THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a slasher film that shook the world when first released in the 70s. But like Halloween and Friday the 13th, studios wanted more gore and boy did it deliver.
PLOT
1986’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 follows Vanita Brock aka Stretch who works as a DJ for the radio station K-OKLA. One night, she gets an on air call by two high school seniors, Buzz & Rick, who spend more time harassing her than focus on the road as they’re driving. Their recklessness comes to an end by the time they cross a bridge where they get attacked by the chainsaw wielding psychopath, Leatherface, which is all heard on the air. The following morning, former Texas Ranger Boude ‘Lefty’ Enright arrives to investigate the trail of chainsaw killings across Texas as he’s been searching for the same perpetrator responsible for attacking his niece Sally Hardesty and nephew Franklin, the latter of which who actually died in the hands of the killer. Stretch offers to help since she taped the call, but Lefty turns her down as he originally doubts it would qualify as evidence. Only after buying some chainsaws of his own does he change his mind and request her to replay the tape, hoping people would take the case serious. The action would be little too effective as it alerts Drayton Sawyer, the patriarch of Leatherface’s cannibalistic family. When he hears the tape, he sends both his chainsaw wielding son, also named Bubba, and his brother Chop Top to deal with her. When her co worker LG intervenes, he gets bludgeoned with a hammer by Chop Top in the process. Stretch avoids Bubba’s wrath when he becomes charmed by him. When both brothers leave, she follows them to their lair that is an abandoned amusement park. Just when she falls in, Lefty, having followed them as well, arrives and starts vandalizing the place with his own chainsaws. Stretch does get found by Leatherface and he ties her up after putting LG’s skinned face onto her. Surprisingly, her friend is able to free her before succumbing from his wounds. Drayton scolds his son for not killing her, resulting in them to try doing so at their dinner table until Lefty catches up to save her. He injures Drayton and fatally wound Bubba, but the formers frags them three with a grenade. Stretch avoids the impact, but Chop Top follows her to the top of a stone tower. Luckily, she is able to defend herself when killing him with another chainsaw that was part of his grandma’s shrine. The film ends with Stretch shouting in triumph as she swings the chainsaw in the air.
THOUGHTS
Making a slasher sequel is such a challenge because you want the insanity to make sense. Tobe Hooper was aware of this when returning to the director’s chair, which is where I felt relieved to see him handle the change of atmosphere very well. With a higher budget in production design and incredible makeup by Tom Savini, everything about this feels quite grand compared to what the other follow ups would get to do. You just you’re in for a while different experience after seeing a head split in half by a chainsaw. Having Bill Johnson, Bob Elmore & Tom Morga all play an essential part in making the iconic villain imposing pays off in the long run because he’s so mentally challenged that he can barely make a decision for himself when not doing his family bidding, so when he felt attracted to Stretch, it was a surprise to see him express another emotion that wasn’t intensity. Even though Bubba is a menace alone with his weapon alone, he’s still not alone to fuck shit up. Jim Siedow’s return as the cook Drayton was a bonus because it was a reminder how some flaws just run in the family since he is so unstable to the point of selling human meat as food unbeknownst to the public. The true wild card was Chop Top because Bill Moseley had his own unnerving & sadistic nature as his laughs were the loudest. Just because he loves music and has a metal plate resulting from his time in the Vietnam war, he was far from friendly. The fact they still got a wheelchair bound grandpa, you just assume they can’t be stopped until they were. Dennis Hopper fit into the mold oh so well because as Lefty, he’s so devastated of the trauma his family went through he gets carried away of putting others in danger. It was only Hopper that can make a chainsaw duel so cool no matter how random it may come off. Rather than killing both brothers at the radio station, he chose to follow them and Stretch to ensure he can destroy his foundation. While we know where he’s coming from, it’s obvious it could’ve backfired before his defiant death. With such crazy guys running around on both sides of morality, it can come off like it’s hard to find whatever sanity is left in the world. Enter Caroline Williams who owns the screen as Stretch being an awesome final girl for being so self aware of her surroundings that she uses it to her advantage. She saw how emotionally vulnerable Bubba was and used that to delay fate as she could’ve known it. The fact she’s still able to survive the night like Sally did proves you can overcome the odds no matter how high they seem as long as you set your mind to it. She was also cool for wanting to help Lefty in solving the murder spree because she knew it was important to do the right thing however she could. It was a bummer for LG to die the way he did because the only one without a motive, yet proved to be a good friend when defending Stretch as long as he could. Seeing her raise the chainsaw above her not only defines victory but also represents the control in her life she’ll remain to keep despite almost appearing as if she didn’t. This movie is casually entertaining, but there are still a few things that don’t make sense. For instance, why was Bubba waiting it out in the bridge? Even if he’s sure no one will spot him, it’s too big of a risk for him to do it alone. And how did he & Chop Top sneak in the station so quietly? If LG didn’t lock the front door, then that was such a rookie mistake. And lastly I can complain about Lefty not being upfront with Stretch about his plan, but I’m more confused on how Drayton had enough money to buy the park’s land when he barely had any compared to the first film. You can say it is the food he’s selling, but I really doubt that much food can allow such a purchase. Other than that, this film still hits its marks in being entertaining. To wrap up, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 is a better sequel than first imagined because it knows what it is and doesn’t relent. If you were blown away with what was done the first time around, see this when you get the chance.
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