#4 - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)
(dir. Tobe Hooper)
After the events of the original film, the police spend a month searching for the house that Sally escaped from, but find nothing. Eventually the case is forgotten about, but strange happenings and disappearances still haunt the Texas countryside. Thirteen years later, a pair of dumb and annoying young guys run afoul of Leatherface and his family while they happen to be calling into an all-night radio station, and the audio from the incident is caught on tape. The radio DJ, a woman nicknamed 'Stretch', brings the tape to the attention of former Texas Marshall 'Lefty' (Dennis Hopper) who is obsessed with hunting down the cannibal family, but the recording also attracts the attention of the Sawyers themselves...
I used to think this film was almost as good as the original, just for different reasons. With this re-watch, though, I'm disappointed to say that it really isn't even close. This movie does have a lot going for it, and it's a fun watch overall, but it also has a lot of serious flaws. The opening sequence with the two assholes doesn't really make sense, and then things continue to not make sense for the next 30 minutes or so. Once the villains show up at the radio station, things start to pick up considerably. The plot holes are still there in spades, but everything gets all weird and crazy so it becomes easier to ignore them. There is also a somewhat uncomfortable and completely unnecessary subplot about Leatherface being in love with Stretch. We get it, the chainsaw is a phallic symbol, no need to get all creepy about it.
On the flipside, this movie does do a whole lot of things right as well. Bill Moseley is great as Chop-Top, a member of the family who was off fighting in Vietnam during the events of the first film. He is gross and over-the-top, and the best scene in the movie is when he first arrives at the radio station to intimidate Stretch. The makeup and special effects by Tom Savini are another highlight, as is the really awesome set design of "Texas Battle Land", which I guess is some sort of roadside attraction or something that the Sawyers now call home. Every scene there is full of bones and blood and crazy lighting, and it looks great. Also, we get to see Dennis Hopper in a chainsaw duel with Leatherface, which rules.
So, this is a fun movie and definitely worth a watch if you like 80's horror films, but don't go in expecting a masterpiece or for it to be anything like the original. With the exception of one scene where Stretch first encounters Leatherface, this isn't a very scary film, but it does feature a lot of creepy atmosphere and gore. If nothing else, see it for Dennis Hopper wielding three chainsaws while singing "Bringing in the Sheaves".
Comments
Post a Comment