The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 picks up a dozen years after audiences last saw Leatherface, dancing with his chainsaw. Whatever they were expecting, it surely wasn’t the sideshow freak-out that Tobe Hooper had come up with. Chainsaw 2 has the goofy middle-finger vibe of other punk horror comedies like Return of the Living Dead or Repo Man, and the soundtrack to match.
Just like Texas itself, everything is bigger in this sequel from the gore lovingly provided by cult legend Tom Savini to the endless references to the cannibals’ home state to the scenery-chewing performances. Let’s be honest storyline wise nothing much happens in the first movie, but it seems even less happens in the second. A radio DJ nicknamed Stretch (Caroline Williams) and a former Texas Ranger who goes by Lefty (Dennis Hopper) work together to lure the family out of hiding so Lefty can finally get revenge on the monsters who butchered his relatives in the original.
As it turns out, at least one of the family members is enjoying the spotlight. Cook (Jim Siedow) is actually named Drayton Sawyer, and he’s got a successful barbecue business; the trick to his award-winning chili is, of course, quality meat. He’s aided and abetted by his brothers Leatherface (played here by Bill Johnson, not Gunnar Hansen) and Chop-Top (Bill Moseley), who turns in an unforgettable performance as a war vet with an exposed metal plate in his head.
Leatherface goes through his own transformation. In the first film, he seemed flustered, as if he were just going about his normal business when these annoying kids showed up. He’s supposed to cook and clean and take care of things around the house; it’s just that those supposedly menial duties refer to wildly different things in this household. He even puts on a frilly cook’s apron and what looks like a special mask with makeup on it for the family dinner. Leatherface falls for Stretch, a tough-talking’ Texas broad if there ever was one, and he expresses it in the only way he knows how: with his chainsaw. Despite her terror, she takes a chance that he’s human underneath all that dead person skin and coos at him like he’s a puppy. Stretch tries to appeal to his humanity and somehow it works. That’s what makes Leatherface a much more interesting villain than Freddy or Jason; he has more in common with Lennie in Of Mice and Men than an inhuman killing machine. No matter what Drayton tries to tell Leatherface, Stretch isn’t just another “piece of tail” and the saw isn’t his only family.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is infamous for its final scenes with Marilyn Burns screaming her damn head off; you can see how broken she is by the wild rolling of her eyes as she manages to escape in a passing truck. Stretch, on the other hand, grabs that saw for herself and does her own dance, just like a good Texan gal should.
TCM II was made for the American horror fan. I mean come on, duelling chainsaw battles between Dennis Hopper and Leatherface? This is the stuff dreams are made of.
The extras on the DVD are great. The 90 minute interview segments with the actors/filmmakers are great. Bill Johnson (Leatherface), Bill Mosely (Chop-Top), and Caroline Williams (Stretch) recall their fond memories and share great stories on this wonderful flick. The great Tom Savini also shares his memories of working on the film and creating the gore! You just have to see it!
Yuen Biao plays a champion fencer who disposes of his rivals with startling ability. Biao is also a student, writing an essay on the Ming Dynasty, which is received favorably by his tutor, Read more
At a dinner party with their wives, NASA scientist Dr. Keith Ritchie (Tony Huston) reveals to his colleague Dr. Curt Taylor (John Agar) that he has secretly been in communication Read more
In Italy during World War II, an American military patrol discovers a spaceship that has crash-landed in the woods, along with its alien crew. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm9fnNfLg8M A nearby Nazi unit also Read more
Directed by Chris Watson and distributed by Troma Entertainment, Zombiegeddon begins as Satan creates a human-like race called zombies. When the zombies begin taking over the world, dirty cops Jeff Read more
Directed by Anthony C. Ferrante, Zombie Tidal Wave aims to pick up where the Sharknado franchise left off. More serious in tone, the film plays more like the original Sharknado Read more
Based on Marilyn Sadler and Roger Bollen's book of the same name, Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century was directed by Kenneth Johnson and set in the year 2049. It Read more
Directed by Keita Amemiya, Zeiram follows two intergalatic bounty hunters named Iria (Yûko Moriyama) and Bob (Masakazu Handa) who accept a job to apprehend Zeiram (Mizuho Yoshida) on a planet Read more
Arriving in 2010, Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City was the sequel for 2004's Zebraman, and starred Show Aikawa once again as Shinichi Ichikawa/Zebraman. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqnYJugzaiU As the film opens it Read more
Directed by Takashi Miike, Zebraman follows Shinichi Ichikawa (Shô Aikawa), a man whose life is unravelling before his eyes. At work he is a failing school teacher and at home he Read more
Zardoz, often referred to as "the one where James Bond is in his pants," is set in a future post-apocalypse Earth in the year 2293. By this point in history Read more
Directed by Don Barton, Zaat follows Dr. Kurt Leopold (Marshall Grauer) as he struggles with his former colleagues' "ZaAt" formula. Well you see this formula transforms humans into weird hybrid Read more
Directed by Michael Campus, Z.P.G. (Zero Population Growth) is inspired by the novel The Population Bomb by Paul R. Ehrlich. It deals with a planet Earth in the future that Read more
A young woman, Beverly (Lynda Day George), is gang raped and murdered in a California college town, sparking her brother Kevin (James Van Patten) to take up arms by night with Read more
Internationally renowned director Takashi Miike (ICHI THE KILLER, AUDITION, 13 ASSASSINS, HARA-KIRI: DEATH OF A SAMURAI 3D,ACE ATTORNEY, FOR LOVE’S SAKE, LESSON OF THE EVIL) is back with the action fantasy Read more
Directed by Harry Bromley Davenport, Xtro follows what happens to a man named Sam Phillips (Philip Sayer) who is abducted by a strong alien light whilst playing with his son Tony (Simon Read more
Since Fox’s bastardisation of The X-Men started to be put right with First Class and Days of Future Past I had high hopes that Apocalypse and in some ways Fox Read more
Wonder Woman 1984 (aka WW84) sees director Patty Jenkins return to the franchise that saved the DCEU. It is hard to believe this is the ninth film in the DCEU, Read more
Witchboard is a 1986 horror film directed by Kevin Tenney. The movie follows the story of a young woman named Linda (Tawny Kitaen), who becomes involved with a spirit board, Read more
Wishing Stairs is the third installment of the Whispering Corridors film series set in girls high schools, but, as with all films in the series, it is unrelated to the others. Read more
A creepy obsession film that may have influenced Single White Female. Is it a great film... not really but it is worth watching for the way the Police act throughout Read more
Stephen Pryde-Jarman
Stephen Pryde-Jarman is a Cult TV and Film journalist, award winning short story writer, playwright and screenwriter. A natural hoarder, second hand shopping fulfils his basic human need for hunter-gathering; but rummaging through a charity shop’s bric-a-brac shelf also brought him the inspiration for his novel Rubble Girl having seen a picture of a Blitz survivor sat amongst the rubble of her house with a cup and saucer. Rubble Girl has been described as " thought-provoking" and "fast paced ... with plenty of twists and turns." Amazon.
1 thought on “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)”