The film starts, as did the original, with a voiceover. It is a retelling, albeit brief, of the mysterious cannibalistic family's appearances throughout the years, which reflects the events of the previous three films. This time, four teenagers (one of whom is played by Renee Zellweger) leave their prom and get lost when they make a wrong turn. The group end up involved in a car accident which leads them to meet an evil murderous 'family' led by the villainous, bionic-legged Vilmer (Matthew McConaughy). Eventually the kids are picked off, until only one remains, who spends her time being tortured, escaping, running through the woods and being recaptured…and Leatherface (Robert Jacks) has been reduced to a screaming, cross-dressing wuss. The ultimate ending also adds confusion to a stupid movie.

By the time this film came out, even horror fans were getting sick of the crap that had been shoved down their throats since 1989, and had moved onto the violence of films like Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. There were a few promising lights in horror in the early nineties, but this was not one of them!! God only knows how Matthew McConaughey and Renee Zellweger got another gig after this travesty. The best thing about this film is the length: TCM: The Next Generation is cut in Australia from the 95 minutes uncut version to thankfully only 84 minutes.