“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2” Movie Review

Directed by Tobe Hooper

Writers: L.M. Kit Carson, and Tobe Hooper

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

Released August 22, 1986

Young DJ Vantia Block is hosting a music show when two renegade hoodlums phone her and start making trouble. The situation changes rapidly as the kids drive to a passageway and get sawed to pieces by Leatherface while the shocked DJ listens the kids’ screams. Local sheriff approaches Block and convinces her to play the recording made from the phone call on radio, hoping that the killers would show up..

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is in my horror top five. Tobe Hopper’s 1974 classic was a brutal reminder that horror was lurking in the shadows as well as the hot Texas sun. His film revolved around a family of murderous cannibals inspired by Ed Gein. I’m sure you’ve seen it and I don’t have to remind you how dark of a film it is. The sequel while gruesome and torturous, has none of the first film’s ambition or power. All these years later, the Sawyer family is still at large. Killing in the back woods of Texas, the family butchered a path across the state, stirring the chainsaw murder rumor mill.

Dennis Hopper portrays Texas law man, Lieutenant ‘Lefty’ Enright, the uncle of Franklin and Sally, who were captured and tortured in the first film. Ready to stare fear in the face, he uses a radio DJ, Stretch (Williams), to lure the Sawyer family close, hoping to exact his revenge. Vengeance notwithstanding, the bulk of this film is a ridiculous 80’s big budget sequel that should have never been. The story is moronic, a fatal fault the film doesn’t survive. With a $4.500,000 budget, there are some awesome set pieces that inspire terror, and the set dressing is creepy to the core. Despite Hooper’s precise eye, some killer lighting, a terrifying performance from Bill Moseley as Chop Top, and over-the-top special effects, this is a poor representative of the franchise.

This is worth seeing for the experience if nothing else. that and Moseley’s horrific performance. This is guilty of the same sin many iconic horror films commit over the years. Part two undermines the power of the original film and it’s an idiotic waste of time. If nothing else, I’ll never view coat hangers the same. If you watch this, be ready for a C- experience.