Commentary - Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation - 1995 - Matthew McConaughey

The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, later released as Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, is a 1995 American black comedy slasher film[ written, co-produced, and directed by Kim Henkel in his directorial debut,and starring Renée Zellweger, Matthew McConaughey, and Robert Jacks. It is the fourth installment in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre film series. The plot follows four teenagers who encounter Leatherface and his murderous family in backwoods Texas on the night of their prom. It features cameo appearances from Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, and John Dugan, all stars of the original film.

Henkel, who also wrote the screenplay for the 1974 original film, developed The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre with producer Robert Kuhn, intending to create a film closer to the source material, but with exaggerated characters that serve as caricatures of American youth. Henkel's screenplay introduces a subplot involving a secret society that employs Leatherface and his family to torment victims in an effort to invoke a transcendent spiritual experience. Principal photography took place on location in rural areas in Bastrop and Pflugerville, Texas, in 1994, with a largely Austin-based cast and crew.

The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre premiered at South by Southwest on March 12, 1995, and received a limited test market release in the United States by CFP Distribution on September 22. The following year, Columbia TriStar Pictures acquired distribution rights for both theatrical engagements as well as home media. The studio proceeded to re-edit the film and re-title it Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, but its theatrical release remained delayed through early 1997. This resulted in legal disputes between the filmmakers and the studio, with Henkel and Kuhn alleging that Columbia TriStar deliberately withheld the film following the rising successes of its stars, Zellweger and McConaughey.