The "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" timeline is a mess — here's how to watch the movies in order Declan GallagherSeptember 21, 2025 at 10:00 PM 0 Cannon Films/Courtesy Everett; Yana Blajeva/Courtesy of Netflix; LMPC via Getty The 'Texas Chainsaw' bigscreen legacy, from 1974 (right) to 2022 (center) One of...
- - The "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" timeline is a mess — here's how to watch the movies in order
Declan GallagherSeptember 21, 2025 at 10:00 PM
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Cannon Films/Courtesy Everett; Yana Blajeva/Courtesy of Netflix; LMPC via Getty
The 'Texas Chainsaw' big-screen legacy, from 1974 (right) to 2022 (center)
One of the most famous and feared slashers villains, Leatherface boasts an enviable nine films in one of horror cinema's top franchises. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre series kicked off in 1974 with Tobe Hooper's raw, harrowing sensory assault, the sort of which had never been unleashed upon audiences. It remains one of the most well-regarded films of the genre, and with good reason.
The same cannot exactly be said for the eight subsequent franchise installments, a motley group of sequels, prequels, reboots, remakes, and legacy sequels that have muddied the continuity. That said, even the lesser sequels are often entertaining, and it's always nice to catch up with our old pal Leatherface.
Here's how you can watch all nine films in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise in order.
01 of 09
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
LMPC via Getty
Teri McMinn in the original 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'
Oooh, what a title!
Hooper's roaring horror epic set the template for the slasher boom with its story of a group of teens — including Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) and her kvetching, wheelchair-bound brother Franklin (Paul A. Partain) — waylaid on the road by a deranged hitchhiker. They find even less hospitable company at the abandoned Sawyer animal factory, where Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) and his trusty chainsaw are crafting a slap-up dinner for grandpa (John Dugan) and the rest of the perverse brood.
A genre classic and an endurance test of the highest rank, this remains the series' most accomplished (and most terrifying) chapter. It's also one of the most convincing pro-vegetarian films you're likely to see. PETA even named it on its Top 10 Movies to Make You Go Meatless.
Where to watch The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: Netflix
02 of 09
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 (1986)
Cannon Films/Courtesy Everett
Dennis Hopper unleashes vengeance in 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2'
Hooper's belated follow-up, produced by those geniuses at Cannon, finds Leatherface and his brother, Chop Top (Bill Moseley), breaking into a radio station and kidnapping nighttime disc jockey Stretch (Caroline Williams). Her path crosses with Lt. Lefty Enright (Dennis Hopper), Sally and Franklin's uncle who has spent the last 12 years searching for their tormentors.
This self-aware sequel, for better and for worse, ups the gore quotient to 11, especially in the turbo-charged finale. If you thought Marilyn did a lot of screaming in the original, get ready for Williams' banshee wails during Part 2's climax.
Where to watch The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2: Tubi
03 of 09
Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990)
New Line Cinema
There's our boy: Leatherface in the series' third installment
Jeff Burr directed this threequel, which unfortunately removes the franchise's unique baroqueness. Despite a committed Viggo Mortensen, playing one of the murderous Sawyer clan, this is the most cookie-cutter of the Chainsaw movies.
A pair of yuppies, Michelle (Kate Hodge) and Ryan (William Butler), get lost in the woods and end up pursued by Leatherface (a terminally unimposing R.A. Mihailoff). They join forces with another stranded traveler (Ken Foree, the only sign of life) and do a lot of running around in dark woods while characters meet their demises off-screen.
Where to watch Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III: Amazon Prime (to rent)
04 of 09
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1995)
New Line Cinema/Courtesy Everett
Future Oscar winners Matthew McConaughey and Renee Zellweger in 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation'
Original Massacre writer Kim Henkel returned to write and direct this peculiar, extremely controversial, and subversive fourth installment. After their prom goes awry, Jenny (Renee Zellweger) and her pals get lost in the woods and are terrorized by the appropriately named Slaughter family — namely, the unhinged Vilmer (Matthew McConaughey), preppy realtor Darla (Toni Perensky), and, of course, Leatherface (Robert Jacks).
The Next Generation is divisive among fans but has aged strangely well, predating the legacy sequel craze by decades (Marilyn Burns' Sally briefly returns). Here, Henkel leans into the inherent perversity that lingered in the sequels but has rarely been effectively employed since Hooper's original.
Where to watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation: Amazon Prime (to rent)
05 of 09
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
Van Redin
Jessica Biel helped reignite the franchise in this 2003 remake
This joyless, crass Platinum Dunes remake (directed by Marcus Nispel) regurgitates the original's plot with additional gore but without any of the sharp wit. Jessica Biel and her friends get lost on the road and run afoul of Leatherface (Andrew Bryniarski) and the maniacal Sheriff Hoyt (R. Lee Ermey, effectively creepy).
It's all terribly rote and pretty ugly, with lots of proto-torture porn suffering and a leery eye toward its female characters, whose rear ends feature more prominently than their faces.
Where to watch The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Amazon Prime (to rent)
06 of 09
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)
Van Redin/New Line
Jordana Brewester in 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning'
A prequel to the 2003 remake, if you can wrap your head around that. Two brothers (Matt Bomer, Taylor Handley) head into the country with their gals (Jordana Brewster, Diora Baird) for one last good time before (supposedly) enlisting for Vietnam. Of course, they run into Leatherface and Sheriff Hoyt, who is possibly even more unhinged in his younger years.
The Beginning is an odd beast. Directed by Jonathan Liebesman, later of Battle: Los Angeles (2011) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), it's just as crude as its immediate predecessor but more genuinely unnerving, deploying its gore with an exuberant spirit reminiscent of peak video nasties.
Where to watch The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning: Amazon Prime (to rent)
07 of 09
Texas Chainsaw (2013)
Justin Lubin/Lionsgate
Alexandra Daddario uncovers her dark family legacy in 'Texas Chainsaw'
Alexandra Daddario plays Heather, who discovers she hails from the Sawyer clan and sets off with her pals to claim an inheritance. Leatherface attacks, but the real villains turn out to be the townsfolk who persecuted the Sawyers after the original massacre. It culminates with Heather, having learned she's Leatherface's cousin after watching him dismember all her friends, tossing the slasher his chainsaw and imploring him to, "Do your thing, cuz," to the vengeful baddies.
Positioned as a direct follow-up to the original, this film makes absolutely no sense in terms of plot or timeline. To explain all the absurd inconsistencies would take years. Still, the movie is loony, briskly paced fun.
Where to watch Texas Chainsaw: Peacock
08 of 09
Leatherface (2017)
Simon Varsano/Lionsgate A trio of soon-to-be victims try to hide from you-know-who in 'Leatherface'
Accomplished French directors Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury (Inside) helmed this unnecessary origin story, which possesses none of the fun of their earlier work. Along with his sadistic compatriots, future-Leatherface Jedidiah Sawyer (Sam Strike) breaks out of a mental institution and cuts a bloody swath of chaos across the country. Meanwhile, a grizzled Texas Ranger (Stephen Dorff) pursues the bloodthirsty clan.
Leatherface adds nothing to the franchise, and for most of its runtime plays as an unforgivably shrieky Rob Zombie ripoff with sadistic hillbilly violence and way too much screen time devoted to sexual assault. Most scandalous of all, there's hardly any Leatherface.
Where to watch Leatherface: Peacock
09 of 09
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)
Yana Blajeva/Courtesy of Netflix
Elsie Fisher in the legacy sequel, 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre,' in 2022
Influencer Melody (Sarah Yarkin) and her sister Lila (Elsie Fisher), who recently survived a school shooting, head to an abandoned Texas town with friends, intending to turn it into a party hub. The town's sole occupant, Leatherface (Mark Burnham), isn't keen on these interlopers and their noisy party bus. The kids get an assist from Sally Hardesty herself (Olwen Fouéré), whom the film treats with such flippant disregard that the matter should be tried in court.
Netflix's sequel to the 1974 original disregards all other installments and was plagued by behind-the-scenes trouble, which is evident in the final product. Despite a handful of fun sequences (that party bus massacre!) in its brisk 83 minutes, the film falters unforgivably in underutilizing Sally. It smacks of remarkably bad taste, and not the good kind.
Where to watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Netflix
How to watch the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies in release order: -
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 (1986)
Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1995)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)
Texas Chainsaw (2013)
Leatherface (2017)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)
How to watch the original timeline in chronological order: -
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 (1986)
Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1995)
How to watch the reboot timeline in chronological order: -
Leatherface (2017)
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Texas Chainsaw (2013)
How to watch the remake timeline in chronological order: -
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
How to watch the legacy timeline in chronological order: -
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)
on Entertainment Weekly
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