Every Texas Chainsaw Massacre Movie Ranked Worst To Best

3. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 Stretch Leatherface
New Line Cinema

Just hearing the word remake, reboot, requel, reimagining or reimaging, is enough to send a shiver down the spine of many a horror hound. Historically, most attempts to give a new coat of paint to a previously successful idea end in disaster.

While many were expecting to be disappointed by Marcus Nispel's 2003 Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot, the film was surprisingly solid. Sure, it had given itself an impossible task in trying to live up to Tobe Hooper's 1974 movie, but Nispel's feature - much like the director's Friday the 13th reboot - stands as one of the better do-overs of the past 20 years.

There was a smidge too much gore for some - especially when compared to the '74 film - but TCM 2003 managed to nicely pay tribute to the original movie, while bringing something a little different to the table. In terms of "different", this reboot also stood out from a lot of its contemporaries for the fact that it evoked a darker, grimier feel at a time when a lot of horrors were more vibrant in terms of their colour tones.

With a nice take on the classic Leatherface look, some expert scenery-chewing from R. Lee Ermey, and a strong performance from central protagonist Jessica Biel, this reboot was far better than anyone expected.

Senior Writer
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 dayjob, 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, Jamie Hayer, 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.