The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation remains the black sheep in the gritty slasher franchise, but it’s still a notable piece of cinema for the fact that it introduces the world to superstars-in-the-making, Matthew McConaughey and Renee Zellweger.
Horror films have an interesting reputation for acting as the territory where many burgeoning new talents in the industry get discovered. Part of the reason that the horror genre is so much fun is that schlocky pieces of cinema feature some of the most notable stars of our generation. Jennifer Aniston stars in the first Leprechaun, Paul Rudd is in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, and Johnny Depp is in A Nightmare on Elm Street. It’s very entertaining to see these talented performers perfect their skills through slasher cinema.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise is one of the most unsettling series in the genre. Leatherface and his family of inbred misfits are extremely disturbing characters and Tobe Hooper’s original film taps into a rawness that is often absent in horror movies. Hooper’s original movie had a series of sequels that expanded the boundaries of this bonkers universe. This culminated with Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, the fourth film in the franchise. Next Generation takes many risks, but the thing that the movie is largely remembered for is its two stars, a then-unknown Renee Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey.
Zellweger Is The Final Girl And McConaughey Is Its Psycho
The plot of Next Generation sees a bunch of teenagers from Texas who unfortunately run into Leatherface and the dangerous Slaughter family. Zellweger leads the pack of the victims as Jenny, an innocent damsel in distress who eventually gets pushed to the point of empowerment. McConaughey is at the opposite end of the spectrum as the highly masochistic Vilmer Slaughter. The Next Generation kind of operates as a satirical remake of the first film and moves into surprisingly meta territory. The story eventually gets to a place where it’s revealed that all of the fear that Leatherface and his family instill in others is actually an exercise to help individuals experience extreme enlightenment that’s triggered through the threat of death. As crazy as the film gets, McConaughey and Zellweger’s performance remain notable for just how much they go for it in these roles.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation faced a very troubled production history and the film was actually shelved for some time until it was repackaged and released after Zellweger and McConaughey both became stars. Even still, The Next Generation effectively killed off the franchise until it was rebooted decades later. Still, that’s got nothing to do with Zellweger and McConaughey’s performances, who show a ton of promise and talent in these roles. The film has since gained a bit of a cult reputation, with more fans recently turning around on the oddball title. People have learned to see more value in the sequel than simply a place to watch a young McConaughey and Zellweger develop their acting chops.
