Box office During the film's original theatrical run beginning in September 1995, it earned $28,235 during its opening weekend across 27 theaters, and went on to gross a total of $44,272 by the conclusion of its theatrical exhibition. The 1997 revised version of the film (as
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation) earned $53,111 on 23 screens between August 29 and September 1, 1997, ranking number 23 at the U.S.
box office. After 17 weeks of domestic distribution, the film concluded its second theatrical run with total earnings of $141,626. , it is the poorest-performing film in
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise.
Critical response The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre received mixed to negative reviews from film critics.
Initial reaction Reviewing the film after its screening at the
Boston Film Festival in 1995, Betsy Sherman of
The Boston Globe described it as a "shameless rehash" of the original, adding: "Henkel's idea of an imaginative stroke is to put [Leatherface] in red lipstick and black widow drag. No thanks,
Julie Newmar." Natasha Kassulke of the
Wisconsin State Journal was similarly unimpressed by the film, feeling its dark comedy was poorly executed, as well as criticizing it for its lack of gore. Alternately, critic
Joe Bob Briggs championed the film upon its South by Southwest screening, referring to it as "a flick so terrifying and brilliant that it makes the other two
Chainsaw sequels seem like '
After-School Specials'" and declared it the best horror film of the 1990s.
Joe Leydon of
Variety wrote that the film "manages the difficult feat of being genuinely scary and sharply self-satirical all at once... it is adept at keeping its audience in a constant state of jumpiness." He also praised cinematographer Levie Isaacks' camerawork,
Sandra Adair's editing, and Deborah Pastor's production design for lending the film the "feel of a wide-awake nightmare," as well as lauding Zellweger's lead performance, calling her "the most formidable
scream queen since
Jamie Lee Curtis went legit." He went on to declare that director Henkel "has probably come as close as anyone could to putting a nightmare on film."
The Atlanta Journals Steve Murray similarly praised the film's comedic tone, observing that "the heart of the film is its raucous homicidal family, a comically feuding group so dysfunctional they sometimes forget to get on with the job of slaughter," and awarding the film a two and a half out of four-star rating.
Re-release reviews Upon the film's 1997 release, many of the critical reviews focused on the lead performances of Zellweger and McConaughey, who had garnered significant fame in the interim.
Janet Maslin of
The New York Times wrote: "It was way back in 1995 that this schlocky horror farce, then known as
Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, first appeared with the unknown actors Matthew McConaughey and Renee Zellweger in starring roles. But even in a film whose principal props include litter, old pizza slices and a black plastic trash bag, it's clear that these two were going places." Rob Patterson of the
Austin American-Statesman awarded the film three out of four stars and praised the performances, noting: "Everyone here certainly pushes at the ceiling of near-absurdity, yet
The Next Generation never quite goes over the top." Terry Lawson of the
Detroit Free Press similarly championed the lead performances of Zellweger and McConaughey, but expressed disappointment in the "
men in black" subplot and that writer-director Henkel "turns poor Leatherface into a whimpering drag queen." The
New York Daily News also noted that "Zellweger impresses in her strenuous, scream-driven turn as Jenny," as well as praising the performances of McConaughey and Tonie Perenski. Joe Leydon, who previously reviewed the film during its 1995 release for
Variety, was critical of the revised cut of the film, specifically its elimination of the opening sequence in which Jenny is abused by her stepfather, describing it as "a pity, because, as the original version of the film makes clear, after Jenny’s altercations with sexual predators in her own home, it would take something a lot more formidable than some masked doofus with a chain saw to keep her intimidated for long." while
Owen Gleiberman wrote in
Entertainment Weekly that it "recapitulates the absurdist tabloid-redneck comedy of the great, original
Chainsaw without a hint of its primal terror," and likened McConaughey's performance to "the worst" of
Dennis Hopper and
Woody Harrelson. Margaret McGurk of
The Cincinnati Enquirer also remarked the film's muddled narrative, writing: "The script, such as it is, establishes a new benchmark for incoherence. Something about some teens who wander away on prom night and run up against a family of psycho-cannibal-thrill-killers... Of course, there is no point to any of it, either the humor or the creepy (though relatively bloodless) mayhem—except maybe the permanent embarrassment of poor Matthew [McConaughey] and Renée [Zellweger]." John Anderson of the
Los Angeles Times wrote that the film was "neither innovative enough nor scary enough nor funny enough to sustain itself" and described it as the kind that "
Wes Craven's
Scream has now rendered virtually defunct... What we want from
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation is a giddy mix of gruesome horror and
campy humor. What we get is less massacre than mess."
The Hollywood Reporters Dave Hunter similarly noted the film as being "blackly comic and extreme,"
The Ann Arbor News echoed this sentiment, describing it as "a refreshingly berserk piece of work." Marjorie Baumgarten of
The Austin Chronicle gave the film a favorable review, stating: "Writer-director Kim Henkel penned the original
Chainsaw and this effort shows that he still has a felicitous grasp of the things that cause us to shudder in dread." The
Fort Worth Star-Telegrams Michael H. Price awarded the film a favorable three out of five star-rating, commending Henkel for sustaining "a mood of raw anxiety throughout... [his] mixture of scares and self-satire is rich."
Accolades ==Analysis==