20 Movie Franchises That Carried On For Way Too Long

16. Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The Movies: Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986), Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990), The Next Generation (1994), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006), Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D (2013) Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was arguably the genesis of the slasher genre, and a hugely controversial movie at the time of its release, and is now regarded as a classic of the genre. 13 years later the sequel arrived, and jettisoned the foreboding nature and implied violence of the original to become more akin to a black comedy, and is now something of a cult favorite. Parts 3 and 4 followed in 1990 and 1994 respectively, with Part 3 acting as both a sequel and reboot, while The New Generation is a semi-sequel to the original, ignoring the events of the previous two movies. As well as confusing the mythology of the series, neither was very good. The 2003 Platinum Dunes remake gave Leatherface a name and a backstory for some reason and substituted genuine terror for generic gore, before making the sequel, 2006's The Beginning, a prequel. Still following? Finally, last year's Texas Chainsaw 3D ignored all of the other sequels and instead acted as a direct sequel to the 1974 original. And it was nothing short of awful. After seven movies of wildly veering tone, diminishing quality and incredibly convoluted timelines and mythology, I think it's time for Leatherface to hang up the mask, before the original's reputation is damaged any further. Though it might be a little late for that.