DVD Review: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)

Sub-Genre- Slasher/Survival
In Attendance- Me, Machine, Chris and Geo. Amanda and Danielle laughed at us from the other room.
Cast Members of Note- Dennis Hopper, Bill Moseley, and the retro hotness of Caroline Williams.  

Our favorite cannibal family is back! Leatherface and his inbred clan, who always seem to get new members at random, are still swinging the saw and making human chili out of people. This time out though, we don't feel bad for most of the victims; especially the jerk-offs at the beginning who decide to play chicken with the hillbillies in the creepy truck. Not smart.

Look at those glasses and tell me he didn't have it coming!

Stretch doesn't deserve to be messed with though, as she's cute as a button and doesn't want to do anything but play rock n' roll music! Too bad Leatherface falls in love with her seductive voice and decides to come a courtin'... along with his brother, who likes to scrape skin off of the metal plate in his head with a coat hanger while he listens to Iron Butterfly.

"...and here's the new Winger song ya'll been waitin' on!"

It's not until some Cowboy named Lefty shows up, acting all crazy and packing a trunk full o' chainsaws, that all hell truly breaks loose. Will Stretch and Leatherface ever find true happiness together? Will someone finally lick Choptop's plate? Did that chili make anyone else gag? I won't spoil the ending here, but...

She wins... kinda.

This movie was good in places, but it had more of a campy vibe to it that the original TCM did. Why they abandoned the dread and vibe of the original, which was mostly created by the insanely terrifying family, is beyond us. Still, as a cult-classic type of thing, this is a mostly fun watch.

Bitch-Hog.

Bill Moseley was great as Choptop, and he had some truly funny/classic lines. Dennis Hopper as Lefty was over the top cheesy in this, but it seemed to fit well none the less. Caroline Williams had legs for days and a cute southern accent, and we were totally in love with her back in the day.

This is exactly why I don't eat chili, especially someone else's; the secret is apparently in the meat. Oh, and watch out for those "Hard shelled peppercorns" a.k.a. teeth/bone. Ugh.

Nasty.

 

Why did Tobe Hooper wait a decade and then some to make a sequel to his 1974 genre classic, only to make it more of a Comedy than a true Horror flick? Where was the atmosphere from the original? Why wasn't the family scary anymore? Leatherface wasn't even creepy in this one, instead seeming to be a retarded moron with a chainsaw.

You lost your focus, Tobe.

TCM2 was way bloodier than the first one, and it literally had blood and guts coming out of the walls... and a lot of plate scratching. Peeled faces, peeled face wearing, chainsaw violence to head and gut... this is bloody stuff for sure.

Nope, but Stretch did get rubbed on the fun button by a chainsaw.

Leatherface is naughty!

"Lick my plate, you dog dick!" or "Bubba's got a girlfriend!"

Dennis Hopper finally gives us quantifiable proof that he's insane. Also, the saw is family. Also, don't ever eat Texas Chili.

Insane.

 

This movie gets a C- only because Bill Moseley rocks, Stretch is hot, and it had some good moments here or there; if not for those things, it would be a D at best. Overall, TCM2 takes one of the most terrifying movies ever, dumbs it down, and pushes humor over the scary stuff...

Watch it if you love the series, because it's a campy classic for sure, but don't start here first if you haven't seen the original.

C

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is available on Blu-ray and DVD.

TCM2 basically ripped off The Breakfast Club! Here's proof!