The Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies have been a cornerstone of horror cinema since Tobe Hooper’s groundbreaking original in 1974. Over the decades, the series has evolved, but one constant has remained: the brutal, often shocking kills that have become somewhat of a trademark, fitting as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was inspired by a true story. From the iconic Leatherface to the various incarnations of his twisted family, the franchise has continually pushed the boundaries of violence in horror.
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Since its inception, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise spawned numerous sequels, remakes, and reboots, each adding a different flavor to the established formula. The series has explored themes of family, cannibalism, and the dark underbelly of rural America, all while maintaining its reputation for intense visceral horror. Despite changes in style and tone, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remains synonymous with extreme cinema, influencing countless horror films, filmmakers, and is still the ultimate summer horror movie.
10 The Death of Barry
Barry’s Brutal Demise At The Hands of Leatherface
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The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation harkens back to the original film’s hammer scene with this kill. The use of a blunt instrument instead of the iconic chainsaw mirrors Kirk’s death and Leatherface’s first kill on screen, a moment of visceral horror that grounds the 1994 horror film. All while still giving audiences the brutal realism that made the first film so effective as well as an early Matthew McConaughey role to look out for.
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Therefore, Barry’s Death stands out in the franchise’s fourth installment, which often veers into surreal territory. This illustrates that the series can maintain its core identity while exploring new directions. This scene’s impact lies in its ability to shock the audience, even within a film series known for extreme violence.
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9 Melody’s End
Leatherface Gets The Last Laugh
In the climactic scene of the 2022 film Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Melody meets her end at Leatherface’s hands in a brutal chainsaw attack. The personal nature of this kill, with Melody being the sister of the final girl, adds emotional weight to the violence. This death demonstrates how the franchise finds new ways to shock audiences, serving as both a callback to its roots and a modern interpretation of its violence.
This death sequence proves that after nearly fifty years, the franchise can still deliver impactful kills that resonate with audiences. The scene’s execution balances nostalgic elements with contemporary filming techniques, providing a fitting example of how the series maintains its core identity while adapting to modern horror conventions.
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8 The Face-Peeling Scene
A Young Leatherface’s First Face Removal Marks His Transformation
In a rare moment of character development, this pivotal scene from 2006’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning provides insight into the origins of one of cinema’s most enduring villains. As Chrissie hides, she witnesses Leatherface performing his first face removal on his victim. The act of face-peeling, always implied but never shown in such detail, is presented in this prequel as a transformative moment that finally shows what Leatherface does to his victims.
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By focusing on this moment where Leatherface creates his first mask, it’s not just a moment of shocking torture but also provides a disturbing rationale for his actions. It’s a scene where the franchise attempts to add depth to its lore, perhaps marking a shift to a more character-driven approach to the series, where Leatherface had previously been a more straightforward villain.
7 The Party Bus Carnage
Leatherface’s Bloody Attack On a Bus Full of Influencers
Texas Chainsaw Massacre features Leatherface attacking a party bus full of influencers, with Dauber meeting a particularly gruesome end by being bisected during an attempted livestream. This massacre further strengthens the series’ commitment to staying current while bringing new ways to explore spectacular violence. The slaughter of these social media-obsessed victims acts as a critique of modern culture, though the claustrophobic violence on the bus reminds viewers of the franchise’s roots.
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The juxtaposition of modern technology with Leatherface’s brutal, low-tech approach creates a striking contrast. The scene successfully bridges the gap between traditional chainsaw violence and contemporary social commentary, demonstrating how the franchise continues to adapt while maintaining its essential brutality.
6 Mayor Hartman’s Meat Grinder Execution
Industrial Death in Texas Chainsaw 3D
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Texas Chainsaw 3D delivers one of the franchise’s most inventive deaths as Leatherface drags Mayor Hartman into an industrial meat grinder. This kill represents the series’ most direct fusion of Leatherface’s slaughterhouse background with his murderous tendencies. The industrial setting and method of execution provide a fitting end for one of the franchise’s more complex antagonists, while showcasing how the series continued to find creative ways to dispatch victims.
Gunnar Hansen, the original Leatherface, returned to the franchise in Texas Chainsaw 3D for the first time since the 1974 original.
The scene’s graphic nature, enhanced by modern special effects and 3D technology, demonstrates how the franchise continued to evolve its presentation of violence. Hartman’s death also serves as a form of poetic justice within the film’s narrative, adding layers of meaning to what could have been a simple gore sequence.
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5 Kemper’s Sledgehammer Death
The Remake’s First Victim
The 2003 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake lands the franchise on the list of horror movies that have had multiple remakes. It establishes its brutal credentials when Kemper investigates the Hewitt house, only to be suddenly killed by Leatherface with a devastating sledgehammer blow. As the first kill in the film, it pays homage to the original’s hammer deaths while amping up the brutality for modern audiences. The scene sets up the remake’s more graphic approach to violence while maintaining the franchise’s tradition of tool-based kills.
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This death serves as a statement of intent for the remake, showing audiences that while it respects the original’s methods, it won’t shy away from explicit violence. Kemper’s death also subverts audience expectations by eliminating a character set up as a potential protagonist, demonstrating that no one is safe in this new iteration.
4 The Van Massacre
Leatherface’s Attack On The Yuppies In Their Car
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The opening scene from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 shows Leatherface attacking two yuppies in their moving vehicle, using his chainsaw to decapitate one while the other dies in the crash. Released in 1986, twelve years after the original, this kill marks a significant shift in the franchise’s tone. It embraces a more overtly graphic and darkly humorous approach to violence showcases one of horror cinema’s most likable villains in Leatherface, with the expected relentlessness and brutality fans expected, while highlighting the sequel’s increased budget, far more significant than its $80,000 original.
The choice of victims and the over-the-top nature of the attack suggest a satirical edge that led to the franchise’s change of direction. This resulted from the nature of horror in the 1980s, which saw an era of horror films blending extreme violence with black comedy. The franchise was part of this evolution, and this spectacular opening kill set the tone for what would come next.
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3 Andy’s Death by a Friend
Erin Mercy Kills After Leatherface Keeps His Victim Alive
Andy’s is another death in the remake that is one of the franchise’s most distinctive kills because of its tragic conclusion. After Leatherface hangs him on meat hooks and partially bisects him with a chainsaw, Andy doesn’t die immediately. Instead, he’s left suffering until he begs his friend Erin to end his life. This moment introduces a moral complexity absent from the franchise’s typically straightforward murders.
This scene gains its power by forcing Erin to become an active participant in her friend’s death. Where previous kills were straightforward acts of violence by Leatherface or other antagonists, this one blurs the line between murder and mercy. The remake, in this moment, adds a level of complexity that perhaps audiences at the time were not expecting.
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2 Franklin’s Chainsaw Death
The First Chainsaw Kill of the Franchise
In the 1974 original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Franklin meets his end as Leatherface emerges from the darkness, using his chainsaw for the first time on-screen to kill Sally’s wheelchair-bound brother. The sequence gains additional impact through its nighttime setting, with Sally forced to witness her brother’s brutal murder. This moment introduces the franchise’s signature weapon while delivering one of its most emotionally devastating scenes.
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The death of Sally’s brother serves as the catalyst for her transformation into the Final Girl, a horror trope the original film helped establish. The scene’s impact comes not just from its violence but from its emotional weight – forcing Sally to witness her brother’s brutal murder while establishing the hopeless situation she finds herself in.
1 Leatherface’s Hammer Strike
Kirk’s Sudden And Shocking Death
This kill from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre shocked audiences as Kirk enters the house only to be suddenly struck down with a hammer blow to the head. Before the iconic chainsaw even appeared, there was a murder. Coming out of nowhere, Leatherface dispatches Kirk as he might with the other animals at the slaughterhouse in a now iconic shot of the house’s hallway. Unlike the slashers or horror films before The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, the lack of music or foreshadowing in the build-up to this moment makes it so unsettling.
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Kirk’s death exemplifies the 1974 movie’s approach to terror. Its abruptness sets the tone for the relentless violence that follows, demonstrating the film’s timeless ability to create intense fear without relying on elaborate CGI or graphic gore. Instead, it focuses on the unexpected ways devastating violence can come. It’s a theme that became central to the franchise’s identity as more victims were tormented by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre‘s Sawyer family.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a multimedia franchise that began with Tobe Hooper’s 1974 horror film, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. After the film’s initial release, there were a total of eight additional films added to the franchise, as well as comic books from various publishers, including Avatar Press and Wildstorm Comics. In 2023, the video game The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was released on PlayStation 4/5, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox X/S.
Created by Tobe Hooper , Kim Henkel First Film Texas Chain Saw Massacre Latest Film Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022) Cast Marilyn Burns , Gunnar Hansen , Paul A. Partain , Edwin Neal , Jim Siedow , Dennis Hopper , Caroline Williams , Bill Moseley , Bill Johnson , Viggo Mortensen , William Butler , Renée Zellweger , Matthew McConaughey , Jessica Biel , Jonathan Tucker , Jordana Brewster , Taylor Handley , Alexandra Daddario , Dan Yeager , Stephen Dorff , Lili Taylor , Olwen Fouéré , Sarah Yarkin , Elsie Fisher , Mark Burnham Video Game(s) The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Expand
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