Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

After the success of the low budget 1974 horror film "The
Texas Chainsaw Massacre", a sequel seemed to be in order. I
mean, it was a mega hit and cost nothing to produce, so why
wouldn't greed obsessed producers churn out a sequel to make
some more dough. Well, as it turned out, a sequel to one of
the scariest horror films ever made didn't appear until 12
years later, in 1986.

Tobe Hooper, director of the original "T.C.M.", returned to
helm the second film, but didn't write it (he co-wrote the
first film). None of the original picture's actors returned
for the sequel; so we have a new writer (L.M. Kit Carson),
a new special effects man (genre legend Tom Savini), and
several new actors (among them, Dennis Hopper and Caroline
Williams). So, how does the sequel to the one of the best
and grittiest horror films ever made to this day pan out?
Not too good to be true, but it's got many good points that
may be overlooked on the first viewing. Hey, it's not all
bad.

First of all, the acting fits the tone of the film (while
the first movie was out and out terror, this one aims to be
both a horror movie and a wicked black comedy) and makeup
man Tom Savini's fantastic special effects are as good as
any as he's ever done. L.M. Kit Carson's script is both
horrific and gleefully over the top in it's blending of
disturbing gore and manic comedy. Many will be repulsed by
the fact that the movie mines cannabalism, murder, and gore
for comedy, but because "T.C.M. 2" doesn't take itself too
seriously, the sicker elements are as scary as they could
have been.

"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2" begins over a decade
after the conclusion of the first film. As two college kids
race down a freeway, blabbering on their cell phone to a call in radio show, Leatherface shows up and brutally kills
them. The d.j. who recorded the massacre of the two boys,
nicknamed Stretch, is approached by lawman Lefty Enright,
who happens to be the uncle of Sally and Franklin Hardesty,
two victims from the first film. Using Stretch as bait,
Lefty sets a trap for the killers, but things go awry and
they get away after killing Stretch's friend and she follows
in the hopes of catching them. Lefty is able to follow her,
so the trap is set for the killers, and a showdown between
Stretch, Lefty, Leatherface, and his demented family is all
set to go!

Director Tobe Hooper goes all out beserk for "T.C.M. 2". In
the first film, there was almost no blood and gore, so all
we had was the suggestion of horrific murder. Not so in the
follow-up film. Hooper fills the flick with such over the top manic gore and murder that it becomes surreal and almost
nightmarish. One drawback is that this is supposed to be a
horror film, and it plays as a black comedy, drawing laughs
when is should draw groans of horror and terror.

As Lawman Lefty Enright, it should be noted that Dennis
Hopper gives the film's most restrained, handled acting job.
He does go crazy with chainsaws at the film's end, but until
that he seems no worse than anyone else. As Stretch, cute
Caroline Williams is brave when facing down Leatherface and
family, and does a good job being scared by the horror she
witnesses. Jim Siedow is psychotic as Drayton Sawyer, the
Old Man from the original film, and he acts as some light
comic relief. Bill Moseley is a cackling, frightening
psychopath, infact, he's scarier than Leatherface. His is
one of cinema's scariest maniacs. And last but certainly
not least, Bill Johnson is a pretty good Leatherface. He
runs around swinging a chainsaw, grunts, reacts to the hits
he takes, and kills several people. This is a better than
average horror movie cast.

Music, provided by Tobe Hooper (yes, the director) and by
Jerry Lambert. The music just isn't scary, it's not. It
seems a strange blend of carnival music and bleeps. I can't
really describe it, but once you hear it I'm sure you'll
agree with me. It doesn't unnerve, instead it pulls you out
of the action and makes you realize, It's just a movie!

Since this is a sequel, it follows the rules that subsequent
films must. It's not as good as the first film, the body
count is up (in the Special Edition on VHS), and there is
ample graphic violence and gore. One thing that this sequel
doesn't ignore is character development. Hopper's Enright
is obsessed with catching Leatherface because he killed two
of his family members. William's Stretch fights for her life against the insane killers because she doesn't want to
become just another victim. This isn't deep territory that
is explored, but it makes it more thematically rich than
many other horror movies.

Now about that graphic violence and gore. And boy is it here in spades. We see a head cut in half with spewing gore
and blood, a man hit in the head dozens of times with a
hammer until he's a gory mess, a cut off face, a stomach cut
open with a chainsaw, thoat slashing, and more. If you want
blood and gore, than you'll get everything you want and more
with "T.C.M. 2".

So, how would I rate "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2"?.
Well, that's a really hard question to answer. While I did
enjoy it for the time it was playing, once it ended it was
readily apparant that it was way inferior to the original.
It had some good acting and excellent effects, but it seemed
more hellbent of getting laughs than screams. In the end, I
find it to be a middle of the road picture, not trying too
hard to buck the trend. If you enjoyed the first film, then
you might like the second, although this one is nothing like
it.

"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2" is Unrated for graphic
violence/gore, and for language.