The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)

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

Director:

Tobe Hooper

Writers:

L.M. Kit Carson, Tobe Hooper (film "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre")

Stars:

Dennis Hopper, Caroline Williams, Jim Siedow

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dennis Hopper	...	Lieutenant 'Lefty' Enright
Caroline Williams	...	Vanita 'Stretch' Brock
Jim Siedow	...	Drayton Sawyer - The Cook
Bill Moseley	...	'Chop-Top' Sawyer
Bill Johnson	...	Leatherface 'Bubba' Sawyer
Ken Evert	...	Grandpa Sawyer
Harlan Jordan	...	Patrolman
Kirk Sisco	...	Detective
James N. Harrell	...	Cut-Rite Manager
Lou Perryman	...	L.G. McPeters (as Lou Perry)
Barry Kinyon	...	Buzz - Mercedes Driver
Chris Douridas	...	Rick - Gunner
Judy Kelly	...	Gourmet Yuppette
John Martin Ivey	...	Yuppie
Kinky Friedman	...	Sports Anchorman

Storyline

Radio DJ Vanita 'Stretch' Brock's open request night is plagued by the annoying phone pranking of two road tripping, party-hard, hoodlums, but things take a disturbing turn when the hoodlums meet their demise at the hands of familiar chainsaw wielding maniacs. With the entire gruesome ordeal recorded on tape, Stretch seeks out the help of a former Texas Marshall who's on a personal quest of vengeance against this family of cannibals. While at first he turns her down, he eventually decides to use her tape to his advantage, asking her to air it during her request block- effectively baiting the cannibals to the radio station where he'll personally deal with them.

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Plot Keywords:

chainsaw murder | scene of the crime | radio | radio station | characters killed one by one | 

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Taglines:

After a decade of silence... The buzzz is back!

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 August 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2

Filming Locations:

Loop 150, Bastrop, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,700,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,822,439, 24 August 1986, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$8,025,872

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cannon Films, Golan-Globus Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min (Ontario) (cut) 101 min (original uncut)

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color (TVC)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lefty's car is a 1983 Ford LTD wagon.

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Goofs

Lefty claims that one of the boys at the beginning of the film "sawed his own head off going 90 miles per hour." They clearly weren't driving nearly that fast.

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Quotes

Drayton: I love this town!

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Crazy Credits

At the very end of the closing credits, a Texas Chainsaw Massacre logo appears briefly and the end title song is replaced by a loud chainsaw buzz noise.

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Alternate Versions

Banned in Sweden in 1986. Running time was 97 min. Although it has been shown on 2 Swedish TV-channels a couple of years ago.

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Connections

Featured in Top 10 Sequels That Aren't as Bad as Everyone Says (2010)

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Soundtracks

Crazy Crazy Mama
Performed and Written by Roky Erickson
Published by Orb Music Company (ASCAP)
Courtesy of Pink Dust Records
Produced by Duane Aslaksen

User Reviews

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

TCM 2 was definitely not as serious as the original film, but it had a lot of charm to it. It begins in Texas (of course) with two young men driving along the road. They call a local radio station which is when we meet our leading lady Stretch (Caroline Williams) the DJ. While on the phone with the guys, Leatherface murders both of them Stretch manages to hear the chainsaw in the background. The police try to make their deaths seem like a simple auto accident, but when a former Texas Ranger Lefty (Dennis Hopper) sees the accident scene, he knows it was more than an accident. And when Stretch gives him the audio tape of the murder, he realizes that Leatherface has struck again. Once the infamous Sawyer family catches on that people know of their crimes, they trap Stretch in their sick twisted maze of dead corpses and rotting flesh.

Chainsaw 2 was made at a time when it was competing with the Krueger/Myers/Vorhees sequels. So it had to live up to the modern day slasher film, that means more blood. It's a lot more gory than the controversial first TCM. In this one, you literally see a guy get skinned alive, his face is almost peeled off for Leatherface to use as a mask. Oh and the family is explored more in this sequel. Jim Siedow reprises the role of "The Cook" Drayton Sawyer. He now sells chili to the fine people of Texas. He proclaims at a local cook off that it's his special secret recipe. Take a guess what he uses to make the chili....

Yeah so as you can see, TCM 2 is a little more morbid and comical in a black comedy sort of way. The maze that Stretch gets trapped in near the end is an old amusement park that the Sawyers are living in. Very creepy set they built for it as well. The acting is pretty good for this one as well. We also discover Dennis Hopper's character is related to Franklin, the man in the wheelchair from the first TCM. Nice little connection. All in all, a decent sequel to a 70's classic. It's not as memorable as the first or even as good, but a fine slasher film nonetheless.

7/10