Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is one of the strangest things ever committed to celluloid. It not only fails to resemble the original film in any shape or form (sans a rehash of the dinner scene), but it does so in such a bold manner it leaves the viewer dumbfounded long after viewing. The characters are utterly bizarre and the film itself feels very surreal; it constantly rides the line between horror and camp, but manages to keep the audience's suspension of disbelief despite the insanity on screen.
At first glance, the plot doesn't sound all that strange; a small-town DJ is kidnapped by Leatherface, and the father of the wheelchair kid from the first movie sets out for revenge. But the strangeness lies within the details. The hillbilly brother from the last movie is now a guy with a metal plate in his head who looks like Gollum but talks like Beetlejuice with a southern accent. The hillbilly guy also constantly picks at his metal plate with a heated coat-hanger. The cannibal family now lives in a network of underground tunnels, lined with weird trinkets and bones. Dennis Hopper chews scenery like crazy and has a chainsaw fight with Leatherface. Leatherface's dad from the previous film now runs a chili stand out in the open, and it's apparently made of people. There's so many strange quirks to this film, you could write an entire article about it.
Even if you put aside the differences between the first film and the sequel, none of this stuff makes any sense. None of the weirdness is ever played for comedic effect, which makes it even weirder. Most of the quirks aren't unintentionally funny, either. (Except for Leatherface. He's a complete goofball in this movie, and it's hilarious). The film could have easily played it towards the comedic side, and given a much more memorable film, but TCM2 takes itself so seriously it sucks all the fun out of a goofy screenplay, ruining all the potentially fun campy moments, and instead leaving us with several "What the heck just happened?" moments.
Another problem with this film is the violence. The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre relied heavily on suspense and atmosphere to give audiences the creeps. The sequel opts for unpleasantly gross violence and torment. Sure, the first film had a couple on-screen deaths, but the sequel is brimming with gross-out violence. The sequel still manages to be creepy though, but not in a good way. Whereas the first film relied on gritty cinematography and creepy locations to get a sleazy feel, the sequel uses constant threats of violence to get that feeling of unease. In fact, the majority of the second and third acts involve the heroine either captured in or running through the family's tunnel-hideout, which comes across as just mean-spirited.
Speaking of which, this isn't really much of a slasher film. The majority of the second and third act involve the
main character running around Leatherface's tunnel-home. There's very little supporting cast outside of Dennis Hopper and the villains. There's a couple minor characters that die, but we barely get to know them before they're offed. The rest of the movie mostly revolves around tormenting the lead. The end fight scene returns to the overly serious tone of the first half of the film, however. There's a chainsaw fight between Dennis Hopper and Leatherface that once again lacks any enjoyment because of the soullessly serious feel of the film. Leatherface's dad eventually blows everyone up with a grenade, except for the heroine and the hillbilly guy. A fight between the two ensues, and yet again it's shot in a grave and mean-spirited tone, which is no easy feat considering it takes place atop a Flintstones-esque hut on a plateau. (Because apparently the hillbillies store their dead grandma up their or something.)
Overall, this is an extremely bizarre piece of cinema. It takes itself way too seriously, despite the insanity of the characters. TCM2 often feels like it's going out of its way to gross out the audience, resulting in a very cold and mean feeling to much of the second and third acts. I didn't exactly have high hopes for this movie, but I certainly expected better than this. If you're a big fan of the first film, then I'd definitely skip this one. However if you like campy films, then you might want to check this one out. I didn't think the campiness was directed properly, but perhaps if you have a darker sense of humor, this might appeal to you.
Enjoyment- 2/5
Quality- 2/5
IMDB Page- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092076/
July 26, 2012
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