Sunday Matinee: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 [Film]

“Picking up several years after the events of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Lieutenant Lefty Enright (Dennis Hopper) is on the trail of Leatherface (Bill Johnson) and the rest of the Sawyer family for killing his niece and nephew years earlier. He has tracked them to a small town in Texas, where they have come across the path of a local DJ, known as Stretch (Caroline Williams). She accidentally records them killing two college boys that called into her station and turns the tape over to Lefty. He encourages her to play it in on the air, but this attracts the attention of Leatherface and his brother Chop Top (Bill Moseley), who come to pay their respects. Stretch convinces Leatherface to spare her life, but they kidnap her coworker (Lou Perryman) after badly beating him. She follows them to their home, an abandoned carnival above ground and a cavernous, maze-like horror-show below ground. Lefty shows up with a few chainsaws to save Stretch’s skin and get revenge.” – Diabolique Magazine

So, I was planning to skip over this week’s Sunday Matinee, due to time restraints and other commitments, as well as the fact that I have not watched anything new in the last couple of weeks and wasn’t sure what to write about. And then I heard some of the saddest news of 2017. It has been a truly shitty year for the world of horror, all on the cusp of our forthcoming Month of Horror here at Trainwreck’d Society. In less than a 12 month period, we lost two of the biggest pioneers of the industry. Earlier this year, George A. Romero, the man who originally gave us the fear of the undead returning passed away. And most recently, amongst the chaos and excitement of some sort of multi-million dollar punching match, we lost the man who brought us the most terrifying film of all time to be centered around cannibalism and inhumane torture in the heart of “middle of nowhere land”. Yes, the great Tobe Hooper has left us today and our hearts are being ripped apart by metaphorical chainsaws.

While Hooper’s film Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a seminal classic in the world of horror and film in general, I have always held a soft spot for the film’s sequel that was released a baker’s dozen years later, simply entitled Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. I have always been a huge fan of the more camp like atmosphere in the world of horror. Especially when it is done correctly. And never before, and since, has the melding of camp and suspense been done so eloquently and beautifully as it was in this amazing sequel. There is just so much to love about this story.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 features some of the greatest performances the world of horror has ever known. Legendary scream queen and dramatic actress Caroline Williams is an amazing strong female lead with a gut-wrenching scream, and the return of Jim Siedow from the original film is a brilliant touch for all the die hard fans out there. But, the most impressive combination of terrifying characters is easily the appearance of one of the most frightening characters in so many different forms of horror, the great Bill Mosely, and the strange chance to actually root for legendary and dearly departed Dennis Hopper.

I simply cannot say enough great things about this damn movie. Of course, it is never going got be critically accepted as a classic compared to the series’s origin film, but die hard fans of horror know that this film is a classic, and I believe that is what Mr. Hooper would have really wanted. Rarely does a horror film hold all of the delightful elements that are possible. There is shock, terror, gore, comedy, and outlandishness, all boxed together perfectly in a truly entertaining hour and half. And in my opinion, this is what makes Texas Chainsaw Massacre not only a brilliant horror film, but a cinematic masterpiece in general. It is also another brilliant testament to the genius of the great Tobe Hooper that will be severely missed.

And with that I just want to say goodnight to father of Leatherface, the bringer of the Poltergeist, and one of the greatest writers and filmmakers of this generation and any one before.

R.I.P. Tobe Hooper