The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1995)

Timing: 1:35 (95 min)

4.614/10
637

3.347/10
6253

3.4/10
29000

All about film

Video 5

Photo 35

Actors and characters

Release date

1995-09-22

Country

United States

Production

Ultra Muchos Productions, Genre Pictures, Return Productions, River City Films

Genre

Comedy, Horror, Thriller

Budget

$600 000

Revenue

$185 898

Website

Director

Kim Henkel

Actors

Renée Zellweger, Matthew McConaughey, Robert Jacks, Tonie Perensky, Joe Stevens, Lisa Marie Newmyer, John Harrison, Tyler Shea Cone, James Gale, Chris Kilgore
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Kim Henkel

Producer

Kim Henkel, Robert Kuhn

Operator

Levie Isaacks

Composer

Wayne Bell

Artist

Audition

Isabelle Emmanuelle Coulet

Editing

Sandra Adair, Loren Bivens
All team (32)

• Kim Henkel, the screenwriter of the first film, served as producer, director, and screenwriter for this film.
• The film takes place in 1996, and we learn that for 5 years following the events of the previous installment (that is, since 1991), the family of cannibals did not commit any murders.
• Interestingly, both Renée Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey are from Texas. This film was their last work before achieving mainstream stardom: the following two years marked a breakthrough for both actors in Hollywood.
• Bill Johnson, who played Leatherface in the second part, was offered to reprise his role in this film.
• Actor Jim Siedow was offered the role of Grandpa, but he declined. He was also offered to reprise his role as the Cook.
• The chainsaw model used in the film is a McCulloch 10-10S.
• Three actors from the original cast appear at the end of the film: Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, and John Dugan.
• Matthew McConaughey had just finished college and intended to move to California when he was offered an audition for Kim Henkel's film. He auditioned for the role of a young man on a motorcycle who rescues Jenny (played by Renée Zellweger) at the end of the film and takes her away (this character was ultimately removed from the script altogether). After the audition, he was stopped by director and screenwriter Henkel, who asked him who McConaughey could recommend for the role of the antagonist, Vilmer. McConaughey named two of his friends, with whom he had studied acting, and left. Just as he was about to get into his car and head to California, he suddenly realized he had made a mistake and asked Henkel if he could try out for the role of Vilmer himself. Henkel gave McConaughey a fork, told him to imagine it was a knife, and then use that “knife” to scare his secretary. Then Henkel asked McConaughey to act as if he was having trouble with a prosthetic leg. McConaughey portrayed it all so convincingly that he was immediately cast as Vilmer.
• Filming took place in Pflugerville and Bastrop, Texas. With the exception of James Gale (who played Mr. Rotman), all other cast and crew members were local, from the city of Austin. Most of the filming took place at night, and, according to J. Logan, who was in charge of makeup, “the filming was difficult.”
• Gunnar Hansen, who played Leatherface in the first film of the franchise (Tobe Hooper, 1974), requested a fee that was too high for the filmmakers of the low-budget film to afford for his return to the screen in the same role.