Slasher movies continue to reign supreme. Two long-running franchises have released their own respective revival films within the past several years: Halloween and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Both movies lean into their histories, reflecting the real-world passage of time since their original films while ignoring all the subsequent sequels and reboots that followed in the interim. There is also a thematic similarity between the two revival films, with the final survivor of each franchise's initial installment resurfacing for revenge against the serial killer that ruined both of their lives.
With both movies getting horror fans buzzing in the wake of the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre's release on Netflix and Halloween Ends in the midst of production, here's which horror legacy sequel truly rules the roost: 2018's Halloween or 2022's Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
After years of critically maligned entries, Halloween 2018 boasts an impressive 79 percent critics' score on review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, second only to the 1978 original film's 96 percent. Critics praised the back-to-the-basics approach, the stylish cinematography and the cast's performances, especially returning star Jamie Lee Curtis as haunted protagonist Laurie Strode.
Comparatively, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2022 has received a critics' score of 30 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, placing it behind the 1974 original film, its 1986 sequel and the 2003 reboot as the fourth highest-rated Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie on the site. CBR's own review of the film praised the cast and overall premise but criticized the lack of engaging, coherent direction for the story and its characters.
Matching its critical acclaim, Halloween 2018 is the highest-grossing film in the franchise, earning over $255 million at the worldwide box office on a reported production budget of $10 million. This has led Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions to commission two direct sequels to the film, with 2021's Halloween Kills earning over $131 million, even with a simultaneous streaming release on Peacock.
It is a bit unfair to compare Halloween 2018 and Texas Chainsaw Massacre in this regard, with Texas Chainsaw Massacre foregoing theatrical distribution for a Netflix release. With that in mind, director David Blue Garcia has expressed interest in helming a potential sequel should Legendary Entertainment be open to moving forward with a cinematic follow-up, though Halloween quickly saw sequel plans solidly materialize.
The big thing that Texas Chainsaw Massacre has going for it, true to its title and reputation, is being the more graphically violent film over Halloween 2018. This isn't to say that Halloween isn't a gruesome film in its own right, with The Shape smashing a man's head like a rotten jack-o'lantern and mercilessly moving from house to house in Haddonfield, indiscriminately killing anyone he chooses, but Leatherface brings the blood and fury.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre goes big on the gore, with Leatherface killing his victims as brutal as possible, breaking bones, crushing skulls and slicing and dicing like no time has passed at all. As hinted in the trailer, Leatherface secures a bigger on-screen body count than The Shape does in Halloween 2018 and always with blood-soaked aplomb reminding audiences that Leatherface hasn't lost a step in his old age.
While Texas Chainsaw Massacre fans may appreciate seeing Leatherface back in action and pitted against Sally Hardesty, the one who got away, the movie hasn't quite struck the same chord as Halloween 2018 and its reignited feud between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode. The Halloween franchise was completely reinvigorated by the revival film, whereas Texas Chainsaw Massacre has yet to show any serious signs of a continued resurgence.
As a whole, Halloween has always enjoyed a more consistent audience and critical reception than Texas Chainsaw Massacre, with this success translating to a more robust franchise output. Halloween has released twelve films across 44 years compared to Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which has released nine over the course of 48 years. Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2022, unfortunately, isn't likely to give the franchise substantial new life while the success of Halloween 2018 continues to be felt four years later.
To choose a winner for yourself, Texas Chainsaw Massacre is streaming on Netflix now.
Source: Trendz OH
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