Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)
Posted: by Findlay
Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986); Directed by Tobe Hooper
In One Sentence: A local radio DJ is trapped in Leatherface’s lair after curiously following them after being threatened after playing a tape of them murdering someone on the radio. Yup.
Why You Should Watch: I imagine if you watched Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 hungover, you’d want to saw your own fucking head off. This film is LOOUUDD. From the the chainsaws, to the characters, to the cheap synth score. By the time the credits roll, you’re absolutely exhausted. But that’s a good thing, because it totally mirrors the pure madness that the protagonist Stretch (Caroline Williams) goes through. Which is cool, because it gives the audience this weird “well if I’M exhausted, she must be..” kind of feeling.
TCM2 is easily the goofiest sequel you’ll probably see, and that says a lot considering the run of silly horror sequels we are graced with. Yet again, this is a good thing although I can just imagine some Texas Chainsaw Massacre fans seeing this at the cinema for the first time and screaming “FUCK SAKE, THEYRE MAKING IT OUT LIKE THE CHAINSAW IS HIS DICK”.
Yes. They do. It’s a really heavy-handed part that makes no sense but then again, why does Dennis Hopper put chainsaws in a holster on his hip like hes Dirty fucking Harry and run about screaming nonsense? Honestly it’s great.
The film making is slick and you can tell Tobe has totally grown as a filmmaker. The budget is there but so is lighting, good stock, good cameras, gorgeously dirty sets and a Cramps song. The story is a bit of a strange one but relates Leatherface and the family winning a chilli competition, Dennis Hopper looking for a member of his family and Stretch escaping from the family’s underground lair. There’s not a lot of gore in the film but that’s cool because the first film is basically bloodless, which most people forget!
There are a few really good scares in the film, mainly coming from the Leatherface himself. This is where the film actually sucks. The legendary Gunnar Hansen is gone as Leatherface, now replaced with Bill Johnson and you can tell it a billion miles away. Where leatherface used to be a towering embodiment of unhinged, frenzied terror, hes now been replaced with a sensitive and loving (albeit still batshit crazy) hillbilly and it just feels too dumb. Too wasteful.
Apart from that, I actually super enjoyed Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, despite being a goofy, obnoxious bastard of a film. The scares, the characters, the weird comedy and the slick production are easily enough to make me warrant buying it and watching it again. So give it a shot, but please, don’t cut your friend’ face off and wear it as a mask. It’s just selfish.
It also has one of the best film posters ever.
Favourite Line: “You have one choice, boy: sex or the saw. Sex is, well… nobody knows. But the saw… the saw is family.”
Rating: 7/10 – Always ask who’s in the chilli before u eat it
– Findlay
