Stars:
Dennis Hopper, Caroline Williams, Bill Johnson, Bill Moseley, Lou Perry, Barry
Kinyon, and Chris Douridas
Writer:
L.M. Kit Carson
Director:
Tobe Hooper
Feature
length: 100 minutes
Extras:
Theatrical Trailer
Languages:
English Dolby Surround Sound
Subtitles:
English Closed Captions and French and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 28
Sound:
Dolby Surround Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 1986/DVD Release: 2000
Theatrical
Distributor: Cannon Films
Home
Video Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: R
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
Approximately
13 or more years have past since the events of the original “Texas Chainsaw
Massacre.” The Sawyer family has been holding up in an abandoned amusement
park with Drayton Sawyer (Jim Seidow) occasionally making the rounds with his
own award-winning brand of chili. When asked what the secret is to the amazing
taste he replies with a smile “It’s in the meat.” Although the Sawyer
family has been laying low for more than a decade, there have been reports of
chainsaw attacks that have often been dismissed as mere folktale, but one man
knows the truth. Lt. “Lefty” Enright (Dennis Hopper) has been tracking the
killers through Texas to avenge the death of his nephew and the catatonia his
niece has collapsed into in the years that have followed since her harrowing
experience. When a tough and ambitious disc jockey (Caroline Williams) records
the demise of two yuppies on a phone in, she tries to make a deal with Lefty to
help him find the killers using the tape as a means of getting herself out of
the little station she works for. Lefty agrees, but uses her for his own agenda.
He knows if she broadcasts the tape on the radio, it could attract the killers
and when it does, he follows them back to their lair with chainsaws holstered on
either side of his belt like guns looking for a bone to pick.
Tobe
Hooper’s sequel to “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” has a bit more sardonic
elements to it with a comment on big business closing out the little
entrepreneur. There are scenes of macabre humor and more gore courtesy of
effects master Tom Savini. Among the memorable moments of the film are when
Hopper’s character goes to buy some chainsaws, the introduction of Chop-Top
(Bill Moseley), who steals the film in every scene he appears, the tragic fate
of the D.J.’s colleague in 20 entitled “Eyes Without A Face,” and Drayton
Sawyer’s monologue near the end of the film while Hopper duals with chainsaws
against Leatherface, played here by Bill Johnson. Cult Film Guru Joe Bob Briggs
has a cameo in the film too.
Released
in 2000 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment, “The Texas Chainsaw
Massacre 2” is presented in both a letterboxed (1.85:1) aspect ratio and a
modified (1.33:1) aspect ratio on the flip side with identical features. The
picture quality is not bad, but there is a bit of grain from the source
materials used throughout the film. A clear and well-mixed English Dolby
Surround Soundtrack is included along with English Closed Captions for the
hearing impaired and French and Spanish Language Subtitles encoded as options.
The only bonus feature is the theatrical trailer (1:05).
The
main menu is animated with the chainsaw cutting through to the transitions
similarly to the way the menus transition between each other on “The Texas
Chainsaw Massacre: Pioneer Special Edition” DVD. The subsequent interactive
menus are all standard interactive still frames that are easy to navigate.
“The
Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2” is available on DVD-Video now from
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
Click Here To Read The DVD Review
Of "Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III: R & Unrated
Version"
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