13 Best Movies From Otherwise Terrible Franchises
6. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Texas Chainsaw Massacre Franchise
Other Films: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003 remake), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, Texas Chainsaw 3D and Leatherface.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is an absolutely extraordinary horror film. A terrifying, superbly-made and borderline harrowing slasher flick, it really does feel like a feature-length nightmare and once it ends it's genuinely a relief. Alas, because this was so good and so instantly iconic, we got a franchise.
The vast majority of horror franchises have only one good movie and this series is no exception.
The original's director Tobe Hooper actually kicked the sequels off himself with 1986's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, an awful horror comedy which was followed by two more underwhelming sequels in the 1990s.
In the 2000s, the original got the remake treatment; as you'd expect, the remake sucked and was then followed by an even worse prequel. A terrible direct sequel to the original (which ignored the other sequels) was later released and that was followed by yet another pointless prequel.
It's time for Leatherface to hang up the chainsaw for good.