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The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2Year: 1986 written by: L.M. Kit Carson directed by: Tobe Hooper music by: Tobe Hooper and Jerry Lambert Cast: Lefty: Dennis Hopper Stretch: Caroline Williams Leatherface: Bill Johnson Cook (Drayton Sawyer): Jim Siedow Chop-Top: Bill Moseley L.G.: Lou Perry Mercedes Driver: Barry Kinyon Gunner: Chris Douridas It's the sequel of 1974's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Basic plot Thirteen or fourteen years after the first massacre traces of chainsaw incidents all around Texas lead a former Texas ranger -and relative of the Hardestys, victims in the first film- (Dennis Hopper) near a town where members of the cannibalistic Family seem to have their hideout. Their most recent hit, a double chainsaw kill of two Texas teen-yuppies (Barry Kinyon & Chris Douridas) is being recorded by a local radio station and -consequently- the station's DJ (Caroline Williams) gets involved in the case, more like prey, than investigator. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 -unlike its predecessor, which showed many artefacts of macabre but no more than only a drop of fresh blood- is a slasher film with scenes that require strong stomach. The film had a much larger budget than the first one, and boasted gore effects by fx maestro Tom Savini. The film was critically and commercially panned at its release, though it has become a cult film in its own right. It remains one of director Tobe Hooper's most polarizing films; the defenders call it a brilliant and blackly hysterical movie while the decriers label it a gratuitous, over-the-top gore fest. Characters Ranger Lefty He is an uncle of Sally and Franklin Hardesty, victims in the first film, and what he is after is justice. He is determined to face the Family by himself, using the weapon that had tormented his nephews and killed one of them years ago. That is, of course, the chainsaw, an item that is worshipped beyond measure in this sequel. Lefty, in a typical cowboy outfit, has two small chainsaws instead of guns in his belt and one large one in his hands. At the end of the film he gets involved in a sawfight (like a swordfight, only with chainsaws) with Leatherface and he manages to kill him in the same way that he had killed Franklin. Stretch She is the DJ of the local radio station and protagonist of the film, and has no relationship with the first movie. She decides to help Lefty locate the family's hideout and that's how she gets involved in the story. Her weapons against the family are her courage and her good looks. To be exact, Leatherface falls in love with her and -instead of chopping her with his chainsaw- he tries to hide her from the rest of the family. That is, of course, until the point of no return, near the end of the film. At the end of the film, when everyone else are dead, Stretch -right after having killed Chop-Top- stands alone on the summit of a fake hill (the top of the family's hideout) screaming and wielding a big chainsaw. This is the last shot of the film, a scene which has been interpreted in two ways: 1) Stretch is having her triumph for getting herself out of that horrible situation alive or 2) Stretch -having survived from situations that have been too much for her mind- has cracked and acts just like Leatherface; an implication that the circle of rage and insanity reproduces itself. The Family The Family in Chainsaw 1 lived in a farm house. After the Massacre of 1973 they obviously have fled from the family farm and have found a new hideout: an abandoned western-style amusement park with underground rooms, where they have all the comfort and security they need. Once there, they make a living by selling top quality price-winning chilli con carne to the nearby towns and business seems to go well. That is until Lefty and Stretch get in their way. Just like in the original film (but here in a more comical approach) the family is an important part of the film, which can be interpreted in several ways. It can be understood as a horrifying caricature of the family in general as value and cell of society and the whole film can be taken as a criticism about the function of the traditional family not at all necessarily American. In the cannibalistic family of Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, undeniable symbols of power and leadership are Grandpa and Grandma. Grandpa is a half-dead 137-year-old vampirish old creature who owes his longevity to a special diet based on drops of fresh young blood. Grandma, well, she is already dead in Chainsaw 1. In this film she lies on a special throne, on the summit of the amusement park, in a place as near as possible to both the family and heaven. The other members, alive and kicking, are: Drayton Sawyer, Chop-Top and, of course, Leatherface, the most catchy character of Chainsaw 1. Drayton Sawyer Although he is familiar from the first film, it is only in this film that we know this characters name. (In Chainsaw 1 he was known as Cook or Old Man). Even though he seems much older than Chop-Top and Leatherface, he is said to be their brother. He is the voice of sense and logic and the familys face to the outer world: just like in the first film, he is the one that runs the family business, sells the barbeque and cares about expenses. Chop-Top This character is an obvious replacement of the late and unforgettable Hitch-hiker of Chainsaw 1. The two characters are very similar in appearance and behaviour. They both are persons that you would feel really uncomfortable to be with. In fact, in an early draft, screenwriter L.M. Kit Carson had introduced the Chop-Top character (named Platehead then) as the same person with Hitch-hiker of the first film. (for more details, check the early draft of Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 in internet sites containing screenplays, like...) Anyway, first of all, Chop-Top is as previously stated- a person that would make you feel very uncomfortable to be with. He is dirty, alright, but thats not all. When Stretch first meets him, she gets really nervous and cannot hide her disgust. Moreover, Chop-Top is a Vietnam survivor and his past haunts him constantly. When he gets upset he keeps having flashbacks of that war and he becomes extremely violent. Unforgettable scenes of such situations are the one with L.G. in the radio station (where he knocks the man unconscious with a hammer) and the one with Stretch in front of Grandmas throne (where he keeps cutting Stretch with a razor blade while she is trying to yank-start a chainsaw to defend herself). On the other hand, Chop-Top is very sensitive about music. He keeps repeating Music is my life and he sounds honest about it. When he breaks into the radio station, he spends a lot of time in the record vault, looking at the records and acting like a happy child. That is, of course, just before his violent explosion on L.G.s head! Leatherface This tall figure with the face-skin mask on is, of course, familiar from Chainsaw 1. In this sequel, however, a more comical approach is being made, without spoiling though the basic principles on which this character was firstly created. In Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 it is the first time we see Leatherface in love and, despite the horrifying scenario, we cant help but smile with his childish clumsiness to attract the attention of the object of his desire: Stretch. His flirt (one-way, though; Stretch feels disgusted by him, but also fears him too much to show it) with her begins in the radio station where he and Chop-Top have gone with the mission to kill her. Leatherface lets her live (without telling his brother), after having dine his best to show her his strength and affection: he destroys the whole studio with his chainsaw in front of her terrified eyes and then he demonstrates an amazing rock and roll movement holding his chainsaw as a big erect phallus!!! This is also the first and only time that we have a sexual innuendo between killer and victim in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies! To his amazement, Leatherface finds her again hiding in his familys hideout and the romance continues. This time he has a present for her: he offers her a freshly peeled-off face which he puts over hers in an attempt to make her look like himself; to change her to what he wants her to be. Horror combined with a melancholic romance; a very powerful scene which requires strong intestines from the viewer. Too bad the romance comes to an inglorious ending, when Leatherface' s family learns about it. Chop-Top yells cheerfully: Bubbas got a girlfriend! Bubbas got a girlfriend!, but Drayton looks very disappointed of his brother: Is that what it is, Bubba? The ol Cock-and-Cunt swindle, huh? S-C-E-X? Sex? You had to find out about it, didnt you? You just couldnt leave it alone! If you wanted to know about it so bad why didnt you ask me?... Ask me. Its a swindle! Thats all. Dont get mixed up in it! And then he shouts at Stretch: Leave him alone, dammit! He orders Leatherface to finish her and he puts him in a dilemma: You got one choice, boy. Sex or the saw. Sex is, well...nobody knows. But the saw...the saw is family! Then he threatens him: Wait till Grandad hears about this! and Leatherface feels really ashamed of himself. In that scene, what we are watching is the psychology of a young boy closely attached to his family: he tries to stand between his love for the girl (which can be chaotic Sex is, well...nobody knows; a swindle) and his beloved and sacred family (which provides him strict order and safety). Leatherface is forced to obey the familys will. He never really has a choice. The dinner scene This scene is a remake of Chainsaw 1 s dinner scene at the end of the film. Stretch is tied up on a seat in front of a table around of which sits the whole family. After having enjoyed the horror in her screams, the family decides to give her to Grandpa to finish her. The scene is identical to the original. The end The film comes to a Shakespearic ending of multiple deaths and swordfightings. The scene is interrupted by the coming of Lefty and his chainsaws and a sawfight takes place. Stretch gets the opportunity to flee, but Chop-Top is after her. Meanwhile, Lefty kills Leatherface on the fight, but the whole place explodes by Draytons hand grenade. We suppose that everybody except Stretch and Chop-Top dies in this explosion. Stretch reaches the top of the amusement park where Grandma lies dead on her throne and, finally manages to kill Chop-Top who has been chasing her up to there.
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