I thought I was done with The Saw Is Family. I had finally gave my thoughts on The Next Generation. All of the films had been covered. However, I realized I wasn't done just yet. I had promised at the beginning of the retrospective that I'd conclude it with my ranking of the Chainsaw franchise. And that's why I am here today. Now, this ranking is my opinion and some may consider it to be some hot takes on here. This is all in good fun, right?
9) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation
Kicking off this ranking, it honestly doesn't come as that much of a surprise where The Next Generation falls. This was a film that is over the top and not necessarily in a good way. The characters managed to fall a bit flat. Leatherface is not even that much of a threat in this installment. And the family is a massive hot take as their whole reasoning for things is working with the Illuminati? Nah, I'm sorry. I understand that there are some that love this film and appreciate it for what it is. However for me, it just hasn't managed to click. It felt too much like they were trying for Part 2 levels and amping them up to 11.
8) Texas Chainsaw 3D
Texas Chainsaw 3D is a film that when I first watched it I enjoyed it. I ended up seeing it three times at the theater after winning a contest for 3D tickets. It was nice seeing Leatherface on the big screen again. Plus the whole concept of a 'recap' of '74 was very intriguing and the closest I'll ever come to seeing that on the big screen. However, there is a lot wrong with the film. There's the whole age discrepancy with Daddarrio's character. I mean I can look past that pretty easily. However, it felt like they didn't understand what the characters were or what they were trying to do. Almost as if it was a celebration that they were going to make the film in the first place.
On top of all that, there's all the behind the scenes talk that has now painted 3D in a whole new light. If they hadn't been so quick to pass on some things, we could have had a Chainsaw that took place in the 90s and understood Leatherface and the Family. Instead the producers were so quick to just make a buck instead. Studio meddling at its finest.
7) Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III
After New Line landed the rights for Chainsaw, they rushed to deliver a film. I mean they understood that Chainsaw fans were ready for a new film after Part 2. However, they wanted to take a more serious approach than Part 2. The result was a film that featured Leatherface once again but with an all new family. The best part of the film was Ken Foree. Unfortunately, the rest of things were a bit generic and not very memorable.
6) Texas Chainsaw Massacre '03
Texas Chainsaw Massacre '03 was a breath of fresh air after the failure of Next Generation. It brought things back to basics with a group of kids encountering the Hewitts and Leatherface. It did a lot of things right. However, it felt like Leatherface was a bit overshadowed by Sheriff Hoyt. Ultimately by the end of the film, they squandered a chance of setting up a sequel. Why did they have to chop off Leatherface's arm?
5) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
The Beginning definitely worked better for me a lot more than '03. We get to see the family at an earlier point in their lives. It's interesting seeing certain characters start the film one way, but then end up transforming into where we seen them at in '03. It certainly has more of a Texas feel than '03 as well. The kids also manage to work a lot better with the interactions between the brothers. I actually found myself caring for the characters and wanted to see some of them survive. However, it's a prequel so no one can make it.
4) Leatherface '17
I've seen a lot of people throw a lot of hate towards this film. For me, I enjoyed this one a lot. I enjoyed seeing the Sawyers at the top of the film. Lili Taylor and Stephen Dorff deliver incredible performances. It basically helps establish the feud between the Sawyers and Hartmans that was featured in Texas Chainsaw 3D. Shaking things up and having this be a 'road trip' movie also managed to breathe a bit of fresh air into the film. There is a 'mystery' regarding which of these characters becomes Leatherface. I really wasn't disappointed by it. The only thing that upset me was that Lionsgate took too long to release and by the time it had, it didn't matter anymore.
3) Texas Chainsaw Massacre '22
I've seen a lot of the discussion that's been going on with Texas Chainsaw Massacre '22. Much like Halloween Kills, it's managed to be a divisive film. You'll either love it or hate it. For me, I absolutely loved it. Was it perfect? No. I feel like it was a nice play on what people were expecting as it had been pitched as being a 'requel' like Halloween '18. Leatherface is a beast in this film. I really dug that he is a man on a mission. He has a clear cut reason as to why he's doing this. There's a clear reason for why his mask looks the way it does. The way they utilized Sally is something that I'm not too upset about. I applaud the fact that they were commenting on the current trend of 'requels' and the 'legacy characters'. There's also a chainsaw massacre in the film. Holy crap. By the end of the film, I was ready for another go. I'm hoping that we will see a sequel.
2) The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
This is the reason why this franchise exists. If Tobe Hooper hadn't made the original '74 classic, we wouldn't have what we have today. It established a blueprint that quite a few of these films tried to emulate. It also brought us Leatherface for the first time. I respect the film a lot. During this last rewatch, I found myself actually beginning to understand the character of Franklin a lot better. I feel like maybe there's a chance he's misunderstood. And for the first portion of the film, we are seeing everything through his perspective. But there's a reason why this went on to become a classic.
1) Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2
Part 2 is a lot of fun. That is a large reason why this takes the top spot for me. While the first was serious and such, I just appreciated the shift to horror comedy with the second installment. Chop Top is someone that manages to steal scenes. The returning members of the family all deliver fantastic performances. Dennis Hopper chainsaw battling Leatherface. What other movies can say that? Caroline Williams also is incredible in this film. Everything feels like its turned up to 11 and works a lot more for me.
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