Ep 153 - TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE Sequels, Prequels, Remakes, and Reboots!

THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 (1986) d. Tobe Hooper (USA)
LEATHERFACE: TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE III (1990) d. Jeff Burr (USA)
TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE NEXT GENERATION (1995) d. Kim Henkel (USA)
THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (2003) d. Marcus Nispel (USA)
THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE BEGINNING (2006) d. Jonathan Liebesman (USA)
TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D (2013) d. John Lussenhop (USA)
LEATHERFACE (2017) d. Alexandre Bustillo/Julien Maury (USA)
TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (2022) d. David Blue Garcia (USA)

Tonight, we're firing up our collective McCullochs and taking a trip through one of the most bizarre and tangled family trees in horror history: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre franchise.

As fans know, Tobe Hooper's classic 1974 film eventually yielded an entire franchise—one filled with sequels, prequels, remakes, reboots, retcons, and enough continuity headaches to make both the Sawyer AND the Hewitt families scramble for their handy almanacs.

Over the next 20 years, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986), Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990), and Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1995) each took the series in wildly different directions. Then came the Platinum Dunes era with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) and its prequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006), introducing the franchise to a new generation, and kicking off the remake spree of the early 2000s.

As if things weren't complicated enough, the timeline was rebooted again in 2013 with Texas Chainsaw 3D, which ignored the other films and positioned itself as a direct follow-up to the 1974 original. That was followed by Leatherface (2017), an origin story exploring the character's early years, and finally Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022), another legacy sequel that revisited the events (and characters) of the original movie while carving out its own slice of history and social commentary.

Now, let's be honest—not every TCM entry is a masterpiece. Some are beloved, some are controversial, and some have inspired horror fans to endlessly argue over where they fit into the timeline. But that's part of the fun. Every film, regardless of its reputation, is an attempt to expand the mythology of one of cinema's most iconic creations.

So fill your BBQ plate and join AC and his buzz-worthy panel of guests (Dan Caffrey, Chelsea David, Jonathon Lucas, Ryan Olson, Tim Palace) as we explore the sequels, prequels, remakes, and reboots that transformed a single low-budget masterpiece into the genre's most enduring, frustrating, and fascinating franchises!
---------------------------------------------------
DAN CAFFREY is a Brooklyn-based playwright, screenwriter, podcaster, and lifelong horror fan Caffrey currently co-hosts The Losers' Club: A Stephen King Podcast and Halloweenies: A Horror Franchise Podcast, both on Bloody Disgusting's podcast network, Bloody FM. He received his MFA In Playwriting from UT Austin and has also written as a cultural critic for The A.V. Club, Consequence, Pitchfork, Vox, and elsewhere. His favorite horror movie is Halloween. His favorite movie-movie is also Halloween. (https://www.dancaffreywrites.com/)

CHELSEA DAVID is an actor, budding mental health professional, and spicy food eater, deeply obsessed with all things horror. A Louisiana native and former Chicagoan of a decade, she can be found bouncing around the country at any given moment. You'll hear her laugh before you see her. 

JONATHON LUCAS is a horror fiend from Australia whose love for the genre predates his brain's ability to form memories. He contributed the essay for At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul for Hidden Horror.

RYAN OLSON (aka S. Ravenlord of The Cold Beyond music group) is the owner of Deadspeak Design and Night World Records, as well as a member of the Synapse Films street team and a regular on the Synapse Films podcast. His work has been featured in Liquid Cheese, Horrorhound, & Evilspeak Magazines.

TIM PALACE is a lifelong Chicago-based genre fan with a particular devotion to the horrific. A committed collector of physical media, Tim has amassed close to 13,000 titles he's excited to share with his new terror tyke Oliver.
---------------------------------------------------------
Keep Searching, Keep Exploring, and, most of all, Keep Sharing the Scare!