Moreover, if it’s lousy, well, Netflix once again gets dinged as the modern-day “direct to Blockbuster. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, once the story really kicks into high gear, is brutal and unrelenting, putting Sally and her friends through torments no person should ever have to face, and killing them off one by one. I like the cast (Elsie Fisher, Jacob Latimore, etc.), but it’s another example of mistaking a “once was successful” singular horror hit for a viable IP. Halloween H20 is technically a new “part three.” Rob Zombie’s Halloween II is from a separate continuity. Even Halloween has only two “part two” in-continuity movies. This Netflix-bound flick is yet another “only a sequel to the first film” offering. So, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has nine installments, including a remake, a prequel to that remake, a prequel to the 1974 flick, three separate and disconnected sequels to the 1974 flick (1986, 20) and a threequel and fourquel about which no one wants to talk. Like last week’s He’s All That, it’s a clear “IP for the sake of IP” play that we usually see from the likes of Paramount+ ( Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies) or Peacock ( the $400 million Exorcist trilogy). In this case, it’s a long-running horror franchise that’s never really been all that popular. 3: JESSICA BIEL Erin in THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE ’03 When people say remakes suck, often more times than not you’ll slap them in the face with, Texas Chainsaw got it right. The glossy, commercial vibe of director Marcus Nispel and producer Michael Bay ’s 2003 remake. Produced by Fede Alvarez and directed by David Blue Garcia, it is another odd example of Netflix doing what its rivals now have to do to compete with the streaming giant. Part of the appeal of the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre is how gritty and brutal it is. The choice by Netflix to acquire what smells like damaged goods recalls not Legendary’s “was supposed to be in theaters” Enola Holmes but rather Paramount’s The Cloverfield Paradox. The franchise has been coasting on the reputation of its first installment for the last 30 years. Just because we’ve all heard of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Leatherface is an iconic onscreen boogie man doesn’t mean the IP is of any value. Predator and the “not sold as an Alien prequel” Prometheus. It’s not unlike the Alien series, where the only post- Aliens hits were the offshoot Alien Vs. However, $109 million (44%) of that came from the 2003 Platinum Dunes remake, which was “new to you” for much of its younger ticket buyers. The eight (!!) Texas Chainsaw movies, including a 2003 remake and a 2006 prequel to that remake, have earned $247 million worldwide on a combined budget of (very roughly) $49.5 million. Like a handful of other inexplicably ongoing franchises ( Highlander comes to mind), the only one which most folks admit to liking is the first film.
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