The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)

 

Genre: Horror/ Comedy

Time: 1h 40mins

Director: Tobe Hooper

Quick Summary: A radio host is victimized by the cannibal family as a former Texas Marshall hunts them.

I like this one almost as much as I liked the first one as it doesn't reduce itself fully to a simple slasher. Don't get me wrong, this is as violent as the first and more. 

Honestly, this is kind of bizarre, but I like it. It feels more like a dark comedy, than surreal horror. While this is funnier than the previous one, it still managed to have moments that were actually scary. This film goes into more depth into Leatherface's personality. It showed that he was capable of sympathy and other emotions and showed him as more human than what we got to see in the original which I liked, as it was missing that in the first one. 

Choptop was the star aside from the final girl, as he was hilariously nuts. His dialogue was so funny and is simply amazing to watch as he hectically runs around causing havoc. Another thing about this, it has some of the best unexpected jumpscares I've seen. They worked so well that they either lured you into a false sense of security with a more dialogue-driven moment as a distraction or literally no build-up to burst out randomly. But it works.

I liked that it kept the classic screaming instead of dialogue. I can't help but now think of the pure hectic screaming when I think of these films as a whole. This is not perfect though. The ending is actually really abrupt and the final fight is way too short in my opinion. The middle section of this is a bit slow too as it's just creating a foundation for the ending and a bit of backstory.

The soundtrack is pretty good as well featuring Onigo Boingo for example and fits in well with how hectic this is. It's pretty gross at times too, like for example Leatherface skins a fresh face and places it on the face of our Final girl. You can see how wet and gross it would feel. 

Aesthetic-wise, I liked it since it mixed 80's and the gritty dirty vibe of the first one to create this strange hybrid that works surprisingly well. It still manages to pull off the creepy feeling of the first. 

Almost as good as the first and honestly a really good sequel that is well worth watching. 

8/10

"You have one choice, boy: sex or the saw. Sex is, well... nobody knows. But the saw... the saw is family."

"Chop Top: [hitting L.G. in the head with a hammer] Incoming mail!"

"Chop Top: [donning L.G.'s cowboy hat after beating him unconscious] Giddy-up!"