2022 will see the beloved horror franchise Texas Chainsaw Massacre return yet again, but this reboot has a secret weapon that could save the series. Almost every major horror franchise has been rebooted in recent years, but few have as long and messy a history as the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies. While 2010’s Nightmare On Elm Street reboot couldn’t replace Robert Englund’s Freddy, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise managed no less than three reboots which all failed to impress critics.
The first Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot, 2006’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, was a prequel to the movie’s 2003 remake. Its knotty plotting and pointless backstory were largely derided by fans of the original, whose appeal came from how unexplained and terrifying its central threat was. 2013’s sequel Texas Chainsaw 3D repeated this error, adding more byzantine backstory to a series that thrived on simple scares.
2017 saw the arrival of Leatherface, another prequel to the franchise that further muddled the overly complicated chronology of the series. Much like Rob Zombie’s divisive Halloween movies, this slightly better outing did offer more insight into the titular monster’s origins, but this came at the expense of the most important element of the franchise. Like every Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie after the original, Leatherface simply wasn’t scary. However, the 2022 Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot could avoid this issue. Its story was written by Fede Alvarez of Don’t Breathe and Evil Dead fame, who has proven he can both offer a simple, terrifying chase story (something Don’t Breathe provided and none of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequels managed), and can reboot a beloved franchise while still keeping true to the tone of the original (something 2013's Evil Dead managed, despite it seeming impossible given the iconic original’s influence).
Much like 2018’s acclaimed Halloween reboot focused on scares instead of complicated canon, 2022’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre has the opportunity to be an intense, straightforward horror movie. Alvarez’s earlier outings have been endurance tests for even hardened genre fans, with Evil Dead, in particular, ignoring the allure of winking references to the original movies in the series in favor of pure horror. Instead, the 2013 release crafted a terrifying, intense standalone horror story for fans, something none of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequels have managed so far.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise can still be salvaged if the creators return to the fast-paced, unrelenting thrills of the 1974 original. However, even original director/Salem’s Lot helmer Tobe Hooper himself could not recapture this punchy, chilling atmosphere in his own sequel, 1986’s disappointing Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. Since the original creator of the franchise failed to find the right balance in his belated follow-up, it may be too much to expect 2022’s reboot to nail Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s elusive appeal. However, if anyone can manage this feat, it is Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2022’s secret weapon, story writer Fede Alvarez.