10 Horror Movie Franchises That Went Out With A Whimper

2. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise is a rare beast, in how it's gone out with a whimper on more than one occasion.

Of course, Tobe Hooper's 1974 Texas Chain Saw Massacre is an all-timer of not just the horror genre, but of cinema, period. That film would also prove to be the launching point for an initial four-movie story arc, taking in 1986's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, 1990's Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, and 1995's Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation.

While the response to TCM 2 was mixed and TCM3 was a disappointment, it was The Next Generation that ultimately tanked the franchise. Nowadays famous for featuring Matthew McConaughey and Renee Zellweger in early roles, that fourth picture was a proper stinker which sucked on so many levels; not least in how it kept Leatherface on the sidelines for so much of its runtime, with McConaughey's villainous Vilmer taking centre-stage.

Since then, the timeline of Marcus Nispel's impressive 2003 TCM reboot was soured by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, the timeline of 2013's dull Texas Chainsaw 3D went out with a whimper with 2017's awful Leatherface prequel, and the most recent attempt to bring the IP back to life - 2022's Texas Chainsaw Massacre - is in the conversation for the worst entry in the entire franchise.

So yeah, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise has essentially been brought to a disappointing end on four different occasions.

Authored by Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.

Posted On: 18th Jan 2024