Review #129: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)

Cast/Notable Credits:
Tobe Hooper (Director)

Dennis Hopper (Texas Ranger ‘Lefty’ Enright): Cool Hand Luke (1967), Easy Rider (1969), Speed (1994), Land of the Dead

Caroline Williams (Vanita ‘Stretch’ Brock): TCM 3, Stepfather 2 (1989), Days of Thunder (1990), Leprechaun 3 (1995), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

Jim Siedow (Drayton Sawyer): TCM

Bill Moseley (Bo ‘Chop Top’ Sawyer): Halloween

TCM (1974) Link:

TCM (2003) Link:

TCM: Beginning Link:

Trailer:


Plot:

Thirteen years later, and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre has yet to be solved. The family has disappeared into thin air, at least until the weekend of the Red River Rivarly (Texas vs. Oklahoma college football game).

Two rich kids are on their way to the game when they call into a local radio station and give the DJ (Vanita ‘Stretch’ Brock) hell. Afterwards they decide to play chicken on the road with a blue pickup truck. Later on that evening that same pickup truck catches up to them. The two are on their cell phone again with the radio station, as they are attacked by Leatherface and his brother. They die, but the DJ captures their phone call on recording with sounds of a chainsaw and screaming.

The next morning police are investigating an apparent car crash (the two kids), and former Texas Ranger “Lefty” Enright (Dennis Hopper) is on the scene. Lefty has been investigating and hunting down Leatherface and friends for years. His brother’s kids were the ones from the first TCM movie. Great writing! To say the least, he has a personal vendetta against Leatherface and family. His obsession with the case has also led to his dismissal as a ranger.

Lefty believes that the crash has something to do with the chainsaw family because of strange marks on the door of the car (chainsaw scratches). The local police dismiss the notion, and calls the wreck a regular crash. Lefty uses the media to put out a plea for information on the crash.

Stretch comes knocking with the audio tape recording of the crash. Lefty encourages her to play the recording many times over the radio with the hopes of bringing out the family. Stretch being a little naïve and gullible, overlooks the fact that Lefty is using her for bait. She agrees and plays the tape once an hour on her late night show.

Guess what? Yep, the chainsaw family comes down to the radio station trying to “clean up” their mess. Come ‘on you didn’t see that coming? If they didn’t bite on the bait, then there would be no movie. Nor would I be doing this review.

Oh by the way, the family has been given a name by now. It’s the Sawyer family. Not as in Tom Sawyer. Is it? Probably not. How 'bout the song by Rush, "Tom Sawyer"? I think I'm 0-2. Anyways...the Old Man (father) from the first family has been identified as Drayton Sawyer. He wins a chili cook off, and that’s his name. Fake? Maybe, but oh well, I have something to call them now. Leatherface is referred to as “Buba”, probably a nickname by his brother Chop Top (Bill Moseley).

Chop Top didn’t appear in the first movie, so who knows where the hell he came from. The Hitchhiker in the first film (who got ran over by a semi truck at the end) is referred to as Nubbins. Chop Top drags his corpse around during the film. There you have it. The remake refers to the family as the Hewitt’s, and this one identify them as the Sawyers.

Back to the story…Leatherface and Chop Top crashes the party at the radio station and brutally kills one of Stretch’s co-workers. She barricades herself in a room, while Chop Top plays with her dead co-worker. Chop Top sicks Leatherface on her, but she tricks him which lead to him “falling” in love with her. Leatherface lies to Chop Top when asked, “Did you kill her?”

Chop Top and Leatherface take off and retreat home. Stretch follows them and Lefty secretly follows her. The journey leads everyone to an abandoned amusement park. In the amusement park, the Sawyers live in a labyrinth of underground tunnels and caves. They’ve kept the rotting corpses of their victims over the years down in the tunnels...sounds like Disney Land! They have endless tunnels that consume people ($$$). Drayton Sawyer has used the “meat” as the secret ingredient to his prize winning chili formula.

Stretch falls down into the tunnels and hides from the family, as Lefty (who has completely lost it by now) trashes the place with his own chainsaws while searching for the family…and Stretch…maybe. She really didn’t seem like a “top priority” to me.

Villain:

The Sawyer family, Leatherface, pops, grandpops…yes he’s STILL alive…the new brother…and the corpse of the dead brother all terrorize Stretch on the big screen. For me, Leatherface is somewhat of a pussy now. I didn’t like the whole “crush” idea in the movie. Sure he’s still a big retarded baby trapped in a man’s body, but I just couldn’t buy into the new change of character.

The new brother, Chop Top, really stole the show for me. He was truly f*ckin’ insane! Chop Top has a metal plate in his head, which he mentioned that he got in Vietnam. Maybe that’s where he was in the first film, but his character was totally whacked out and bizarre…at least mentally. As a physical threat, he didn’t really scare me, his insane personality pretty much kept him from doing physical harm.

FYI: 90% of chainsaw deaths result from trees or branches falling on the person

Cast:

Dennis Hopper (Pictured left) as a Texas Ranger. Eat your heart out Chuck Norris! You’re not the only super stud in Texas. Who cares that Hopper was shown the door? Hopper played a great part in the film as a vengeful, borderline psychotic, ex-Texas Ranger.

Honestly, I thought the film went away from him too long, as there was some gaps between scenes we got to see him. When we did get a glimpse, he was pretty good. I loved when he went into a chainsaw shop to buy his own. He just threw down a couple hundred bills on the table and started testing and swinging the chainsaws until he found three that he liked. He never said a word during the purchase.

The only other cast member of note was the lead female, Stretch, played by Caroline Williams. Stretch? Okay. She played a pretty good role in the film, but it was far less superior to the Sally Hardesty chick’s performance. The film tried to strike gold twice, but…nah…they really didn’t.

SFX/Gore:

Wow, there was less deaths in the film. I’m not counting the “possible” deaths of the family members at the end. Overall, there were three deaths. Two of them happened in the film’s first ten minutes (one off screen), and the other death…well let’s say…they really indulged themselves with it.

The final death was the co-worker of Stretch, LG. The film really made him a sacrificial lamb in the film. The film originally received an “X” rating and I’m guessing that LG’s death had a lot to do with it. First of all, they club him to death with a hammer. I mean they (Chop Top and Leatherface) really go to town on him, and just for kicks, Leatherface uses his chainsaw on his legs.

But wait…that’s not all! Once they bring him back to the lair, Leatherface peels his facial skin off and uses it as a mask for him and Stretch. Then when you least expect it, the mother f*cker comes back to life! By this time he looks pretty gruesome from all the pounding and torture, and then quickly dies shortly afterwards.

TNA:

Even less than the first film. Really? I thought adding more TNA to the film is a staple in the sequel process, not to retract it. Stretch does go around wearing very short shorts complemented with cowboy boots. It visually looked nice on film.

Concept:

The second movie is no more than just another fun time to have Leatherface on the screen again. It’s called a dark comedy as it really is an over the top, tongue and cheek version of the TCM. The film makers decided to have fun with the film and take it to the limits of gore. Where’s the TNA limits?

The film did a great thing by bringing Texas Ranger Hopper on, but I thought that they underutilized that character. I really didn’t like the he’s the uncle of the kids from the first film aspect, but I guess back in the mid-eighties, that type of twist and writing hadn’t been sucked dry yet. It was a cheap move, but oh well, it got a vengeful T.R. on the screen.

T.Gun Factor:

I remember seeing this film when I was younger and thinking that it was totally over the top disgusting. Years later, my opinion hasn’t changed much, but I’m more able to tolerate the film. I’ve always disliked this entry because I thought it just went overboard with the gore.

I have to give the film some jeers with at least one scene. They did have one good scare in them. It was at the radio station when Stretch met Chop Top. You know that somewhere around, Leatherface was lurking, but you didn’t know where he was hiding. Then when you least expect it…BAM! Leatherface comes out of nowhere with his chainsaw buzzin’.

Where the first film was really creepy and scary, this film was just out to be gory. I liked the first film better, but this film, I’ve never totally embraced. Don’t get me wrong, I can watch it but I find little enjoyment from the film. TCM 2 is a perfect movie if you really like a dark and disgusting humor in your cup of tea.

Misc. Movie Trivia:
-Film opened on August 22, 1986 and made $8 million at the Box Office ($2.8 million opening weekend)
-Film is banned in Germany, Norway and Singapore
-Film was banned in Australia for 20 years
-Originally received a ‘X’ rating, but was released as ‘Unrated’
-Was the final film of Jim Siedow (Died November 20, 2003)