The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) Review

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) Review

Following a masterpiece such as the original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was never going to be an easy task, and original director Tobe Hooper certainly didn’t rush into making a follow-up. Legal wrangling kept him tied up for years before he was finally free to return to the Chainsaw universe. When he did, however, he took the material in a radically different direction.

Upping the comedy factor while seemingly forgetting almost everything else, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is an uneven mess.

Starting out as a deliciously black comic tale, the film gradually loses the plot, apparently equating lots of shouting with lots of fun. Dennis Hopper has little to do as a vengeance-seeking lieutenant whose brothers were victims of the cannibal family in the first film. Hopper throws himself into the role with characteristic gusto, but the character feels strangely disconnected from the increasingly absurd proceedings around him.

Caroline Williams, meanwhile, initially makes an appealing impression as Stretch, a spirited radio DJ who possesses a cassette recording of a chainsaw-assisted murder. Unfortunately, her character gradually descends into an embarrassing caricature, particularly when she finds herself on the receiving end of Leatherface’s decidedly unconventional advances — including what can only be described as possible chainsaw-assisted sexual innuendo.

There was little doubt from the advertising campaign that Hooper, working with the backing of Cannon Film Distributors, intended this to be a comedy. The film’s poster even parodied the iconic ensemble image from John Hughes’ The Breakfast Club (1985), with the cannibal clan arranged in a deliberately comic family portrait.

The comedic approach didn’t prevent the British Board of Film Classification from taking a rather less amused view. The distributors were informed that approximately 20–25 minutes would have to be removed before the film could receive a UK theatrical release. In America, meanwhile, the film was initially hit with an X rating, after which the distributors released it uncut and unrated.

Hooper himself makes a brief cameo appearance, while legendary special-effects maestro Tom Savini was brought in to deliver the gore — and he certainly doesn’t disappoint. Hooper also secured the services of screenwriter L. M. Kit Carson, who had previously written Wim Wenders’ acclaimed Paris, Texas (1984). On paper, at least, the ingredients were there for something rather special.

Unfortunately, the finished film never quite manages to reconcile its various personalities. It awkwardly incorporates elements and characters from the original while simultaneously trying to reinvent the franchise as broad, grotesque comedy. For roughly the first half, it is undeniably entertaining, but once Stretch becomes the centre of the cannibal family’s attention, the whole thing starts to unravel.

There is plenty to admire as a curiosity piece. Savini’s effects are terrific, Hooper deserves credit for having the nerve to take such a dramatically different approach, and the film remains unlike almost anything else produced by a major studio at the time.

But brave and interesting doesn’t necessarily mean successful.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is certainly worth a look, particularly for fans of bizarre and unconventional horror, but expect it to divide opinion rather strongly.

Brave. Interesting. Ultimately, though, fucked.