|
Rating:  -
This is one of the most unfairly victimized sequels in the history of cinema. Sure this sequel isn't as good as the original, but it's still a damn fine horror film. I mean come on, a 5.1 out of 10 on IMDB? Critics of course hated the film (Gee how totally surprising!), but I'm happy to see that this film does have a cult following (Which I'm now a part of). This is my second favorite film of the TCM series, and I have had a great time watching this series (Just one more film to go, gotta buy the third one. And yes, I even liked The Next Generation).
WHAT IT'S ABOUT: This film takes place 13 years after the first film. It starts off with two jerks in a car calling and hassling a radio station host calling herself Stretch, and they won't hang up. But then the two get killed by Leatherface over the phone and the call is recorded. Then we are introduced to a police officer who calls himself Lefty who is out to get revenge against this cannibalistic Sawyer family who killed his nephew and caused his niece (The survivor in the first film) to go insane. No one believes him except for Stretch who recorded the phone call and no other officers will help him or investigate. Now he, with the help of Stretch is out to find the Sawyer family and kill them...using chainsaws. And yes, the chainsaw fights are awesomely epic and completely gruesome. You're in for one helluva crazy ride like no other. This film has a mind of its own and doesn't want to be like the other films in the franchise.
MUSIC: Corny? Most definitely as most 80's music is. And it is awesome! I do have to admit I do miss this music in horror films in this day and age.
ACTING: Completely over the top in every way. This is some of the most ridiculous acting I've ever seen in a horror film. It was very difficult to take these actors seriously (Sorry Caroline Williams, but your performance will never outdo Marilyn Burns' performance in the original). I don't think I've ever seen Dennis Hopper do a performance as ludicrous and bizarre as this. Thankfully, the acting is the fun kind of stupid and you'll have a good time watching it. There are even some actors from the first film who return to reprise their roles.
ACTION: This film is more violent than its predecessor, and it stacks on the gore (The gore effects are done by Tom Savini who did the gore for films such as Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead). However, I felt as if they didn't use Tom Savini's talent of creating amazing make-up effects as they should have. However, the action scenes are a sight to behold. For example: Picture the sword fights you've seen in other films, but replace the swords with chainsaws. That's right, we get a chainsaw-fighting scene between Leatherface and Dennis Hopper (It's especially awesome when Dennis Hopper dual-wields two mini chainsaws). This film retains the fantastically creepy set designs of the original and makes them even more demented by having the Sawyer family's hideout being an abandoned theme park covered by the skeleton decorations and other disturbing items. Needless to say, this film is just as disturbing and even more bizarre than the original. It was never boring and it's ridiculously fun to watch. However it lacked one thing that makes it lose to the original; scares and the feeling of true horror. This film just isn't scary, but mostly really gory and ridiculous simultaneously. That's not a bad combination at all, but it will never beat the original classic.
OVERALL: Give this sequel a chance and don't listen to the haters. It is easily one of the best sequels I've ever seen, and I had a lot of fun watching it. Just don't take it seriously (Though it was never meant to be taken seriously), and you'll have a good time. Insanity proves to be rather fun for once.
THE GOOD: Ridiculously over the top, gruesomely gory, awesomely cheesy music and acting, it was never boring, and awesome action scenes.
THE BAD: Acting can be a bit too over the top sometimes.
Rating: -
If you liked the first TCM. I am pretty sure that you will also like this one. If you havent seen the first I would see that one than this one.
Made in 86' With actor Dennis Hopper, There are more deaths in Texas and the same man that was behind them in the first one is at it again. Dennis Hopper has been wanting to find who has been doing all of this killing for many years. He finally gets a break. Leatherface shows up at a radio studio and tries to kill the disk jockey "Caroline Williams" Hopper hunts down Leatherface and they have a chainsaw battle which I thought was cool.
I think that you should check this one out. It is a must see for any horror movie fan or if you liked the first TCM. Pick it up at amazon.
Rating: -
Just recently I re-watched the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" with a friend who had surprisingly never seen it. I had forgotten how horrific and viscerally disturbing it was, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
That got me thinking about the sub-par sequels; "Leatherface" (had a couple of moments, but the studio really crapped that one up), "The Next Generation" (which I didn't think was as bad as some, but bad all the same), the remake, the prequel (both of which were good in their own rights, just not the same gut-level dread and horror as Hooper's original)...and the part two..."Hmmm" I thought..."wasn't there some crappy part two back in the eighties?"
I have to admit, when I saw this one twenty-odd years ago, I didn't like it. I was one of many who went to the theater expecting the same kind of atmosphere and experience as the original had given me, and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2" did NOT do that.
As said, a lot of years and my critical eye for film have matured a great deal, and reading some of the reviews I opted to give this one another chance.
I'm thrilled that I did.
No, TCM2 isn't a primal fear fest that the original was, but it IS, like Romero's "Dawn of the Dead", a reflection of the time it was made. Watching it for only the second time (but certainly not the last time; I ordered it the same day I returned the rental) in my life, I was at times horrified, other times tickled, and constantly impressed by the level of satire that was not always tongue in cheek, but was certainly well done. The performances were all spot on and never delved into self-aware parody (and Caroline Williams not only turned in a stellar performance, but man, is she gorgeous or what?), the sets and cinematography were phenomenal, and I found myself very ashamed of my youthful and arrogant original opinion of the film.
This "Gruesome" release is the uncut version of the film, contains some very funny deleted scenes, an excellent featurette on the making of the film, and not one but two commentaries (I recommend the one with the actors; whilst the track with Tobe Hooper is informative, the one with Williams, Moseley and Savini is just plain fun).
Look at it for what it is...if you watch this film on its own merit and do not try to compare it with the classic original, you'll find one of the most brilliant and well done satirical works done on the genre, while at the same time acquitting itself as one of the very best OF that genre.
Rating:  -
Whew! This could have been a classic that put the original to shame. Its not as bad as people say it is. But its certainly not a great horror-comedy.
THE GOOD
The script is wonderful. Good gross gags and gruesome slasher violence. There's some good creepy moments and one really good scare that will have people jumping. And the mentally unhinged performances by Dennis Hopper and the wonderfully inspired Bill Moseley are welcome. Director/Writer Tobe Hooper had a lot of ambition to raise the stakes and abandon the formula of the original TCM. He wanted flash, color, a hip soundtrack and funny SNL-inspired one-liners. Its a well-directed and lurid movie.
THE BAD
The film is too ambiguous and ambitious for its own good. The funny bits aren't timed well and its obvious Hooper wasn't meant to direct comedy. Also, its obvious alot of story and character development ended up on the cutting room floor. The whole film suffers from some lame editing and a god awful cheesy score making it feel like some bad drive-in movie even though its superior in so many areas. The ending is pretty lame too. The family are just reciting dialogue over eachother and being unfunny and unscary. Leatherface is really wasted here as he was way funnier and WAY more TERRIFYING in the first. It drags on WAY too long and not much happens. Most of the entertainment is in the deleted scenes. This film could have been way more dark, gritty and STILL as funny and modern as this film. It was just a great concept that wasn't pulled off so well.
On its own, its another weird and watchable 80s gore-comedy. But its interesting in the TCM canon, but nowhere near the original in any way.
Rating:  -
I think the original is one of the best horro films ever, and I typically love films from the 80's, so I was expecting alot. This film is bad! I am going to name a few bad points and then stop; why not hitting the breaks on the bridge?, why is Dennis Hopper in the film?, this film relys too much on language and gore for its scares rather than the originals atmosphere.
Television Show
Collectibles
Movie Searches
|
|
|
Search for posters,
art prints, photos, collectables, merchandise, toys, t-shirts
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TV Guide
Program listings, celebrity profiles, industry
gossip, movie reviews, puzzle.
More
Entertainment
& TV Magazines
This site is
Hosted
by Bluehost
Read
my Bluehost Review
Most Popular TV collectibles
|
|
Home
Articles
Images
Forum
Search
Shopping
TV Trivia
Watch TV
Wallpaper
