The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 Review

MPAA Rating: R
Released: 1986

Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre shocked and horrified audiences in 1974 with its tale about a family of cannibals that victimize a band of teenagers unlucky enough to visit their domain. At the time of its release many critics and viewers walked away swearing it was the most violent movie they had ever seen, though in reality there is virtually no gore whatsoever in the original since the film relied on its dark and oppressive atmosphere rather than splashing "ketchup" all over the screen.

In 1986 Hooper directed the first (and by far, best) official sequel to his original horror classic: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. Could Hooper hope to create another masterpiece, or would his sequel fail like so many do? Read on to find out…

Two drunken and boisterous young men are driving along a rural road in Texas when they decide to call into a local radio program hosted by DJ Stretch (Caroline Williams) to stir up some trouble. While still on the air they pass by a beat-up old pickup truck and decide to have some fun at the expense of the country bumpkin driver and passenger. Unluckily for them, the driver and passenger are none other than Chop Top (Bill Moseley) and Leatherface (Bill Johnson), two deranged survivors from the horrifying events depicted in the original film.

These two cannibals aren't about to take such antics sitting down, so armed with his infamous chainsaw Leatherface dishes out some permanent justice to the two party boys. Little do they know at the time it's happening, DJ Stretch was recording their killings since the boys were still live on the air.

The next day a hardened Texas Ranger, Lieutenant Lefty Enright (Dennis Hopper), arrives at the scene of the crime and instantly takes an interest in it because he quickly recognizes the murders as the work of the very same cannibalistic family he's been pursuing for years. He has a personal bone to pick with the cannibals, because back in 1973 they were responsible for the death of his nephew, Franklin Hardesty, and for driving his niece Sally Hardesty (the only survivor) insane.

DJ Stretch provides a copy of the tape containing the recorded murder to Lefty to aid with his investigation, but Lefty has no interest in working with his fellow lawmen to take them down; he's out for blood, not justice. In order to try and smoke the cannibals out of their hiding place, he uses Stretch as bait by having her play the tape over the air to get the attention of the killers.

As expected, the airing of the tape gets the cannibals' attention quickly, but the rest of the plan goes straight to hell when Stretch's station crew brutally murdered. She is nearly killed herself, except that Leatherface develops a fondness for her, leading to a demented "love" scene where the psycho uses the chainsaw as a phallic symbol and thrusts away. After his romantic "advances," he decides to leave her unharmed.

Stretch isn't so quick to give up on a plan, though, so she hops into her jeep and follows the killers' pickup truck back to their hideout, where she meets up with Lefty. Armed with a few chainsaws of his own, Lefty enters their isolated underground hideout that is littered with the bones of past victims, leading to a violent showdown that includes the infamous and entertaining chainsaw duel between Leatherface and Lefty.

The main reason fans of the first Texas Chainsaw Massacres originally responded negatively to this sequel is its entirely different vibe. Whereas the original was virtually bloodless yet dark and downright mean-spirited, this sequel is very gory and clearly has its tongue firmly in cheek. If you were a fan of the first and are expecting more of the same, then you are bound to be disappointed.

The sequel is an outrageous 80's horror film that blends humor and parody into its bloody mayhem, and if you can take it for what it is then you will probably enjoy it quite a bit. Sure, Leatherface and company are a little goofier than they were the first time around, but they are no less bloodthirsty or sadistic.

Bill Moseley was perfectly cast as the demented Chop Top – he's responsible for more than one scene where you're not sure if you should wince or grin. Caroline Williams was more than serviceable as the young heroine of the tale, but the true star of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is definitely Dennis Hopper. He lends his character a fanaticism that makes us believe he has become nearly as insane as those he is hunting down – it's just lucky he happens to be on the side of the good guys. We quickly see how off his rocker our hero is during an early and hilarious scene where he purchases an arsenal of chainsaws and goes crazy testing them on a thick log.

The idea of Lefty arming himself with dual chainsaws to battle it out with Leatherface was brilliantly entertaining since no one would expect a hero to do such a thing. It's so odd that it wouldn't work in most films, but Hopper's performance is so frothing and Tobe Hooper's direction so surreal that it just makes sense in this quirky film.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is one of those movies you'll probably love or hate. Those up for some humorous and bloody fun will probably want to pick this film up for a couple hours of insanity, whereas those who dislike black comedy or gory movies will probably want to take a pass.

Movie rating: 8 stars

If you enjoyed The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 you may also find the following films to be of interest:

• Child's Play
• Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn
• Night of the Demons

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