There hasn't been a decent TCSM movie since 3 way back in 1990. The remake and its' prequel were ok as horror flicks but were too squeaky clean and sanitized for the franchise, every teen in those movies looked like models wearing makeup at all times.
The series was never about gore and carnage, the original movie barely had any blood in it, it was all about the implication and the protagonist going crazy due to the events of the film. The sequel upped the gore, but only had one onscreen kill until the last half hour, then another character died from wounds inflicted a while prior, and there was only one other onscreen death due to a fall after that. Tobe Hooper knew how to make a movie feel insane and grimy and get the most out of a little, the original TCSM, Eaten Alive, The Funhouse, and TCSM 2 all had that trademark feel. Shoot, his remake of Invaders from Mars was pretty damn crazy as well, especially for a PG rating.
I know most horror franchises devolved into self parody, but I mean Hooper intentionally made part 2 so different from the original and the following movies can't even mimic that film (House of 1,000 Corpses at least tried to). TCSM homages outside of the franchise have done a better job of being TCSM movies than most franchise entries (especially early ones like Motel Hell and Tourist Trap).
