The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)

Runtime: 101 minutes

Directed by: Tobe Hooper

Starring: Dennis Hopper, Caroline Williams, Jim Siedow, Bill Moseley, Bill Johnson

From: Cannon

I wasn't originally planning on watching this tonight;but plans changed so that's why I watched it and why this is up later than I was hoping it would go up. A few years ago I watched the classic first film in the franchise and in that review I said that the one time I saw this film years ago I didn't really care for it. But, a lot of horror fans think differently. I got the DVD as it was only a few bucks yet it was just tonight I finally watched it for a second time. My tune has changed!

The plot is that the cannibalistic Sawyer family is now in the northern part of Texas. They actually have a mobile food truck, years before that became a hip thing to do. They live in an abandoned cheap amusement park. Their attack on a yuppie car (driven by a guy who calls himself Buzz and his buddy who looks like Rick Moranis calls himself Rick the Prick!) gets recorded by a low-rent radio station as Buzz is a yuppie douche who was harrassing the lady DJ (Williams) known as Stretch. Also, Lefty Enright (Hopper) is a former Texas Ranger who happened to have some family members who were amongst those who were killed in the first movie. He's out for revenge.

The original has a reputation for being gruesome when it really isn't. It is more the atmosphere, suspense and dread that make it seem worse than it is. THIS movie is gruesome and has gore and blood. No surprise as Tom Savini was hired for the special effects. Also, while the first one had some real dark humor, there is quite a bit of that here. It's more a horror/comedy than anything else. That comedy aspect definitely worked more for me the second time around.

The movie still seems too long at times and some parts still make no sense* but if you shut your brain off that shouldn't bother you too much There are memorable characters for sure (Hopper's character and Stretch's DJ buddy L.G were my favorites, but the cook of the Sawyer family has many memorable crazy dialogue), unforgettable dialogue and scenes and yes, the gore was well-done. As long as you know this is a crazed demented sequel to a usually serious first movie (here, Leatherface falls in love and his chainsaw is pretty much an extension of his penis! What would Freud say?), then you should enjoy it well-enough. I'll be back Thursday night.

• When Buzz's car is running parallel to the truck driven by the Sawyer family, why doesn't Buzz slam on the brakes instead of continuing to run parallel? A pretty good question, I say!