The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 🤠

The Saw is Family...

Adam Frazier

Apr 29, 2020

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

Genre: Horror / Comedy
Release Date: August 22, 1986
Running Time: 101 minutes
Rated: R

Behind the Scenes

Directed by Tobe Hooper
Written by L. M. Kit Carson
Cinematography by Richard Kooris
Music by Tobe Hooper, Jerry Lambert
Studio: Cannon Films

In Front of the Camera

Dennis Hopper (EASY RIDER, BLUE VELVET)
Bill Moseley (HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES, THE DEVIL’S REJECTS)
Caroline Williams (STEPFATHER II, DAYS OF THUNDER)
Lou Perryman (POLTERGEIST, LAST NIGHT AT THE ALAMO)

What’s It About?

For a decade, Texas Ranger Lefty Enright (Dennis Hopper) has sought to avenge the brutal murder of his kin by the cannibalistic Sawyer family — Leatherface (Bill Johnson), Chop-Top (Bill Moseley), The Cook (Jim Siedow), and Grandpa (Ken Evert).. With the help of a small-town disc-jockey named “Stretch” (Caroline Williams), who's also bent on putting an end to the terror, Lefty finds his way to the Sawyers' underground slaughter shop, where a battle of epic proportions will soon rage... and the line between good and evil gets chopped to bits!

Why You Should Check It Out

When THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE was released in 1974, it changed the face of horror. Tobe Hooper‘s low-budget movie about a group of friends who fall victim to a family of cannibals remains one of the greatest – and most controversial – horror movies of all time.

Twelve years later, the horror landscape had shifted dramatically. Hooper’s low-budget exploitation flick inspired countless films, including John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN and Ridley Scott’s ALIEN. By 1986, the slasher subgenre was in full swing, with franchises like FRIDAY THE 13th and A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET releasing sequels each year.

So when it came time to do THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2, Hooper and writer L.M. Kit Carson (PARIS, TEXAS) decided the only way to respond to this “cinema of excess” was with satire. The sequel – produced and distributed by Cannon Films – was a parody of slasher flicks, with over-the-top gore effects from macabre maestro Tom Savini. Unfortunately, audiences were expecting a brutal, terrifying experience akin to the original, not a horror-comedy like Dan O’Bannon’s RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD. As a result, the film was met with a tepid response from critics and moviegoers alike.

In the thirty years since its release, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 has aged remarkably well, playing as a surreal black comedy and a tongue-in-cheek response to the ’80s slasher explosion. It’s a whacky, high camp send-up of its predecessor and one of my absolute favorite horror movies. From the bonkers performances by Hopper, Moseley, and Siedow to endearing turns by Lou Perryman and Caroline Williams, it’s some of the most fun you could have watching a splatter flick.

Scream Factory’s Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 is now available at Amazon. It’s also available for Hulu and Amazon Prime members with a STARZ subscription.

In the immortal words of Chop-Top:

“Dog will hunt! Get that bitch, Leatherface! Get that bitch!”

Slices:

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