THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 (1986)

Jeni Ağustos 04, 2021

"Dog will hunt! Dog will hunt!"

The police never caught the Sawyer clan after the killings in the original film (maybe because they changed their name from Slaughter to Sawyer?), so now, over a decade later, we're told the killings have been happening off and on ever since. Alright, whatever, that seems kinda unbelievable but I'll go with it. TCM2 opens with with a slaughter being caught on audio tape due to a call-in radio show. The uncle (Dennis Hopper) of Sally and Franklin Hardesty from TCM uses the tape as a way to locate the Sawyer clan's hideout and unleash some righteous vengeance.

Following up on the greatest horror movie of all time is no easy task. So, I'm guessing, Tobe Hooper decided to go the way-over-the-top route instead of trying to make another serious film. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out that well. Whether that's due to studio interference, MPAA interference, shortcomings of the filmmakers themselves, other factors or maybe all of the above, who knows, but TCM2 definitely could have been better. Not that it's a bad film, it's still very enjoyable and filled with numerous memorable lines ("It's a dog-eat-dog world and from where I sit there just ain't enough damn dogs!"), balls out quirky performances (Bill Moseley and Jim Siedow), gore, bright colours, Tobe Hooper cameo, solid camerawork, impressive special effects (especially the Grandpa makeup effects) and that radio station scare scene...holy fook! I actually watch the film once every year or so.

THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 might rough around the edges (and the ending scene looks to be altered from the original version I remember on VHS), but it does add some interesting insight into the Sawyer family history. Required viewing for any horror fan.

Part 1 - The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Part 3 - Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990)
Remake/sequel - Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994)
Reboot 1 - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
Reboot prequel - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)
Reboot sequel to original - Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013)
Prequel - Leatherface (2017)