The plot follows four teenagers who encounter Leatherface and his murderous family in backwoods Texas on the night of their prom.
It is the fourth installment in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series, and also features uncredited cameo appearances from Marilyn Burns, Paul A.
Partain, and John Dugan, all stars of the original film.
Writer-director Kim Henkel had previously co-written the original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) with Tobe Hooper; the events of the previous two sequel films are addressed in The Next Generation's opening prologue as "two minor, yet apparently related incidents" which happened after the events of the original film, though no explanation is given for how Leatherface survived his apparent offscreen death at the end of the second film.
Next Generation was shot on location in rural areas outside of Austin, Texas in the summer of 1994.
The film was screened as The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre in 1995 before being shelved by Columbia Pictures.
Two years later, it was re-cut and released under the title Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation on August 29, 1997, after Zellweger and McConaughey had both become major Hollywood stars, but was a critical and financial failure.
Though a full soundtrack was never released, a companion single featured in the film performed by star Robert Jacks and Debbie Harry was released on compact disc in 1997.
This was the final installment in the original series, with the next entry being a remake of the original film.