The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 Review (1986) Worth Watching?

It's about a radio DJ in a small Texas town who happens to find herself the target of the cannibalistic (and charismatic) Sawyer family.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 was directed by Tobe Hooper (who also directed Mortuary and Crocodile) and stars Dennis Hopper (from Land of The Dead, House of 9), Caroline Williams (from Bloody Ballet, Blood Feast) and Jim Siedow (from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre).

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

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 came out 12 years after the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre . If you do the math it puts this sequel smack dab in the middle of the 80's. And let me tell ya, this movie is super 80's. Everything from the eccentric characters to the music to the overall style, it's like watching a horror movie set in a Madonna video.

The vibe is also very different from the original 1974 classic. The atmosphere in the original was very desolate, very lonely. It was about a small group of friends on a road trip through the scorched dry desert.

Part 2 is more of a party. There's a radio DJ who spins the beats. There's a cop staying at a hotel full of drunk football fans with a party on every floor. Drayton, the patriarch of the Sawyer family, is out in public winning awards for chili he sells out of his food truck. There's little semblance to the original in terms of style and atmosphere.

Part 2 is also a horror comedy . And it's crazy gory. In the original, there was an intentional lack of blood. Director Tobe Hooper was actually going for a PG rating, so although there's kills, none are actually graphic. This sequel is crazy graphic, I'm talking blood, guts, victims forced to wear friends faces, decapitations. Texas Chainsaw 2 is bloody start to finish (thanks to practical effects master Tom Savini).

A couple scenes are strangely reminiscent of Psycho, where the woman is driving alone at night to the dramatic violins. Nearly the same scene pops up twice in Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. This sequel is a lot like the sequel to Psycho as well, in that I found it better than the original. Both the original Psycho and the original Texas Chainsaw were groundbreaking in their own way, but the sequels were far better in terms of entertainment value.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is bloody, gross and hilarious. I loved every character and every scene. I'll definitely be watching this a few more times.