‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ movie timeline fully explained
By Jeremy Dick
Photo via New Line
5. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
One could make the argument that every sequel in this series has been a reboot. The only one you can actually link to the original is the second film, but even then, it’s kind of a stretch. Parts 3 and 4 were definitely reboots, though at that time, they were still pretending to be sequels — nobody was throwing that word “reboot” around just yet.
By 2003, however, the TCM franchise finally embraced its natural tendency to reboot itself. The 2003 reboot completely disregards every previous film in the series, starting completely fresh with a new canon. This time, a new group of five youths wind up at Leatherface’s family farm, with all but one winding up butchered at the hands of the family. The film lists the date of this story as taking place on August 18, 1973.
While the word “reboot” makes many horror fans sigh, it was definitely necessary for this franchise. You know, considering any sense of continuity by this point had been totally destroyed. This film embraces the idea of presenting its own self-contained story, and it works out well as this is actually a pretty good movie.
Of course, the con for this reboot being successful was that it ushered in a flood of other horror movie remakes along with it. And let’s just say the results vary quite a bit.