In 1974, director Tobe Hooper and writer Kim Henkel set out to make a pitch black dark comedy entitled: "Headcheese". They intended the film to be PG rated comedy, but they ended up making what some see as the most horrifying film of all time which they retitled the more effective "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". Now, while they did create a brilliant film which most now see as a classic, in their intentions, they did fail.
Twelve years later, Hooper enlisted L.M. Kit Larson (Wim Wender's great "Paris, Texas") to write him a sequel to "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" appropriately titled: "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2". Larson's screenplay was witty, satirical, and much, much more violent than the original film, which contained much less violence than it is known for. To bring the gore Larson wrote in his screenplay to celluloid, Hooper teamed up with the wizard of gore himself, Tom Savini (Dawn of the Dead, Maniac). Savini's gore looks great and at some points is truly gruesome, thanks to the great cinematography by Richard Kooris. Kooris' cinematography a bizarre yet beautiful feel the original did not have. The age make-up on the grandfather character is also considerably better than in the first film. The music as well, which in the first one was much more avant garde and ultimately bland, here is exciting and really fun.
While Bill Johnson is certainly no Gunnar Hansen at playing Leatherface, this is made up for in the supporting roles, especially those by Bill Moseley ("The Devil's Rejects") and Dennis Hopper ("Easy Rider", "Land of the Dead"). Hopper's character of an insane sheriff hunting down the Leatherface clan is great, but appears to have a much more complex layer to him than the other characters. All in all, the performances do add to the insanity of his brilliant film. I really do enjoy it and I hope you will too!
THIS MOVIE GETS BONUS POINTS FOR:
Chainsaw Duels Dennis Hopper Tom Savini effects
Twelve years later, Hooper enlisted L.M. Kit Larson (Wim Wender's great "Paris, Texas") to write him a sequel to "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" appropriately titled: "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2". Larson's screenplay was witty, satirical, and much, much more violent than the original film, which contained much less violence than it is known for. To bring the gore Larson wrote in his screenplay to celluloid, Hooper teamed up with the wizard of gore himself, Tom Savini (Dawn of the Dead, Maniac). Savini's gore looks great and at some points is truly gruesome, thanks to the great cinematography by Richard Kooris. Kooris' cinematography a bizarre yet beautiful feel the original did not have. The age make-up on the grandfather character is also considerably better than in the first film. The music as well, which in the first one was much more avant garde and ultimately bland, here is exciting and really fun.
While Bill Johnson is certainly no Gunnar Hansen at playing Leatherface, this is made up for in the supporting roles, especially those by Bill Moseley ("The Devil's Rejects") and Dennis Hopper ("Easy Rider", "Land of the Dead"). Hopper's character of an insane sheriff hunting down the Leatherface clan is great, but appears to have a much more complex layer to him than the other characters. All in all, the performances do add to the insanity of his brilliant film. I really do enjoy it and I hope you will too!
THIS MOVIE GETS BONUS POINTS FOR:
Chainsaw Duels Dennis Hopper Tom Savini effects