Texas chainsaw 2
Probably the most divisive film of Hooper's on these forums (and most others) TC2 opens with a pair of college frat boys getting brutally dispatched in their car by Leatherface. The audio of the killings are caught on tape by local DJ Stretch (caroline williams) who is soon approached by Texas ranger Lefty (a now sober Dennis Hopper) who wants to use the tape as bait to lure out the sawyer family. It seems Lefty is the relative of Franklin and Sally from the first film. He's convinced the family are still active and killing and he wants revenge.
The sawyer clan on the other hand are enjoying success from their award winning Chilli cooked by Drayton (Jim Siedow) and don't want their secret recipe revealed! The whole film then leads to a bloody showdown at a war themed amusement park dubbed Nam land by new family member chop top ( Bill Moseley).
I think the hate the film gets is primarily from how radically different it is to part 1. Here Hooper dials both the gore and the humour to 11 and I can imagine that might be off putting to some fans. However, like the first Texas chainsaw the film is a product of its time. The original was a reflection of the state of mind of a county where traditional labour requirements were disappearing, the fuel pumps were running dry, the country had suffered a humiliating defeat in Vietnam and violence and madness were in the air. Part 2 comes from a period where America is trying to pick itself up and revise its history. Here the painful memory of Vietnam has been turned into a grotesque theme park, the family's murderous antics go largely ignored as all people see is the surface level 'success' of the family's chilli. There are numerous references to entrepreneurial spirit and making money from Drayton, especially at the end when he's clutching a roll of bills in one hand and a grenade in the other. Even one of the films posters is a direct parody of major Hollywood 80's hit The breakfast club. The film seems even more cynical of America in the 80's than it ever was in the 70's and the whole film feels like a parody of its time and place in history.
Overall I still like TCM2. I like that Hooper for the most avoids repetition. I like the set design, the gore effects and most of the actors and after the 20th time of viewing (rough estimate) I feel it still holds up
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