7. “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (2022)
For this new “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” they seem to be following the model of 2018’s highly popular “Halloween” sequel. It’s more or less a direct sequel to the original film, ignoring almost everything that came after it, including all the weird detours the franchise has taken. That is probably for the best. This installment follows a group of yuppies (led by sisters played by Sarah Yarkin and Elsie Fisher) as they look to revitalize an ailing backwoods Texas town, one that has been synonymous with the events of the original film. (In one of the movie’s more clever flourishes, they sell merchandise related to the crime in a local gas station.) Of course, while trying to evict an elderly tenant, things go wrong, and Leatherface (Mark Burnham), long dormant, awakens to take bloody vengeance. There’s a great sequence in a party bus with a bunch of influencers getting hacked to pieces that is a delight, and a shocking ending that also contains a great self-driving car gag, so this new entry is a mixed bag for sure. With a running time of around 80 minutes, it’s hard to even fault it for wasting your time, because it takes up so little of it.