The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 was released in 1986 as a promising sequel to one of the scariest films of all time. What the audience got was not the promised messiah but perhaps the most misunderstood film in the history of celluloid. This remains the only Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequel to uphold to the original timeline of the horrific incident that occurred in the summer of 1973.
Mainly focusing on family excursions, a now lost side-story revealing Lefty to be Stretch's illegitimate daughter was completely erased. This might have boasted a scene of powerful emotions between the eccentric and disc jockey but I digress otherwise. The saw is family is what the tag line promises, but what they failed to mention is how many rewrites the original script had. So much original material was canned due to Cannon Films' not being appreciative towards a satire classic. If the first film was the landmark for horror, then the second is the landmark for horror-comedy. While not being mainly humor, there is enough grue and taboo material to satisfy the deepest blood lust. A rich blend of satire and an equal dose of horror leaves you in shock. You don't know whether to laugh or flinch.
The first archived TCM body count consisted of irritating hippies and the most obnoxious ass hat in a wheelchair ever. The fact that a character this annoying whilst handicapped gave me a temporary hatred for the movement-impaired. To make a complete full turn from the originals material, the newly elected cattle has been handpicked by Tobe Hooper and the writer to be yuppies. After all, these are almost completely opposite character types. One's dirty and sleazy, relying on nature and beauty while the other is stuck up, a fruit cake, and completely dependent on technology. This marks the huge generation gap.
In Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Leatherface is given a colorful personality outside of being a psychopath with a chainsaw. He meets Stretch and falls in love. What ensues is a beautifully erotic scene of chainsaw foreplay. Clutching the almost phallic instrument of wood-cutting and death, he caresses her inner thigh with the sharp edges of the saw teeth. The result is a blissfully erotic scene in a lampooned horror film. Much of these "out of place" scenes actually give the film its own place to settle down.
One of the sparkling new additions to the TCM lore is the arrival of the new iconic character - Chop-Top. Bill Moseley from House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects fame stars as the screwy character with a metal plate in his head. He dishes out some A grade dialogue and livens up every scene he is in. I don't know what's better - watching Chop-Top scratch the cusp of his skin where it meets flesh with a hot coat hanger or Dennis Hopper dual-wielding small chainsaws with war in his eyes.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 boils down to a hilarious parody of its former self and I gladly accept the new transition. What follows this film is two incredibly horrible sequels that depict our lovable anti-hero as a cross-dressing homosexual. Tobe Hooper has created gold with the first two Texas Chainsaw Massacre films and created cinematic atrocities such as Eaten Alive. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 features everything to love about the horror genre with a truly terrifying scene of Leatherface storming out of a record vault ready to maim. With a starring role from an insane Dennis Hopper and Bill Moseley as the lovable Chop-Top, this remains a bold classic that is true to itself.
Mainly focusing on family excursions, a now lost side-story revealing Lefty to be Stretch's illegitimate daughter was completely erased. This might have boasted a scene of powerful emotions between the eccentric and disc jockey but I digress otherwise. The saw is family is what the tag line promises, but what they failed to mention is how many rewrites the original script had. So much original material was canned due to Cannon Films' not being appreciative towards a satire classic. If the first film was the landmark for horror, then the second is the landmark for horror-comedy. While not being mainly humor, there is enough grue and taboo material to satisfy the deepest blood lust. A rich blend of satire and an equal dose of horror leaves you in shock. You don't know whether to laugh or flinch.
The first archived TCM body count consisted of irritating hippies and the most obnoxious ass hat in a wheelchair ever. The fact that a character this annoying whilst handicapped gave me a temporary hatred for the movement-impaired. To make a complete full turn from the originals material, the newly elected cattle has been handpicked by Tobe Hooper and the writer to be yuppies. After all, these are almost completely opposite character types. One's dirty and sleazy, relying on nature and beauty while the other is stuck up, a fruit cake, and completely dependent on technology. This marks the huge generation gap.
In Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Leatherface is given a colorful personality outside of being a psychopath with a chainsaw. He meets Stretch and falls in love. What ensues is a beautifully erotic scene of chainsaw foreplay. Clutching the almost phallic instrument of wood-cutting and death, he caresses her inner thigh with the sharp edges of the saw teeth. The result is a blissfully erotic scene in a lampooned horror film. Much of these "out of place" scenes actually give the film its own place to settle down.
One of the sparkling new additions to the TCM lore is the arrival of the new iconic character - Chop-Top. Bill Moseley from House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects fame stars as the screwy character with a metal plate in his head. He dishes out some A grade dialogue and livens up every scene he is in. I don't know what's better - watching Chop-Top scratch the cusp of his skin where it meets flesh with a hot coat hanger or Dennis Hopper dual-wielding small chainsaws with war in his eyes.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 boils down to a hilarious parody of its former self and I gladly accept the new transition. What follows this film is two incredibly horrible sequels that depict our lovable anti-hero as a cross-dressing homosexual. Tobe Hooper has created gold with the first two Texas Chainsaw Massacre films and created cinematic atrocities such as Eaten Alive. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 features everything to love about the horror genre with a truly terrifying scene of Leatherface storming out of a record vault ready to maim. With a starring role from an insane Dennis Hopper and Bill Moseley as the lovable Chop-Top, this remains a bold classic that is true to itself.
-mAQ
I'll be honest that I hated this movie when I first saw it. I've developed an appreciation for it as the years have gone on. Most people I come across still hate it.
ReplyDeleteThis film is horror-comedy's muse.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, it could have been worse and it could have been better.
ReplyDeleteI actually thought that a lot of scenes just sort of ran on for longer than they should have. They had achieved their point and just sort of...went on. Is that bad direction or good direction?
They did a lot of things right, but many things just...odd. Maybe that was the idea though. It sure is interesting though.
I want to bugger Caroline Williams (as she was in 1975 when she was 18, not as she is now obviously).
ReplyDeleteThis is one of only two films that i can think of that seems to be total garbage but a masterpiece at the same time (a very odd contradiction, i think you`ll agree), the other being...thats right...you guessed it..."BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA".
ReplyDeletethere's nothing garbage about Peckinpah's most personal film.
ReplyDelete