Film

Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III

Name: Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Released: 1990
Cast: Kate Hodge, Ken Foree, R.A. Mihailoff, William Butler, Viggo Mortensen

The third instalment of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise trades subtlety for spectacle, doubling down on gore and the family's grotesque theatrical cruelty. It's a B-movie slasher with genuine craft in its practical effects and stunt work, elevated by an unusually strong cast and a willingness to let scenes breathe. Best for those who love practical horror craftsmanship and don't mind when franchises lean into their own absurdity.

TMDb rating

2.7

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The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 21986

Tobe Hooper leans into horror-comedy, making a film that's almost as interested in making you laugh as making you squirm. It has genuine personality and Bill Moseley's manic energy is unforgettable.

But The tonal shift away from pure terror alienates people wanting straight horror. Some of the comedy lands harder than the scares.

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A Nightmare on Elm Street1984

Freddy Krueger is a more charismatic killer, Johnny Depp's early charisma shines, and Wes Craven's script balances genuine scares with clever humour. It's the template for 80s slasher smarts.

But The dream logic can feel dated and some of the effects haven't aged well. By the sequels, the franchise gets silly in ways that don't always work.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III

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Motel Hell1980

Both films are exploitation movies in the early 90s trying to push Texas Gothic into absurdist territory. Both follow family units who are more theater than threat.

A Texas-set horror-comedy about cannibals running a motel that trades on grotesque Americana with unexpected affection. It's silly and gory but also oddly charming—it wants to make you uncomfortable and laugh simultaneously, which is what Part III is reaching for but never quite nails.

But The tonal inconsistency is the point but also the weakness. If you want commitment to either horror or comedy, you'll feel frustrated by its refusal to pick a lane.

Friday the 13th1980

The original slasher blueprint: a killer in a mask, a camp, clever teens, and Sean S. Cunningham's efficient direction. It understands that mystery and invisibility are scarier than anything you see.

But The Final Girl trope is so familiar now it feels safe. The kills are surprisingly quick and some viewers find it thin on character depth.

Evil Dead II1987

Sam Raimi at his most uninhibited: Bruce Campbell fighting himself, the camera doing impossible things, practical effects that defy physics. It's horror as pure kinetic energy and dark farce.

But The slapstick tone will lose anyone wanting genuine dread. If you don't click with Raimi's sensibility, even the craft won't save it.

The Burning1981

A summer-camp slasher with Tom Savini's makeup effects and a genuinely unsettling antagonist. It's smarter about character than most, and the raft scene alone justifies the runtime.

But It's a deep cut—many slasher fans have never heard of it. The pacing drags in places and the ending feels rushed.

Videodrome1983

David Cronenberg makes body horror into philosophical inquiry. It's the thinking person's splatter film: visionary, genuinely weird, and it gets more unsettling the more you think about it.

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The Howling1981

Rob Bottin's practical werewolf effects are astonishing—better than most CGI even now. It's a slasher with a genuine monster, clever twists, and Dee Wallace anchoring the madness beautifully.

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Dressed to Kill1980

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Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer1986

Both feature chainsaw killers inspired by real murderers, but Henry is what happens when you treat that inspiration as tragedy rather than spectacle. It's the anti-Leatherface, showing the cost of the violence the franchise celebrates.

A found-footage-adjacent look at a real killer that strips away slasher glamour entirely. It's genuinely distressing in a way that makes Leatherface look like cartoon violence. The boredom between atrocities is the horror.

But It's relentlessly bleak and deeply uncomfortable. There is no catharsis, no justice, no likable character to anchor the viewer. Many find it unwatchable.

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer poster

Near Dark1987

Like Leatherface, it's about a protagonist pulled into a chaotic family unit bound by blood. But Near Dark treats that premise with gravity: the family is seductive and tragic, not just a backdrop for gore. It's what happens when you invest the Sawyer family with actual interiority.

Kathryn Bigelow's vampire Western uses blood and family dysfunction as metaphors for seduction and entrapment. It's a genre film made with the craft of prestige cinema—genuinely tense, visually stunning, and morally complicated in ways that linger.

But It's paced like a character study wrapped in an action film, which means it can feel slow if you're hunting jump scares. The vampires are neither sympathetic nor clearly evil.