Well this was....unexpected.
Okay, I was well aware that the sequels in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise were of varying quality, but to say that I was awaiting something more akin to a dark comedy than a full-on intense horror flick ala its predecessor would be a lie. Alas, it does appear that director Tobe Hooper was fully on board with the decision that should a sequel be created to the film that made him an in-demand name, it should be the complete opposite of what preceded it by twelve years (infamous film distributors Cannon were reportedly not a fan of this choice). It's a goofy, over-the-top, and bloody slasher with very little in the way of deeper meanings or commentaries. It lacks the grimy and eerie realism that made the 1974 film so shocking and respected.
And yet.......it's also ridiculously entertaining and kind of a joy to watch.
The plot for the second movie in what is a surprisingly large film franchise technically begins with an explanation that due to some very odd technicalities and bumbling, the brutal and cannibalistic Sawyer family were never captured by authorities and are on the run. Hell, there's a contingent that doesn't seem to believe that they even exist! After massacring (ha) a couple of rowdy teens who were harassing a young disc jockey nicknamed "Stretch" over the phone, they proceed to track down and terrorize the young lady due to the possibility of her having recorded their killings. Elsewhere, former Texas Ranger Boude "Lefty" Enright has seemingly turned vigilante and is in pursuit of the murderous family who just so happen to be responsible for his nephew's death over a decade ago. Once the credits began to roll on TCM2, it struck me how eerily similar this was to a motion picture released two decades later: Rob Zombie's The Devil's Rejects. I won't venture into spoiler territory (and usually don't unless I REALLY hate the film), but the fact that both feature a man of the law in pursuit of a demented family who killed someone very close to them, they star the amazingly talented Bill Moseley in what are arguably scene-stealing roles, and are noticeably different in tone or style when compared to their predecessors is very peculiar. I'm almost certain that this is a combination of a passionate love letter via Zombie and pure coincidence. But let's get back to this bad boy before I get sidetracked.
As mentioned above, director Tobe Hooper wished to film Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 as a straight up black comedy rather than an intense horror movie, having believed that the more comedic elements of the first picture went by almost completely unnoticed when audiences first viewed it (I'll include myself in that list). In some regards it works. Writer L.M. Kit Carson concocts an unabashedly silly script that turns the murderous and psychotic Sawyer clan from the first film into a more demented version of a cantankerous, squabbling sitcom family. Jim Siedow is one of the only performers to return this time around, and his portrayal of family head and meat connoisseur Drayton Sawyer is still solid overall. Considering just how iconic Leatherface has become in the horror world, I think it's a bit of a shame that Drayton is glossed over by casual fans of the genre. Leatherface (naturally) makes a return as well, although he's played by a different actor this time around (something which apparently becomes a regular occurrence throughout the series) and his new mask has certainly seen better days. There's a side plot which seems to imply that perhaps he isn't as evil as society believes he is, but it never really amounts to much when the final twenty minutes kick in. I might disappoint some of my friends when I say that he came across as a bit of wasted potential this time around.
The same can not be said for franchise newcomer Rob "Chop Top" Sawyer (played by an absolutely crazed Bill Moseley). He is a living cartoon character come to life, and even if he does feel like someone who could've been thrown into a Batman book, he is just so damn charming and legitimately funny. I can see why he has developed a rabid cult following. As luck would have it, we also have a much more well-developed "final girl" this time around too in the form of Caroline Williams' spunky "Stretch." I mean no disrespect to the late Marilyn Burns, but I felt as though she was more lucky than anything during the entire ordeal of part 1. Williams, on the other hand has some legitimately great moments of character growth and sports some real chutzpah during moments of serious peril and danger. The only newcomer that I wasn't enthusiastic about was protagonist Lefty Enright (played here by the late Dennis Hopper). True he has a good motivation for everything that he does, but more than anything else, he feels like an afterthought and shows up in the nick of time towards the end so that he can participate in what is admittedly a very cool scene involving dueling chainsaws. He isn't a bad character per se, but perhaps he was just outshone by everyone else around him.
There was a very small part of me that was prepared to dislike The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 just based on how much I ended up loving its predecessor (call it sequel trepidation I suppose). I am always happy to be pleasantly surprised though, and if you can go into this with a bit of a open mind (and a tolerance for gore), there's a high chance you'll be smiling throughout a lot of its running time. As of this writing, the flick is available to stream via Amazon Prime and a collector's edition Blu-Ray from Scream! Factory shouldn't be too difficult to track down.
And now, some parting words for racists, fascists, and all-around pieces of human trash via Mr. Moseley:
No comments:
Post a Comment