Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III
Jeff Burr
(1990)
Two college students driving coast to coast are lured off the main highway and onto a deserted Texas road were they are stalked by the menacing Leatherface and his family.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Original Motion Picture Score)
Cast
Crew
Hook
Isolation does most of the work here. Before the first body drops, the isolated farmhouse already feels like a trap, and Leatherface: the Texas Chainsaw Massacre IIi never lets go of that slow, suffocating dread.
Identity
The film's reputation has not improved significantly over subsequent decades, and it is generally regarded as a minor entry in the franchise, of interest primarily to dedicated completists and to those curious about the early career appearances of Mortensen and Foree within a single genre production. The film was submitted to the MPAA ratings board multiple times in various cuts, with New Line Cinema ultimately releasing a significantly trimmed version to avoid an NC-17 rating, removing or shortening several of the more graphic violence sequences that Burr had originally shot.
Collector Focus
The third entry brought new creative voices and a harder edge, with Ken Foree adding genre credibility. Its MPAA censorship history gives uncut versions particular collector value — a film whose release history is part of its identity.
Context
Directed by Jeff Burr, Leatherface: the Texas Chainsaw Massacre IIi was produced on a budget of approximately $2.5 million, with the production offsetting its lean resources through craft and camera technique. Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III received largely negative reviews upon its January 1990 release, with critics finding it a generic and uninspired entry in the franchise that failed to recapture either the raw terror of the original or the outrageous energy of the second film. The film's reputation has not improved significantly over subsequent decades, and it is generally regarded as a minor entry in the franchise, of interest primarily to dedicated completists and to those curious about the early career appearances of Mortensen and Foree within a single genre production.
