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The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (marketed as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2) is a 1986 American horror comedy film directed by Tobe Hooper. It serves as a sequel to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, also directed and co-written by Hooper. It was written by L. M. Kit Carson and produced by Carson, Yoram Globus, Menahem Golan and Hooper. Starring Dennis Hopper, Caroline Williams, Bill Johnson, Bill Moseley and Jim Siedow, the plot follows a radio host victimized and captured by Leatherface and his cannibalistic family while a former Texas Marshall hunts them down. It is also the only film where Leatherface dies.
| The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Tobe Hooper |
| Produced by |
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| Written by | L. M. Kit Carson |
| Starring |
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| Music by |
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| Cinematography | Richard Kooris |
| Edited by | Alain Jakubowicz |
Production company | The Cannon Group, Inc. |
| Distributed by | Cannon Releasing |
Release date |
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Running time | 101 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $4.7 million |
| Box office | $8 million (US) |
During its theatrical release, the film grossed $8 million against its $4.7 million budget and became popular on home video. The sequel received a mixed reception from critics and audiences alike. Positives and negatives referred to its emphasis on black comedy and gore which departed from the first film's utilized minimal gore, low-budget vérité style and atmosphere to build tension and fear. Director Tobe Hooper decided to focus on its black comedy as he believed this was present in the first film, but was unacknowledged by viewers because of its gritty content. Despite the mixed reception, the film eventually gained a cult following.
Screenplay
In 1986, thirteen years after the events of the first film, two high school seniors, Buzz (Barry Kinyon) and Rick (Chris Douridas), race along a desolate stretch of Texas highway, en route to the Texas-OU football game at the Dallas Cotton Bowl. Heavily intoxicated, they use their car phone to call and harass on-air radio DJ Vanita "Stretch" Brock (Caroline Williams). Unable to convince them to hang up, Stretch is forced to keep the line open. While passing a pickup truck, Buzz and Rick are attacked by Leatherface (Bill Johnson), who emerges from the back of the truck. Leatherface rips up the roof using his chainsaw. After a short struggle, Rick tries shooting Leatherface with his revolver but Leatherface fatally slices off part of the driving Buzz's head, and the car ends up crashing and killing Rick.
The following morning, Lieutenant Boude "Lefty" Enright (Dennis Hopper), former Texas Ranger, and uncle of Sally and Franklin Hardesty, who were victims of Leatherface and his family years earlier, arrives at the scene of the crime to help solve Buzz and Rick's murders. Lefty has spent the last thirteen years looking into his nephew's disappearance, investigating reports of mysterious chainsaw killings across Texas. He is contacted by Stretch, who brings him a copy of the audio tape that recorded the attack. Lefty asks Stretch to play the tape on her nightly radio show so the public, which had previously mocked his case, will have to listen to him.
Leatherface's family arrive at the radio station, prompted by the nightly radio broadcast of the tape. While preparing to leave for the night, Stretch is confronted by Chop Top (Bill Moseley) before being attacked by Leatherface. Her coworker L.G. (Lou Perryman) is brutally beaten by Chop Top. Leatherface corners Stretch and is about to kill her, but she charms him into sparing her. Leatherface returns to Chop Top and leads him to believe that he has killed Stretch. They then take L.G. to their home, followed by Stretch, who is trapped inside the Sawyer home, an abandoned carnival ground decorated with human bones, multi-colored lights, and carnival remnants.
Lefty, who has been following their car all along, arrives equipped with chainsaws and trashes the home before he finds Franklin's remains. Meanwhile, Stretch is found by Leatherface, who puts L.G.'s skinned face and hat on her before tying her arms and leaving. Later, L.G. wakes up and frees her before dying. Drayton Sawyer (Jim Siedow) finds Stretch roaming the grounds of their cave and the family capture her. Chop Top scolds Leatherface when he finds out that Stretch is still alive. Lefty eventually finds her being tortured at the dinner table by Chop Top, Drayton, Leatherface, and Grandpa Sawyer and saves her. A battle between Lefty and the Sawyer family ensues. In the end, Lefty and most of the Sawyer family are killed when a grenade recovered from the hitchhiker's preserved corpse goes off prematurely.
Only Chop Top and Stretch survive the explosion. They escape outside and battle at a rock tower. Despite her injuries, Stretch grabs a chainsaw held by the mummified remains of the family's grandmother in a ritual shrine in the rock tower, gets the upper hand on Chop Top, and attacks him with the chainsaw, causing him to fall off the tower to a presumed death. The final shot shows Stretch shouting and swinging the chainsaw similar to Leatherface in the first film.
- Caroline Williams as Vanita "Stretch" Brock
- Dennis Hopper as Lt. Boude "Lefty" Enright
- Jim Siedow as "The Cook" Drayton Sawyer
- Bill Johnson as Leatherface
- Bill Moseley as "Chop Top" Sawyer
- Lou Perryman as L.G.
- Chris Douridas as Gunner/Rick
- Ken Evert as Grandpa Sawyer
- Kinky Friedman as Sports Anchorman (cameo)
- Dan Jenkins as T.V. Commentator (cameo)
- Joe Bob Briggs as Gonzo Moviegoer (cameo)
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Originally, Tobe Hooper was just going to produce the film but he could not find a director the film's budget would afford. According to the documentary Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films, the production company Cannon Films were expecting a horror film while Tobe Hooper wanted to make a black comedy. When Cannon viewed the film they were unhappy with the final product. The movie's climax was filmed at the closed Matterhorn amusement park in Prairie Dell, Texas.
Gunnar Hansen was approached to recreate his role as Leatherface but he claimed to have been offered "scale, plus ten percent" with the ten percent going to his agent. When he replied that he had no agent, they offered scale without the additional ten percent. Hansen found the offer too low. Unit publicist Scott Holton offered an alternate story claiming Hansen vacillated about the part and the offer was rescinded. Holton didn't believe the average viewer was even aware of the original actors were claiming "who are Neal, Hansen or Burns?"
Bill Moseley created a short film parody entitled The Texas Chainsaw Manicure where he played a small role as The Hitchiker and showed it to a screenwriter who was able to show it to Tobe Hooper. Hooper loved it and kept Moseley in mind for a part should he ever make a sequel. When the time came to cast Chainsaw 2, Moseley was contacted for the role of Chop Top, the Hitchhiker's twin brother.
Deleted scenes
Several scenes were deleted by director Tobe Hooper due to pacing issues as mentioned on the 2000 Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Shocking Truth documentary. One lengthy scene that was cut from the film involves the Sawyer Clan heading out at night to collect prime meat for their chili by slaughtering movie patrons and a group of rowdy, rioting fans. The deleted slaughtering scene featured several elaborate Tom Savini special effects. Another deleted scene also includes the American film critic Joe Bob Briggs. An alternative plot line involving Lefty Enright as Stretch's father was also scrapped. However, these scenes are present on the 2007 Gruesome Edition DVD special features section.
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The film was released theatrically in the United States by Cannon Films in August 1986. It grossed $8,725,872 at the box office.
After it was submitted to the MPAA in the United States, the film received an "X" rating, prompting the filmmakers to release it as unrated. However, TV previews, theatrical trailers and even posters for the film displayed the written statement: "Due to the nature of this film, no-one under 17 will be admitted".
Roger Ebert believes the movie fails because it "goes flat-out from one end to the other, never spending any time on pacing, on timing, on the anticipation of horror. It doesn't even pause to establish the characters; Dennis Hopper has the most thankless task, playing a man who spends the first half of the movie looking distracted and vague, and the second half screaming during chainsaw duels." He also commented that it "has a lot of blood and disembowelment, to be sure, but it doesn't have the terror of the original, the desire to be taken seriously. It's a geek show."
AllMovie's review was favorable, writing, "much-hated at the time of its release, Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 has aged remarkably well, now playing as a strangely effective if none-too-subtle satire of several facets of '80s excess."
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 2 holds a 45% approval rating on film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 29 reviews with an average rating of 4.8/10. It has since become a cult film.
Controversies
The film was released on VHS by Media Home Entertainment the same year. When initially released on home video and LaserDisc, it still had no rating. When reissued on home video and on DVD in 2000, it was given an "R" rating by the MPAA.
In a similar way to its predecessor, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 2 has had a checkered past in regard to its relationship with censors in various countries. As a result, the film was banned in Germany and Singapore, however the Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle der Filmwirtschaft in Germany has given it an 18 rating for the uncut version as of 2017, and Singapore giving it an R21 (Resticted to under 21) rating after an appeal. When the film was submitted in the United Kingdom to the BBFC for a certificate, the BBFC notified Cannon, the distributor, that at least 20 to 25 minutes of footage would have to be trimmed in order for the film to be given an 18 rating. Cannon then aborted its plans for a possible UK release in 1990. The uncut version of the film was eventually given an 18 rating in 2001.
The film was banned in Australia for 20 years. An uncut version was released on VHS by Warner Home Video in New Zealand in 1987, but could also be found (illegally, as the box proudly stated) in some Australian video stores at the time. The New Zealand VHS cassette has become very rare. In 2000, an unofficial VHS release was issued to retailers throughout Australia. This was done so illegally by a duplicating house, and without the knowledge of the OFLC. When news of the illegal copies leaked, a number of retailers were raided for possessing infringing copies. The duplicating house was similarly raided by Federal Customs. The film was finally passed for official release in Australia on 30 November 2006. The Uncut "Gruesome Edition" DVD was released on 24 January the next year.
The theatrical release poster for the film also resembled the poster for the film The Breakfast Club.
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