Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the ninth film in the horror franchise featuring powertool enthusiast Leatherface, recently premiered on Netflix (and while it has received generally mixed reactions from fans and critics, let me just say right of the bat, that it is GOOD. It’s also brutally bonkers, beautifully shot, inventive, tense, and INSANE).
And even though it may seem like it at first glance, this latest entry has not followed in the footsteps of the Halloween and Scream franchises by simply going by the original film’s title. Instead, it drops “The”, which was present in the titles of both the 1974 original and the 2003 remake (furthermore, in the original’s credits, it was “Chain Saw” not “Chainsaw”, so even the remake doesn’t go by the exact same title as the OG TCM).
However, one thing the TCM franchise does share with the Halloween franchise is a penchant for multiple timelines, reboots, and retcons, which can be a convoluted, confusing thing for a viewer to figure out. Especially when films within the same timeline sometimes span a jumble of genres and include a plethora of one-and-done characters to keep track of.
Thankfully, you don’t need to have seen ANY of the previous TCMs to understand and enjoy Texas Chainsaw Massacre. But, for those curious to dive into Leatherface’s lore, here’s a breakdown of which films make up which continuity. Semi-spoilers ahoy!
The original timeline (TCMs 1-4)
- The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 (1986)
- Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990)
- Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1995; released 1997)
Really, just the idea of these four films sharing the same continuity seems like a bit of a stretch from the get-go, with their only real through-line, franchise-wise, is that they were all released one after the other.
We’ve got the gritty, relentless, docu-style horror perpetuated by the Sawyer clan of the original, followed by the over-the-top black comedy of TCM2. And while TCM3 tries to find some kind of happy medium between the two, TCM4 takes things in a more satirical but altogether bonkers direction (let’s just say that if you were ever pining for a Prom Night/Texas Chainsaw crossover featuring a completely cross-dressing Leatherface terrorizing a pre-Jerry Maguire Renee Zellweger while Matthew McConaughey howls insanely at them both, then The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation is just for you).
Not helping matters is that fact that Leatherface seems to get put in the care of a whole new batch of crazy-ass Sawyers and other bonkers extended-family members in each new film, which almost seems like they’re rebooting the storyline with each new installment. But that actually didn’t happen until…
The remake timeline (TCMs 5, 6)
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)
After the dismal box office of The Next Generation, the franchise was shelved until it could be resurrected with the 2003 remake. It brought some original elements to the TCM story, and then built on that even more when it was followed up with a prequel. The remake does a great job creating an atmosphere of desolation, desperation, and dread against the backdrop of the hot Texas sun. It also contains some really great set pieces and surprising emotional bits. But, after the prequel failed to pull in a substantial take at the box office, the franchise went dormant once again.
The first reboot timeline (TCMs 1, 7, 8)
- The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
- Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013)
- Leatherface (2017)
The franchise came back to life with Texas Chainsaw 3D, which not only ignored the remake timeline, but pulled a Halloween: H20 by presenting itself as a direct sequel to the original and disregarding all that came after it. Four years later, Leatherface came along, with the makers claiming it belonged to this new continuity as well. Although, seeing as how it was a prequel to the original TCM, it didn’t need to adhere to anything that’s come before it – so you could just as easily say it belonged to any other timeline…or none at all. So, there’s that.
The second reboot timeline (TCMs 1,9)
- The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
- Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)
In Texas Chainsaw Massacre, we’re given lots of mentions of the original and not much else. And in one telling scene, we’re shown a photo that indicates that Leatherface has been at his current residence, a dilapidated orphanage, since 1975. Which would’ve been a year after the events of the first film and well before any off the sequels took place.
Producer Fede Alvarez has theorized that Leatherface could’ve have come and gone from the orphanage over the years and therefore, participated in the events depicted in one or more of the original sequels, but I think that’s a bit of a stretch and ultimately, just his theory.
However, in the film, original final girl (and current Texas Ranger) Sally Hardesty states that she hasn’t been able to track Leatherface down for almost 50 years. This does lend itself to the idea of Leatherface being sent off to go into hiding with various family members across the state over the years (as depicted in TCMs 2-4), whenever Hardesty was getting close to sniffing him out (because if he had been holed up in that orphanage this whole time and she still couldn’t find him, then she might need to reassess if this whole “Texas Ranger” path was truly meant for her or not).
But that’s still all just theories and possibilities and I’m sticking with this version of the timeline, based on what we’re shown in the film, until told otherwise (which, seeing as we’re talking about The Texas Chainsaw Massacre here, will probably be in the very next installment, whatever form that may take).
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