Beanbioca
As Good As It Gets
Nessieldwi
Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.
Derrick Gibbons
An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
adonis98-743-186503
A radio host is victimized by the cannibal family as a former Texas Marshall hunts them. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 feels like a shadow of the first film. It literally starts quite dumb with this 2 guys having fun on the road and then Leatherface appears out of nowhere like he was waiting for something and is dressed like a ghost or something and from that scene alone you understand what this movie is going to be. Way over the top, silly and just stupid with lots of comedy plus what the hell was wrong with the poster? It looks stupid. (0/10)
Platypuschow
In 1974 upon the release of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre it was immediately met with shock and became an overnight sensation. It was horrifying and people had seen little like it before.It's creators clearly never saw the potential for a franchise as it took twelve years before a sequel came out.Tobe Hooper returns for this odd little film, odd because it follows a dark gritty horrific gory serious horror with a colourful campy and often comedic effort.The movie revolves around the demented Sawyer family and the random killing sprees they go on. But when they get outed by a DJ they go after her for revenge. Add to that Dennis Hopper as a former US Marshall who is as crazy as the family themselves and you have a the recipe for a gory riot.Trouble is I couldn't take it seriously, it simply didn't feel like a TCM movie! It was loud, colourful and the jokes flowed freely. Leatherface doesn't even get anymore screen time than the rest of the family and even he is goofy and no longer scary.I have no idea what they were thinking when they made TCM 2, but it sure as hell doesn't work.The Good: Bill Moseley The Bad: The screaming, really!? Such a crazy shift in genre Sudden and dumb finale Things I Learnt From This Movie:LG has the hardest skull in the history of movies "The sex" is a swindle Chainsaw "Sword" fights aren't as exciting as you'd imagine
E. Lx (butterman_1999)
**** WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS **** I apologize in advance if I am unable to offer any details concerning the nature of the VHS tape I am about to review, since I am writing this while at work..That being said, "TCM 2" as widely seen in its truncated format is a true testament to everything which was wrong about 80s gore horror, and censorship through the MPAA (Motion Picture Aputators of America). I recall how my brother had read up on this film in horror magazines, and our subsequent disappointment when having finally rented the highly edited censored VHS release, about a year after it's theatrical run. For the longest time, I knew the film itself had been butchered into it's widespread version and that so much was left out, much to the chagrin of gore hounds and those who expected at least a semblance of a follow-up to the 70s original classic.For all most people know (based on what version they have been exposed to), this is quite simply bad movie, heavily edited by studios and distributors.Years after I had long forgotten about how horrid a censored film this was had passed, an ex-friend of mine managed to pick up for me at a yard sale a widescreen version of the film on VHS tape. This was not the same widely seen version of the VHS tape we had seen collecting dust in good old video rental stores (anyone remember those?) and so at first I thought it was a well executed bootleg of sorts. After a long pause I decided to watch it since, at the very least, I had never seen it in widescreen format.To my surprise (especially since this was in no way advertised in any form) it turns out that the version of "TCM 2" on this tape was what most people would have referred to as the "workprint" version. Running at just about 2 hours, it featured most of the usuable uncensored footage never seen before, finally making the film "make sense" (if that is at all possible with such a film!). Add to this, again un-advertised, that after the feature, a series of additional deleted footage is present, included that of the infamous Leatherface goes after an entire team of college football players. However, as opposed to the included re-inserted footage in the film, these bonus scenes are of an atrocious quality, looking as though they were filmed on portable video Equipment of the era.In conclusion, my opinion of the film itself was changed after that viewing, and finally I was able to appreciate the deviant, unhealthy, and downright visually and intellectually/morally disturbing vision of Tobe Hooper, since this version is probably closer to what he had originally intended rather than the butchered beyond comprehension version most of us have been exposed to.Afterthoughts: The early Y2K DVD re-release of the film is the edited version (as the widespread commercial VHS release), and apparently this "workprint" or "uncut" version on VHS remains unreleased. It's a shame because it elevates the film from a badly executed parody of the original to an actually semi-disturbing film with more gore to please that target audience.
Michael_Elliott
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) ** 1/2 (out of 4)A former Texas Ranger (Dennis Hopper) sets out to bring down Leatherface (Bill Johnson) and his family of cannibals and seeks the help of a radio host (Caroline Williams) who happened to catch one murder on tape. Soon the host finds herself being held by the cannibal family and gaining the affections of Leatherface.THE Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 is probably one of the most hated sequels in the history of cinema. It was released with a lot of hype but pretty much died at the box office and it got a beating from fans and critics. Those expecting anything like the original are bound to be disappointed but once you accept that this is more of a comedy than a horror film and you view it on its own merits, the film really isn't all that bad. It's certainly an incredibly flawed film but at the same time I respect director Tobe Hooper for trying something different.When you get down to it, this here is basically just a remake of the first film but done in a tongue-in-cheek way. The film's incredibly troubled production has been discussed to death but the budget was cut and apparently Hooper's vision was for something much bigger but we can only judge what's here. I think the biggest problem with the movie is the fact that it runs way too long with the "climax" of the picture clocking in at over a hour. I'm going to guess that there was a lot more character build up planned for the Hopper character. Speaking of Hopper, the film does benefit from a colorful cast and some interesting characters. Hopper manages to turn in a good performance, although he doesn't seem too thrilled to be appearing in a movie like this. Williams is certainly delightful as the radio host and there's no question that her personality is one of a kind. Lou Perry is exceptionally funny and memorable in his role. Jim Siedow is fun in his return and Bill Moseley is memorable as well. Bill Johnson can't match the original Leatherface but then again he really wasn't asked to. He's good in the part when you consider what Hooper was going for.The film also benefits from some great special effects from Tom Savini and there's no question that Hooper builds up a rather interesting atmosphere. Again, this film tried for something big and original and while, in the end, it failed, there's still no question that you've got to respect Hooper for trying something different instead of just delivering the same type of film as the first.
