Review of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) by Keith C — 19 Feb 2014

The original "Texas Chain Saw Massacre" became known as one of the scariest movies of all-time, and helped usher in a new era of slasher movies. Nearly 12 years after, director Tobe Hooper returns to direct its sequel, simply called "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2." But if you're expecting another low-budget, gruesome, disturbing horror film, then forget it; this plays out more like a violent black comedy, foul and obscene, yet still strangely watchable.

So after young Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) escaped the terror of the first film, police were unable to locate the house where the supposed killings took place; did they not notice the hitchhiker's body on the side of the road and just track down his address? Anyway, it's now 13 years later, and right away the film lets you know what kind of tone it's going for. It starts with two high school idiots driving down a road shooting paintball guns at everything, and harassing on-air radio DJ Vanita "Stretch" Brock (Caroline Williams) over their car phone. After they act particularly stupid by playing chicken with a truck, they encounter a pickup truck that runs parallel to them backwards while they're crossing a bridge. Then Leatherface (Bill Johnson) appears, wielding a chainsaw; he slices off a portion of the driver's head, and the car crashes. Wow, what a start. I have no idea why he was holding a corpse in front of him, but whatever.

We then see Lieutenant Boude "Lefty" Enright (Dennis Hopper) investigating the scene; he also happens to be the uncle of Sally and her brother Franklin from the first movie. He's been trying to solve their disappearance for years, but is seldom taken seriously; Stretch finds a small newspaper article about him, and brings him an audio tape of the most recent killings. He urges her to play the tape on the radio so police will start listening to him.

Of course, then Stretch meets a freaky-looking guy named Chop Top (Bill Moseley), who typically picks at the metal plate on his head with a hot coat hanger; he seems to be just a crazy fan that Stretch tries to get rid of, but then Leatherface appears and attacks. I have to admit, the way he just appears out of the darkness with the chainsaw buzzing is pretty startling. But then he seems to be attracted to Stretch, and she gets him to spare her and leave with Chop Top. She follows them back to their home, hoping to inform Lefty, but she ends up trapped inside as Lefty arrives behind her.

From there, the film becomes a freak-fest, with Lefty going even crazier than the family, especially when he sees the decayed corpse of Franklin in his wheelchair; wait, they've kept that same wheelchair all this time? And the flashlight still works, really? Whatever; he's equipped with three chainsaws (yes, three), and starts carving up the home from the inside while screaming like a madman. Then he engages in an epic chainsaw duel with Leatherface; that's awesome stuff.

So the film is high on entertainment value, but there are plenty of scenes that are just plain awkward. The opening scene with the kids in the car is pretty stupid, and the whole thing around Leatherface's attraction to Stretch is really weird; it's not at all funny or enjoyable, in my opinion. Caroline Williams has a pretty obnoxious voice as Stretch, and her screaming becomes really grating after a while; I would probably scream too, though. And whenever Leatherface attacks, he does a really stupid dance while holding a chainsaw over his head; why? Also, when he has Stretch cornered at the radio station, why does he use the chainsaw on the ice and soda right in front of her? They hadn't established that he liked her yet, so what's the deal?

The only returning actor from the first film is Jim Siedow as Drayton Sawyer, the cook and mechanic who actually doesn't kill. I think it's pretty funny that his introduction to the movie is him winning a chili competition; again, it sort of establishes the mood the movie is going for. There are times when the black comedy works; I like the moment near the end where Drayton and Chop Top are taunting Stretch, and Leatherface actually does an eye-roll to her, like a teenage boy with his embarrassing parents. And if you look at the poster, you'll see it's a parody of "The Breakfast Club." That should tell you everything.

So if you want to watch this film, don't expect anything like the first one. "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2" feels more like a spoof than a genuine sequel. But it has some really enjoyable and off-the-wall performances from Bill Moseley as Chop Top and Dennis Hopper as Lefty; Hopper would star in "Blue Velvet" and "Hoosiers" that same year, and although he once called this the worst film he'd ever been in, he's a lot of fun to watch. The movie is big on the violence and gore, and it's kind of barbaric and idiotic, but it's still worth a viewing.