This week the underrated and mostly unsung Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation AKA The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre finally hits Blu-ray thanks to Scream Factory. It’s the fourth and final semi-linear installment, before the plethora of reboots was written and directed by original scribe Kim Henkel. This entry is probably most notorious for starring two Academy Award winners at the beginning of their careers, Renée Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey, who mysteriously disappeared from the packaging of this disc shortly before release. The film doesn’t bring a whole lot to the table story-wise that fans haven’t seen before; this time it’s a pair of teenage couples that get lost after leaving the prom and end up at the mercy of Leatherface and his family down on the farm. The Sawyers are now however the “Slaughters,” who are led by Matthew McConaughey as Vilmer Slaughter, a conspiracy theory spouting tow truck driver with a robotic, remote-control leg.
What the film does bring to the table, other than a family name change, is a bizarre mythology in an attempt to explain the antics of the family that doesn’t involve cannibalism. After more than a few not so subtle hints and Easter eggs, we find the family is tied into some strange Illuminati-like government organization and their kidnappings are supposed to trigger some sort of fear induced religious experience for their captees. It’s a stretch that feels weird enough to actually work. This new sub-narrative is aided by Renée Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey, who act the living hell out of Henkel’s script. McConaughey here is just terrifying as you would expect as a psychotic, kinda-cyborg serial killer and still even manages to drop a trademark, “alright, alright, alright.” Zellweger on the other hand is just as convincing as his teenage prey Jenny, who has her character nuances played up quite a bit thanks to the director’s cut presented here on the disc.
The film was shot Austin in 1994, completed, and picked up by Columbia Pictures for distribution. Columbia then opted to shelve the film, then recut and retitled it, releasing it three years later in 1997 to capitalize on the fame of its two rising stars, thank you Jerry Maguire. The film’s other notable difference with the rest of canon up to this point is the more effeminate Leatherface presented here. While we know this character inhabits the face that he is wearing, the bulk of the film has him dressed in a black evening gown that for me was always misrepresented in the marketing materials. Some of the art made him look almost like an actual woman who decides to take on the mantle, which would have been really interesting. Instead Leatherface is like a chainsaw wielding Divine that screams almost as much his prey does. Zellweger, we soon find, isn’t like some women who have crossed paths with the family and proves to be more than a bit of a handful for the Slaughters.
The big draw here for fans is not only that the film in HD for the first time, but the director’s cut as well, which runs a few minutes longer than theatrical cut and was originally announced as an SD extra. Well, Scream decided to intercut the SD footage into the HD master, and it’s not terribly jarring as you would probably expect. This helps because while the running time is only slightly longer, complete scenes are replaced using alternative cuts or new footage altogether. Talking about extras, the absolute standout here is a fascinating new commentary only available on the director’s cut version with director Kim Henkel, star Joe Stevens who played Walter Edward Slaughter, and Brian Huberman, who directed the The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Documentary. Moderated by Fangoria Editor in Chief Phil Nobile Jr., the track delivers a very laid back but informative look at the film, delving into the casting, the script writing process, and the production. While the documentary Brian directed is sadly not present on this disc, Brian is a keen presence in the discussion, chiming in on what it was like to be a fan of the series on set documenting the making of the film.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation is the one of the better offerings of the franchise, which is littered with half-baked sequels, prequels, and reboots that never got close the madness of the original. Thanks to the lack of love from its stars and distributor, however, this entry has fallen a bit under the radar for most; but hopefully this new edition will change that. While I have to ding this release for missing the documentary on the film, it is simply a Google search away for those that want to check it out. The Next Generation is far from a perfect film, but is probably the best sequel the franchise has birthed so far, and you can finally experience it in all its HD splendor thanks to Scream Factory.
Special Features:
· Two Cuts of the Film — the theatrical cut (87 minutes — HD) and the director’s cut (93 minutes — HD with standard definition inserts)
· NEW Audio Commentary with writer/director Kim Henkel (on Director’s Cut)
· NEW The Buzz is Back — an interview with Director of Photography Levie Isaacks
· NEW Marked for Death — an interview with actor Tyler Shea Cone
· NEW If Looks Could Kill: The Return of a “Chainsaw Massacre” — an interview with special makeup effects artist J.M. Logan and production designer Deborah Pastor
· Still Gallery
· Theatrical Trailer