The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Tobe Hooper

Writers:

Kim Henkel (characters) and
Tobe Hooper (characters) ...

Release Date:

22 August 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror

Tagline:

After a decade of silence... The buzzz is back!

Plot:

A radio host (Caroline Williams) is victimized by the cannibal family as a former Texas Marshall (Dennis Hopper) hunts them.

Plot Keywords:

Texas | Leatherface | Revolver | Severed Face | Lieutenant

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Dennis Hopper	...	Lieutenant 'Lefty' Enright
Caroline Williams	...	Vantia 'Stretch' Brock
Jim Siedow	...	Cook
Bill Moseley	...	Chop-Top
Bill Johnson	...	Leatherface
Ken Evert	...	Grandpa
Harlan Jordan	...	Patrolman
Kirk Sisco	...	Detective
James N. Harrell	...	Cut-Rite Manager
Lou Perryman	...	L.G. McPeters (as Lou Perry)
Barry Kinyon	...	Mercedes Driver
Chris Douridas	...	Gunner
Judy Kelly	...	Gourmet Yuppette
John Martin Ivey	...	Yuppie
Kinky Friedman	...	Sports Anchorman

Also Known As:

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 (USA) (video box title)

Runtime:

89 min | USA:100 min (director's cut) | USA:111 min (Digitally Remastered Collector's Edition) | Hong Kong:100 min (uncut version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (TVC)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | Germany:(Banned) (1990) | USA:Unrated | Canada:16+ (Quebec re-rated 2006) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Australia:(Banned) (1986 - 2006) | Australia:R (re-rating, 2006) | Singapore:R21 (re-rating on appeal) | Finland:K-18 (self applied) (2001) | South Korea:18 | Argentina:16 | Canada:R | Chile:18 | Denmark:16 | France:-16 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:(Banned) | Sweden:(Banned) | UK:18 | Hong Kong:III | Australia:MA (TV rating) | Norway:18 (DVD rating) (2004) (uncut) | Singapore:(Banned) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Cannon Films

Trivia:

John Bloom was cast, and his name is listed in the closing credits, but his scenes were edited out of the final version.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: When Leatherface and Chop-Top are leaving the radio station, Stretch walks out the room saying "they can't get away..." If you look to the wall to the right of her as she walks out the room you can see the shadow of the boom moving across.

Quotes:

Chop Top: Dog will hunt. Get that bitch, Leatherface. Get that bitch.
[laughs]
Chop Top: Dog will hunt.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Les guignols de l'info: (2007-03-13)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Strange Things Happen

I was too hard on this the first time around.

A dozen years belated sequel to his most infamous film, Tobe Hoopers' "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2" follows a new pair of characters as they interact with the cannibalistic Sawyer clan: "Lefty" Enright (a well cast Dennis Hopper), a certifiably flaky ex-Texas Ranger out for revenge, and "Stretch" Block (sexy, husky-voiced Caroline Williams), a DJ who incurs the wrath of the killers after she records them in the act of butchering some obnoxious budding yuppies.

Written by Hoopers' longtime friend, L.M. Kit Carson, this was always intended to be blatantly comedic. He wanted it to be outrageous in a different way, and he succeeded. Gone is the grainy low-budget atmosphere of the original, replaced by a larger budget, and an amount of camp as well as satire. It's brutal and unrelenting in its own way, it's just nowhere near as scary. The outstanding set piece has the two unlucky kids terrorized all along the highway by Leatherface; no matter how many times I have seen this, this is a scene that has always worked.

Also, replacing the mere suggestion of extreme violence is more obvious in-your-face gore, supplied by the always reliable Tom Savini, who contributes some great work here.

Hopper and Williams are supported by the scenery-chewing Bill Moseley, in his first substantial film role, as the plate-in-his-head Chop Top, Bill Johnson, inheriting the role of Leatherface from Gunnar Hansen and doing a fine job, Lou Perryman as the affable good ol' boy L.G., Ken Evert replacing John Dugan as Grandpa (this guy *still* doesn't have the strength to bash a womans' brains in), and the still quite delightful Jim Siedow as the wonderfully exuberant Cook.

Leatherface here is given a new dimension, as we see him developing a bit of affection for Stretch; this is another intriguing aspect of the script.

Knowing full well that one of the great strengths of the original was its art direction / set decoration, the crew here create a nifty, massive set (located inside an abandoned theme park) in which the Sawyers can ply their trade. Hooper and Jerry Lambert also contribute a score that is more conventional than what we got the first time around; this time, we get to hear some rock songs as well as the usual assortment of country tunes.

I've now come to appreciate this sequel more, which I wasn't able to do before. Sometimes when a sequel goes in a different direction than its predecessor, it may take some time for it to grow on you, as this picture did for me.

I think it's kind of fun; it has it moments, and sometimes it *is* genuinely funny.

7/10