The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre premiered at South by Southwest on March 12, 1995, and received a limited release in the United States on September 22, by Cinépix Film Properties.

The studio proceeded to re-edit the film and re-title it Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation before giving it a limited theatrical re-release on August 29, 1997.

They stop at an office trailer, where they meet Darla, an insurance agent, who promises to call her boyfriend, a tow truck driver named Vilmer.

A sophisticated man named Rothman arrives unexpectedly, reprimanding Vilmer for his methods, before revealing an array of bizarre scarifications and piercings on his torso and licking Jenny’s face.

After Rothman leaves, Vilmer flies into a rage, slashing himself with a razor and killing Heather by crushing her skull under his cybernetic leg, before knocking W. E. unconscious with a hammer.

A limousine pulls up and Jenny jumps in the backseat, where she is met by Rothman, who apologizes, explaining her experience was supposed to be spiritual and Vilmer had to be stopped.

The film has been noted for its implementation of a secret society subplot driving Leatherface's family to terrorize civilians in order to provoke them to a level of transcendence.

[15] Critic Russell Smith noted in discussion of this plot point, "Could the unexplained "them" be an allusion to the insatiable horror audience that always makes these gorefests a good investment, or is it a cabal of governmental powermongers...?

"[2] Many of these subplot questions are answered in Kim Henkel's 2012 follow-up film Butcher Boys, which, although not an official The Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie in name, may indeed be the next chapter in the story.

[17] At the time of the film's initial release in 1995, it was noted among critics as a "sharp self-parody" of the original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

The dinner sequence, originally one of the most effective and horrifying scenes ever committed to film, goes so far off the rails it climaxes with Jenny turning the tables on her captors and scolding Leatherface into sitting down and shutting up.

"[21]Writing for Collider, Brandon Burnett makes a similar observation, stating: "Sandwiched between Wes Craven's New Nightmare and Scream, this film exemplifies meta-horror in such an understated and clever way that it sabotaged itself during its initial release.

"[24] Burnett notes that the film "emasculates Leatherface by fully embracing him as a drag queen who listens to Marlene Dietrich while painting his lips red in a scene Fassbinder would appreciate.

[31] Production designer Deborah Pastor acquired set dressings for the empty home by visiting local antique stores and a taxidermy shop, the latter of which donated leftover bones from animal carcasses that could be used to adorn the residence.

[43] The studio proceeded to change the film's title to Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation[44][45] and re-edit it,[46] excising a total of seven minutes from the previously-released 94-minute version.

[41] Grigson alleged that Columbia TriStar had failed to fulfill their promise of giving the film a wide release, thus breaching their distribution agreement.

[41] In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs alleged that McConaughey and CAA had interfered with Columbia TriStar's distribution agreement by pressuring the studio to limit its release.

The website's consensus reads: "The Next Generation has the fortune of starring early-career Matthew McConaughey and Renée Zellweger, but it services neither headliner well in a convoluted and cheap-looking slasher that doesn't live up to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre legacy.

"[65] Critic Joe Bob Briggs championed the film upon its South by Southwest screening, referring to it as "a flick so terrifying and brilliant that it makes the other two Chainsaw sequels seem like 'After-School Specials.

[iii] Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote: "It was way back in 1995 that this schlocky horror farce, then known as Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, first appeared with the unknown actors Matthew McConaughey and Renee Zellweger in starring roles.

But even in a film whose principal props include litter, old pizza slices and a black plastic trash bag, it's clear that these two were going places.

"[67] Rob Patterson of the Austin American-Statesman awarded the film three out of four stars and praised the performances, noting: "Everyone here certainly pushes at the ceiling of near-absurdity, yet The Next Generation never quite goes over the top.

"[69] Terry Lawson of the Detroit Free Press similarly championed the lead performances of Zellweger and McConaughey, but expressed disappointment in the "Men in black" subplot and that writer-director Henkel "turns poor Leatherface into a whimpering drag queen.

"[70] Mike Clark of USA Today described the film as "The kind of cinematic endeavor where you suspect both cast and crew were obligated to bring their own beer,"[71] while Owen Gleiberman wrote in Entertainment Weekly that it "recapitulates the absurdist tabloid-redneck comedy of the great, original Chainsaw without a hint of its primal terror.

"[72] Margaret McGurk of The Cincinnati Enquirer also remarked the film's muddled narrative, writing: "The script, such as it is, establishes a new benchmark for incoherence.

Something about some teens who wander away on prom night and run up against a family of psycho-cannibal-thrill-killers...  Of course, there is no point to any of it, either the humor or the creepy (though relatively bloodless) mayhem—except maybe the permanent embarrassment of poor Matthew [McConaughey] and Renée [Zellweger].

"[74] John Anderson of Newsday wrote that the film was the kind that "Wes Craven's Scream has now rendered virtually defunct... What we want from Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation is a giddy mix of gruesome horror and campy humor.

"[75] Joe Leydon of Variety wrote that the film "manages the difficult feat of being genuinely scary and sharply self-satirical all at once...  it is adept at keeping its audience in a constant state of jumpiness."

Club summarized it as "a slightly above-average slasher film that's only partially redeemed by small but endearingly loopy shreds of black humor.

"[10] The Austin Chronicle also gave the film a favorable review, stating: "Writer-director Kim Henkel penned the original Chainsaw and this effort shows that he still has a felicitous grasp of the things that cause us to shudder in dread.