The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

Tobe Hooper

1986

USA

Sequel to one of the best horror films ever made, it was always going to be a hard act to follow. This is set ten years after the first film, the murders are just a bad memory but lately some more strange disappearances have been happening. The opening of the film is classic with a couple of idiots driving down a seemingly deserted highway, they overtake a rundown old pick up truck and hurl some abuse, big mistake! The truck catches up and pulls along side of them, suddenly from under a cover in the back appears leatherface with a chainsaw that looks twice the size of the one used in the original, as you would expect none of the two drivers survive and one of them has the top of his head sawed off!

This has more gore and blood in the first ten minutes than the whole first film, unfortunately it doesn't have nearly the same impact and isn't a patch on the original. The realistic edge that made the first film so far ahead of the competition is missing and this one feels much more mainstream. This is actually a very good film which deserves to be judged on it's own merit.

The rest of the story concerns the family being pursued by a relative of the murdered kids from the first film  (Dennis Hopper) who acts the demented revenge hungry madman with relish, running around with chainsaw in hand. This ends up with the predictable, but fun chainsaw fights. The ending spoils the film slightly and is a carbon copy of the first film, in reverse! Anyone who liked the first film will probably appreciate this and it's certainly worth checking out .