The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of the most prominent franchises in horror history. However, it's also one of the weirdest and wackiest. Confusing timelines, an ever-changing Leatherface, retcons galore, and even different cinematic styles per-film have made each of the eight movies completely different.
It's also created eight very different Leatherfaces. From different looks, different personalities, and even different actors portraying the famous horror villain. From his various masks to his peculiar behaviors, some films portrayed Leatherface as horrifying, others as odd, and a few made him seem downright silly. Here is every Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie, ranked by how scary Latherfeace is.
8 Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013)
Texas Chainsaw 3D was a sequel that intended to directly follow the 1974 original and retcon everything that came after. The problem was the 3D was an atrocious mess of a film, and Leatherface was a big part of the problem.
Aside from the whole plot issues that depict Leatherface as a deranged pet that needs to be taken care of, his character also looks... sloppy. His mask is a jumbled, blobby pile of skin that really holds no shape whatsoever, which caused Leatherface to look more like a bloated scarecrow than anything else.
7 Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994)
The Next Generation is easily the most polarizing of all the films, but what can't be denied is that it always gets people talking. The movie sought to explore Leatherface's gender identity and sexuality issues, which had been briefly touched upon in past films but was taken to a new level in Next Generation. In the movie, Leatherface is seen applying makeup, crossdressing, and even wearing a full-bodied suit made of a women's skin.
While this concept could have created character depth and provided a backstory to Leatherface, it ended up being executed terribly, most likely due to how misunderstood the LGBTQ community was at the time, and Leatherface wound up looking and acting like an offensive vaudeville character rather than a horror icon.
6 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)
The sequel to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a very unique film. Whereas the original is still considered as one of the scariest horror movies of all time, the sequel went for black humor and almost turned the Sawyer family into lovable protagonists.
While this new take on the story is both hilarious, entertaining, and memorable, it makes for a Leatherface that's more comical than scary. However, the film has become a cult classic and is a favorite among horror fans.
5 Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)
The Beginning was a prequel set long before the events of the 2003 remake. While the movie finally provided a backstory to Leatherface, it was somewhat dull because the audience knew that every protagonist would die and didn't even have a chance thanks to its status as a prequel.
Another issue was that, in a lot of the movie, Leatherface only had a half-mask, which revealed most of his face and showed him as a lot less disfigured than in other movies. Though being an interesting way to humanize Leatherface, it also took away a lot of the scares.
4 Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990)
Leatherface was a highly controversial movie. It originally received the dreaded "X" rating for gore and violence and was later heavily cut to receive an R. It was one of the last films ever to get an X rating before the MPAA turned X into NC-17. Critics took note of the obviously cut scenes and incomplete feel of the movie, and it performed poorly at the box office.
The movie's Leatherface, however, was able to bring back some of the terror of the original film. The mask was scary and hid the monster beneath. Yet, the movie also showed a Leatherface with lots of emotion, and he even has an adorable blonde daughter—in one scene, he givers her a cute kiss on the cheek—but this emotional depth massively hindered Leatherface's ability to be as scary as he could have been.
3 Leatherface (2017)
Many don't know about Leatherface. It was another prequel that retconned The Beginning. The film was stuck in what professionals call "development hell" for years. After the film was completed in 2015, it was scheduled for a 2016 release... but was then mysteriously shelved.
It was then slated for a 2017 release, but, come October, it wound up only receiving a home-video release with a few screening around North America. While the movie received mostly negative reviews, it gave the world a glimpse of Leatherface as a child and his horrifying cow mask.
2 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
In the 2003 remake, Leatherface got a horrifying makeover. Bigger, nastier, and more ruthless, this Leatherface was the stuff that nightmares are made of. The movie was also the opposite of the original film. It had a score, excellent cinematography, and better film quality.
Easily the scariest part of the whole movie was the "found footage" segment at the beginning and end, which many viewers actually thought was real. It's been watched millions of times on YouTube and leaves audiences with a terrifying image that's surely burned into the minds of every horror fan to this day.
1 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Gritty, grainy, raw, and realistic, the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre was so terrifying because there was a sense of dread and isolation in every shot. It was also the first time Leatherface, based on the real killer Ed Gein, was introduced to the world.
What made Leatherface so scary was that he was part-horrifying and part grotesque. Audiences were constantly shifting between feeling afraid and feeling disgusted. Little did the world know that one of the most prolific figures in cinema history had just been born...
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