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Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (also known as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 4 or The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre) is a 1994 film sequel to Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III and quasi-remake of the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Kim Henkel, author of the 1974 screenplay, wrote and directed the new film. At first its makers intended it as the "real sequel" to the 1974 movie. They also intended to do a remake (or "reimagining") of the original, but ended up billing the result as a sequel to the third film. The film made its premiere at the South by Southwest film conference in 1995. It featured Renée Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey, both Texan, years before either of them became recognized as mainstream stars. The movie had a rocky release-history, as it became the centre of controversy between its film-makers and distributor Columbia Pictures; this resulted in a delayed release put off until August 1997. Then the film received a very small theatrical run, in a cut reedited from the original material and also retitled from The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre to Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation.
[edit] PlotThe film, as a semiremake of the original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, takes as its subjects four adolescent characters, Sean, Heather, Barry and Jenny (Renee Zellweger) on promenade who decide to leave the festivity early. They make a detour in the Texan woods and end up in a car accident. They then come into contact with a family of psychopaths who inhabit a dilapidated farm-house in the middle of the forest - the family includes Vilmer (Matthew McConaughey), a trucker with an animatronic leg; W.E., a literature-quoting redneck; Darla (Vilmer's love-interest), who runs a real-estate office near by; and Leatherface, a cross-dressing murderer wielding a chainsaw. [edit] Cast
[edit] Release historyThe film had a very rough and complicated release history, including reediting and reissue into cinemas (thus the film has different versions and alternate titles). The process occasioned disputes between the filmmakers and distributors at Columbia Pictures. After a lengthy post-production wrapped up in 1994, the film screened at the South by Southwest Film and Media Conference in 1995.[2] Prior to this, during the film's post-production stage, Columbia Pictures reportedly signed to distribute the film theatrically (along with its home-video release) in October 1995, and agreed to spend no less than $500,000 on prints and advertising.[3] The company subsequently had the film re-edited numerous times, and changed the title from its original production-title, The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, to Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. According to producer Robert Kuhn, Columbia Pictures pushed the film back to await the release of star Renée Zellweger's new film, Jerry Maguire, which the filmmakers had no problem with. Matthew McConaughey's agent then purportedly put "pressure" from on Columbia Pictures to not release the film theatrically, which caused complications between Henkel and the company. The film-makers had also considered releasing through Cinepix Film Properties back in 1993.  In a 1997 interview with the Austin Chronicle, Robert Kuhn stated that:
Eventually, the film hit the big screen in a limited release in under 20 U.S. cities[4] under a collaboration of Columbia Pictures and Cinepix Film Properties on August 29, 1997, in an edited version, and under the title Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. The subsequent home-video releases also occurred through Columbia Pictures. The film was released[by whom?] on VHS in September 1998, and did not receive a DVD release until July 13, 1999. The original Columbia/Tristar DVD release has since been reissued, with an alternate cover art. [edit] ReceptionHorror-film critic Joe Bob Briggs considered this movie "...so terrifying and brilliant that it makes the other two "Chainsaw" sequels seem like After-School Specials", and he called it "the best horror movie of the 90s".[5] Thelma Adams of the New York Post says "Leatherface crosses Divine with Hannibal Lecter." Mike Robinson of the Village Voice considered the film "An utterly uproarious mutant that outspoofs Scream." The Hollywood Reporter considered the film to be "an unnerving shriekfest, blackly comic and extreme." An other horror-film critic, John Fallon of Arrow in the Head, regarded it as one of the worst, stating: "Flatline. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as we know it is dead... This is a stupid movie filled with stupid people and for some reason nobody acts like a real human being... Leatherface has become a sad looking, full blown, yelping transvestite... This is filmmaking at its lowest. It has no respect for the series or its themes and its reprisal of several key scenes from the original comes as an insult..."[6] In general, critical opinion by critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and movie fans on Imdb.com, (see below) considered this the worst of the "Chainsaw Massacre" films; aside from a small handful who praised the film - as seen on the original V.H.S. and D.V.D. box covers. John Anderson of the Los Angeles Times referred to the film as "[a] giddy mix of gruesome horror and campy humor", while most others dismissed the film with negative reviews. The Internet film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes has[1] ranked the film 15% "fresh" (or positive)as of October 2009, with merely four positive reviews out of a collected twenty-seven. The film has had extremely negative reaction among audiences. On Imdb.com [2], out of nearly 8,000 votes the films rates a 2.6 out of 10 stars. 40% give it 1 star, 16% give it 2 stars. In Sweden, Germany and Iceland the authorities banned the movie outright, deeming it too violent. Many stores in Iceland do however carry the film, despite the ban. Intending viewers can find it in small video stores in Sweden. Oddly enough, the film does not even feature a murder by chainsaw. [edit] Alternate versionsColumbia Pictures originally released the film as The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre in a small number of cinemas in 1994, as well as showing it at the South by South-west Film and Media Conference in 1995. This version was later pulled from theatres, and the film was rereleased in 1997 under the title Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. The original, unedited cut of the film features a few differences, including:
The original cut also featured different musical effects, a handful of different transitional shots, as well as a few scenes tinted different colors.[7] The most widely-available cut of the film, titled Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, does not contain this footage. The Canadian D.V.D. release of the film through Lions Gate home entertainment remains the only known home-video release as of 2009[update] that includes all of the cut footage from the original version of the movie. The version titled The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre ran for 95 minutes, while the version titled Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation runs for only 86 minutes; a nine-minute difference. The versions of the film available differ from country to country, but the original Return cut was released[by whom?] on laserdisc in Japan. [edit] Sound-trackThe film's sound-track featured many local Texan bands, and never got a full C.D. release. However, star Robert Jacks, a friend of Blondie's Debbie Harry, produced a song with Harry titled Der Einziger Weg (English: The Only Way) — a single created for and featured in the film. The song was released[by whom?] in 1997 as a single on compact disc, featuring Debbie Harry on the cover with a portrait of Jacks as Leatherface, featured in his three costumes, on the wall behind her. [edit] Reference
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