The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 [Gruesome Edition]

Director: Tobe Hooper Tobe Hooper

Overview

Over ten years after making the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Tobe Hooper returns to his deranged family of reclusive cannibals for another round of chainsaw chases and non-stop screaming. Hooper brings a real budget this time (having recently directed Poltergeist for Steven Spielberg) and the talents of veteran make-up artist Tom Savini. This means he can make things bigger, louder, and gorier than ever before; and they are. He also brings a wacky, self-deprecating sense of humor, as if deliberately flaunting Texas Chainsaw Massacre's status as one of the first and still greatest "slasher" movies. The result is an impish take-off on the original film (and contemporary horror movies in general) which elevates its own cliches (buckets of blood and gore, droll dialogue, the screaming female lead) to the level of high camp. The movie is loosely concerned with a small-town disc jockey named "Stretch" (Caroline Williams, who does most of the screaming) and an embittered Texas Ranger named "Lefty" (Dennis Hopper). They team-up and decide to put an end to the murderous activities of the Sawyer family once and for all (that is, of course, until Texas Chainsaw Massacre III). The real highlight of the film is when Stretch and Lefty find their way into the Sawyer family hideout--a ruinous, winding abattoir underneath an abandoned amusement park--and engage in a chainsaw-battle-to-the-death with Leatherface and the rest of the clan. Jim Siedow is back from the first film as the acerbic Drayton Sawyer, the family cook and owner of the "Last Roundup Rolling Grill". Chop-Top (Bill Moseley) and Leatherface (Bill Johnson) do most of the movie's dirty work.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/10/2006
UPC:	0027616061522
Original Release:	1986
Rating:	NR
Source:	MGM (VIDEO & DVD)
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:41:00

Special Features

Feature audio commentary by director Tobe Hooper with David Gregory, director of Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Shocking Truth; Feature audio commentary by actors Bill Moseley and Caroline Williams with special effects makeup creator Tom Savini; The Cutting Room Floor: deleted scenes; It Runs in the Family featurette; 6 still galleries

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Dennis Hopper	Lt. `Lefty' Enright
Caroline Williams	Vanita `Stretch' Brock
Jim Siedow	Drayton Sawyer
Bill Mosely	Chop-Top
Lou Perry	L.G. McPeters
Barry Kinyon	Mercedes Driver
Chris Douridas	Gunner
Kinky Friedman	Sports Anchor
John Bloom	Gonzo Moviegoer
Harlan Jordan	Patrolman
Ken Evert	Grandpa
Tobe Hooper	Actor
James Harrell	CutRite Manager,Actor
Judy Kelly	Gourmet Yuppette
Wirt Cain	Anchorman
Bill Johnson	Leatherface
Daniel Jenkins	TV Commentator
Bill Moseley	Actor
Kirk Sisco	Actor

Technical Credits

Tobe Hooper	Director
Yoram Globus	Producer
Menahem Golan	Producer
Henry Holmes	Executive Producer
James Jorgensen	Executive Producer
Tom Savini	Special Effects

Editorial Reviews

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. Pure Grand Guignol, it turns its cannibal family into successful entrepreneurs, marketing their human stew to a wider audience than ever before. As an unstated goal, Hooper seems to want to outdo the countless imitators inspired by the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and the upped ante on blood, gore, and general nastiness caused some troubles with the MPAA. While certainly not for all tastes, as a kind of extreme satire, it works pretty well. Dennis Hopper's over-the-top performance takes the edge off the sordidness and generally sets the tone of comedic excess, helping make Massacre 2 an interesting companion piece -- and, in many respects, a response -- to its predecessor.