The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)

Truly Dreadful Film

Great Film overall

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

In 1974 upon the release of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre it was immediately met with shock and became an overnight sensation. It was horrifying and people had seen little like it before.It's creators clearly never saw the potential for a franchise as it took twelve years before a sequel came out.Tobe Hooper returns for this odd little film, odd because it follows a dark gritty horrific gory serious horror with a colourful campy and often comedic effort.The movie revolves around the demented Sawyer family and the random killing sprees they go on. But when they get outed by a DJ they go after her for revenge. Add to that Dennis Hopper as a former US Marshall who is as crazy as the family themselves and you have a the recipe for a gory riot.Trouble is I couldn't take it seriously, it simply didn't feel like a TCM movie! It was loud, colourful and the jokes flowed freely. Leatherface doesn't even get anymore screen time than the rest of the family and even he is goofy and no longer scary.I have no idea what they were thinking when they made TCM 2, but it sure as hell doesn't work.The Good: Bill Moseley The Bad: The screaming, really!? Such a crazy shift in genre Sudden and dumb finale Things I Learnt From This Movie:LG has the hardest skull in the history of movies "The sex" is a swindle Chainsaw "Sword" fights aren't as exciting as you'd imagine

**** WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS **** I apologize in advance if I am unable to offer any details concerning the nature of the VHS tape I am about to review, since I am writing this while at work..That being said, "TCM 2" as widely seen in its truncated format is a true testament to everything which was wrong about 80s gore horror, and censorship through the MPAA (Motion Picture Aputators of America). I recall how my brother had read up on this film in horror magazines, and our subsequent disappointment when having finally rented the highly edited censored VHS release, about a year after it's theatrical run. For the longest time, I knew the film itself had been butchered into it's widespread version and that so much was left out, much to the chagrin of gore hounds and those who expected at least a semblance of a follow-up to the 70s original classic.For all most people know (based on what version they have been exposed to), this is quite simply bad movie, heavily edited by studios and distributors.Years after I had long forgotten about how horrid a censored film this was had passed, an ex-friend of mine managed to pick up for me at a yard sale a widescreen version of the film on VHS tape. This was not the same widely seen version of the VHS tape we had seen collecting dust in good old video rental stores (anyone remember those?) and so at first I thought it was a well executed bootleg of sorts. After a long pause I decided to watch it since, at the very least, I had never seen it in widescreen format.To my surprise (especially since this was in no way advertised in any form) it turns out that the version of "TCM 2" on this tape was what most people would have referred to as the "workprint" version. Running at just about 2 hours, it featured most of the usuable uncensored footage never seen before, finally making the film "make sense" (if that is at all possible with such a film!). Add to this, again un-advertised, that after the feature, a series of additional deleted footage is present, included that of the infamous Leatherface goes after an entire team of college football players. However, as opposed to the included re-inserted footage in the film, these bonus scenes are of an atrocious quality, looking as though they were filmed on portable video Equipment of the era.In conclusion, my opinion of the film itself was changed after that viewing, and finally I was able to appreciate the deviant, unhealthy, and downright visually and intellectually/morally disturbing vision of Tobe Hooper, since this version is probably closer to what he had originally intended rather than the butchered beyond comprehension version most of us have been exposed to.Afterthoughts: The early Y2K DVD re-release of the film is the edited version (as the widespread commercial VHS release), and apparently this "workprint" or "uncut" version on VHS remains unreleased. It's a shame because it elevates the film from a badly executed parody of the original to an actually semi-disturbing film with more gore to please that target audience.

I'm almost at a loss for words to describe what a steaming pile TCM2 is. Wow. Can a sequel be any farther in concept, intent and execution as this is from the original TCM (which I rated 9/10)? Others may disagree, but it's not wise to market something as a sequel (as in, a continuation of a story) and then change the game so immensely. Imagine if "Jaws2" was actually a musical, with Roy Scheider tap-dancing thru half the movie. That just doesn't work as a concept. And neither does TCM2 as comedy.Even worse, the comedy isn't funny. It's bad. I mean, terrible. Example: a character literally gets cuts with a chainsaw in his butt, and he says "well at least I don't have to go to the hospital to get my hemorrhoids checked out." Or how about Leatherface engaging in simulated sex with a woman and a chainsaw as his...uh...tool. Um, really? That's not funny, it's just weird and dumb. Incredibly dumb. Now imagine similar stupidity for nearly two hours. So painful to watch.Virtually everything about this is garbage. Plot. Acting. Music. Attempted comedy that is anything but funny. There is a difference between 'comedy' and 'silly.' This goes so far beyond silly it's practically indescribable. And I guess some people enjoy really silly, incredibly stupid films, and that's why they have rated this one a 10. Myself, I ask for a little more than that from a film.The special effects weren't too bad here, so I will recognize those by bumping the rating up from 1 to 2. But that's all it deserves. A wasted two hours I will never get back. 2/10.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is a great horror sequel and is one of my favorites in the genre. The film is totally bonkers and as such is a black comedy splatter masterpiece. Chainsaw 2 is a great follow up to the first film and is much different. The story continues with The Sawyer family. There is not only large doses of dark humor, but also heavy helpings of state of the art gore.(courtesy of F/X master Tom Savini) The film is completely insane and very unique blood splattered entertainment. Bill Mosley gives a legendary over the top performance as lunatic Chop Top. Dennis Hopper also gives an iconic performance as revenge seeking Texas Ranger Lefty Enright, which is also one of my favorite performances of his. The film has great quotable dialouge and is a very creepy, brutal and hilarious horror classic. Chainsaw 2 is one of my all time favorites and is essential viewing for horror fans.