Family values have gone to hell--I couldn't have said it better!

There comes a time in any horror series or any series for this matter, a sequel is bound to happen. Some are rarely successful while most of them are utter failures. This is definitely the case for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series. None of them are excellent(so many think) as the original or worth watching for that matter. However, I still believe not none of the entries are worse than Next Generation. The story goes like this: a group of prom kids get lost on a dirt road and crashes--they try to find help, but their curious mindless brains gets them in deep, deep trouble. They are now running for their lives as the Chainsaw Killer(Leatherface) is after them.

By looking at the damn DVD cover, you can tell it's a low budget film and a movie that relies on the powerhouse cast featuring Renee Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey. The film kind of succeeds with those two powerhouse actors, but the overall value of the film is sadly awful. I really think and many WILL think this is the worst entry in the whole series. First, the cast is a mixed bag. Renee and Matthew do real good; Matthew is the Satanic guy and he does the role real good and Renee is fragile at first, but she becomes a real firecracker later on. Great job on those two. The rest is just plain awful that includes Tonie Perensky, Joe Stevens, Lisa Newmyer, Tyler Cone and John Harrison. Every single one of these actors/actresses were awful. The emotions were great when the whole torture began, but other than that, it shut my ears just from listening them talk!

The main thing wrong with this film and I think many will agree with me on this: the movie goes way over the top to bring the whole madness, mayhem and torture [that the original brought successfully] that it makes you literally go out of your mind and it's in a bad way. This whole torturing and making the victims scream endlessly even becomes stupid a lot in the movie just because the way it is executed and brought up will make you laugh and say, Why the hell is that going on?!. Also, some scenes could have been cut out because of this stupidity. Why the hell would a person run up on the roof while Leatherface chases them with a chainsaw AND then climbing up the antenna? Believe me, a lot of stupidity is seen in this film and the movie is badly hurt by it.

Written and directed by Kim Henkel, Next Generation's awful mess that it creates for the whole series is only to be blamed by her. The script, yeah, it's filled with stupidity. She did write some good scenes(girl swinging and her huge Scream Queen role) while most of them were awful. Once again, a victim running on the roof from Leatherface. What the hell? Also, NO ONE in this film is killed by a chainsaw and did you know that this Leatherface dresses like a woman and puts on lipstick? It's a real stupid movie, folks. I can't stress it enough. Anyone who truly loves this film, must have something wrong with their head. The directing by Kim isn't half bad; she captures some great angles and the fog effect is real creepy and effective. This Leatherface's mask is THE WORST of the series--it's not scary or real looking and why the hell does he dress like a woman and wear make-up? I'm not saying it's the greatest directing, but it was pretty good for this film.

So what exactly is saving this film from a one star rating? Well, the action scenes were tense and kind of action packed. Lots of screaming/running and physically action("swing girl swing!"). The movie isn't scary as it should have been, but I did find "some" good scares or at least gasps. The acting by Zellweger and McConaughey was really good. Thats basically it. I don't think it's THE WORST film ever because I HAVE seen some of the worst. I did kind of enjoy this entry to the series.

"Next Generation" may think it brought the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series to the next generation, but it didn't. It only brought it down from succeeding. The film has many faults--most of the acting is horrible, the movie pushes the envelope too far with it's mayhem and torture being executed in a stupid way, gore is not here and the script is filled with stupidity. The film, believe it or not, did have some good qualities--the action was tense and physically rough, the movie was creepy at times and the two main actors did a great job in their roles. Even though I did not literally hate this sequel, I still think NO ONE should see this. You'll probably go crazy after watching this or staring in shock on why the hell was this even created or thought of!

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Next Generation Information:
Genre: Horror
Year: 1995 or somewhere around there
Running time: 87 minutes
Rating: R for Demented Mayhem and Torture and for Strong Language