation of the original film certainly tries to add some fascinating shot and colour work into the somewhat generic package it comes in. This film is fun, although not revolutionary, and when it comes to modern installments of horror classic franchises, that is enough for me.