Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
(Review by WhiteTrash2000)
During the eighties sequels to horror films were thrown at us left and right. Some were good and some were bad, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 shows us an example of the latter. It is a putrid little movie that seems to enjoy showing up just how far it will go. And it makes the singular mistake of replacing rational thought and suspense with fantasy and gore, to the point where the viewer might contemplate turning the movie off entirely.
The movie opens with the deaths of two young men who are driving on their way to a party. The two of them are so annoying that a reason is given to turn the movie off then and there. And when the big death scene occurs we are shown unknown killers do the action. Of course we already know who the killers are, But for some reason the film-makers felt they had to keep it a secret for the big plot twist in the middle of the move that is so juvenile that a three year old would figure it out. Before they died however they were on a radio call in program with Stretch (Caroline Williams), the radio DJ of K.O.K.L.A. She hears the whole thing and she feels that maybe this wasn't just a prank, and that maybe someone is responsible. But how she goes about the conflict is completely unbelievable. Apparently she is interested in catching the Chainsaw family because she is looking for a thrill.
“This is my chance to stop playing head-banging music and do something real.”
But we don’t believe her actions and so we watch as she does one stupid thing after another.
And then there's Lefty (Dennis hopper), the uncle of Sally and Franklin from the first movie, who spends most of the movie screaming and throwing fits. It seems that he has spent most of his like looking for the people who are responsible of that night of terror in the first film. His character would have worked if maybe some of his actions had any kind of thought, but instead most of what he does seems to be lifted right out of a fairy tale, and like Stretch we lose interest in his character after about ten minutes. We don’t believe the characters actions and we don’t want to, because if we met someone like he and Stretch we might be tempted to run away screaming in disgust at their stupidity.
Lefty persuades Stretch to play the tape she has of the two boys’ deaths on the radio basically calling the Chainsaw clan into her life. But soon Stretch becomes more and more wrapped up in the chainsaw family (which is now winning chili cook-offs, thanks to their special ingredients) she realizes that the only way to get out of this mess is to catch them herself. So we are given forty-five minutes of her running and screaming as Leatherface and his cannibal family chase her around with their chainsaw phallic symbols (don’t even get me started on the chainsaw orgasm scene).
The movie itself tries to be like the first film, it strives to be more than just a sequel. Unfortunately someone forgot that what made the first film so terrifying and scary was the fact that it was notably lacking gore and it was filled with suspense. The film-makers seemed to forget that because this movie is filled to the brim with disgusting violence and guts that will make you want to double over and take a look at your lunch again. Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 doesn’t have nearly a shred of suspense or thought. In fact, it seems as if the movie itself would be much better if the story would have been embellished more than a cannibal movie usually is. The story is too simple, yet also too confusing for a movie of this sort.
We are given conflict after conflict until the viewer realizes that the basic movie is just like the first one, only polished up with high production values. That was a mistake, because low budget is what made the first film. It didn't rely on elaborate sets or other stuff like that. It relied on the simple horror of the situation, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 doesn’t.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 doesn't care about the horror, it cares about the gore, the sexual elements, and a ton of humor that isn't exactly funny. The movie wants you to believe it, but it spends so much time in the fantasy and violence of the movie that it loses are interest, then when the end credits role you are stuck with thoughts in your head of what you just watched. Not because it was so terrifying, but because it was so terrible.
