The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)

Director:

Tobe Hooper

Writers:

Kim Henkel (characters) and
Tobe Hooper (characters) ...
(more)

Release Date:

22 August 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

After a decade of silence... The buzzz is back!

Plot:

A radio host is victimized by the cannibal family as a former Texas Marshall hunts them.

Plot Keywords:

Radio Host | Texas | Leatherface | Screaming | Black Comedy

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Dennis Hopper	...	Lieutenant 'Lefty' Enright
Caroline Williams	...	Vanita 'Stretch' Brock
Jim Siedow	...	Drayton Sawyer, the Cook
Bill Moseley	...	'Chop-Top' Sawyer
Bill Johnson	...	Leatherface 'Bubba' Sawyer
Ken Evert	...	Grandpa Sawyer
Harlan Jordan	...	Patrolman
Kirk Sisco	...	Detective
James N. Harrell	...	Cut-Rite Manager
Lou Perryman	...	L.G. McPeters (as Lou Perry)
Barry Kinyon	...	Mercedes Driver
Chris Douridas	...	Gunner
Judy Kelly	...	Gourmet Yuppette
John Martin Ivey	...	Yuppie
Kinky Friedman	...	Sports Anchorman
Wirt Cain	...	Anchorman
Dan Jenkins	...	T.V. Commentator
John Bloom	...	Gonzo Moviegoer (scenes deleted) (as Joe Bob Briggs)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tobe Hooper	...	Man in hotel corridor (uncredited)

Directed by
Tobe Hooper

Writing credits
Kim Henkel		(characters) and
Tobe Hooper		(characters)
L.M. Kit Carson		(written by)

Produced by
L.M. Kit Carson	....	associate producer
Yoram Globus	....	producer
Menahem Golan	....	producer
Tobe Hooper	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Tobe Hooper
Jerry Lambert

Cinematography by
Richard Kooris		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Alain Jakubowicz

Casting by
Robert MacDonald
Bonita Pietila

Production Design by
Cary White

Set Decoration by
Michael Peal

Costume Design by
Carin Hooper

Makeup Department
Denise Carfagno	....	hair stylist
Candi Duke	....	makeup artist
Bart Mixon	....	special makeup effects artist
Tom Savini	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Henry Kline	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David C. Anderson	....	assistant director: second unit
Newt Arnold	....	second unit director
Richard Espinoza	....	assistant director
Mark Lyon	....	assistant director
John Moio	....	second unit director
Leo Zisman	....	assistant director: second unit

Art Department
Jay Raymond	....	art lead person
Robert A. Sturtevant	....	construction foreman

Sound Department
David Bartlett	....	supervising sound editor
Ron Bartlett	....	sound editor
Wayne Bell	....	production sound mixer
Ken Dufva	....	foley artist
Allen Hartz	....	sound editor
Jane Lang	....	sound editor
Michael Linn	....	sound editor
Henry Miller	....	boom operator
Oscar Mitt	....	sound
Steve Shearsby	....	sound editor
Ralph Stuart	....	first sound assistant
Justine Vacco	....	first assistant sound editor
Dick Vandenberg	....	sound editor
Richard Villa	....	sound editor
Fred Wasser	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Gabriel Bartalos	....	special effects makeup crew
Ray Beetz	....	special effects
Gino Crognale	....	special effects makeup crew
Mitch Devane	....	special effects makeup crew
Josh Hakian	....	special effects foreman
Gerald McClanahan	....	special effects
Shawn McEnroe	....	special effects makeup crew
Daniel F. Morris	....	mechanical special effects
Joe Quinlivan	....	special effects
Ken Sher	....	special effects
Todd Smiley	....	special effects
Eddie Surkin	....	special effects coordinator
John Vulich	....	special effects makeup crew

Stunts
Larry Holt	....	stunts
John Meier	....	stunts (as John C. Meier)
John Moio	....	stunt coordinator
John Moio	....	stunts
Tom Morga	....	stunts
Jim Stephan	....	stunts
Jim Stephen	....	stunts
Al Wyatt Jr.	....	stunts (as Allan Wyatt Jr.)
Robert Elmore	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Brown Cooper	....	first assistant camera: second unit
Phil Curry	....	gaffer
Ian Ellis	....	grip
Eric H. Lasher	....	still photographer
Darryl Murchison	....	lighting technician
John Sheeren	....	first assistant camera: "c" camera
Glenn Dunn	....	best boy (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Anne Couk	....	first assistant editor
Omneya 'Nini' Mazen	....	post-production coordinator

Transportation Department
Lonnie Nelson	....	construction driver
Phil Schriber	....	transportation co-captain

Other crew
Bundy Chanock	....	set medic
Boots Hart	....	key production accountant
Sjon Ueckert	....	location manager

Production Companies

• Cannon Films

Distributors

• Cannon Film Distributors (1986) (USA) (theatrical)
• Blue Dolphin Film Distribution (2001) (UK) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment
• Astral Video (1986) (Canada) (video)
• Blue Dolphin Film Distribution
• FS Film Oy (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• MGM / UA Home Video (1986) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Media Home Entertainment (1986) (USA) (VHS)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (video)
• Pan-Canadian Film Distributors (Canada)
• Vestron Video International (1986) (Belgium) (video)
• Video Treasures

Also Known As:

"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2" - USA (video box title)
"La matanza de Texas 2" - Spain, Venezuela
"Ο Σχιζοφρενής Δολοφόνος με το Πριόνι 2" - Greece
"A texasi láncfűrészes mészárlás 2: Halálbarlang" - Hungary
"Akuma no ikenie 2" - Japan
"Katliam" - Turkey (Turkish title)
"La masacre de Texas 2" - Argentina
"Masacre en Texas 2" - Mexico
"Masacre en el infierno" - Chile (video title)
"Massacre à la tronçonneuse 2" - France
"Massacre no Texas 2" - Portugal (imdb display title)
"Motorsågsmassakern 2" - Sweden
"Motorsavsmassakren 2" - Denmark (imdb display title)
"Non aprite quella porta - Parte 2" - Italy (imdb display title)
"O Massacre da Serra Elétrica Parte 2" - Brazil (imdb display title)
"O shizofrenis dolofonos me to prioni 2" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)
"Teksanska masakra pila mechaniczna II" - Poland (imdb display title)
"Teksasin moottorisahamurhaaja 2" - Finland
"Terror en Texas" - Peru (imdb display title)
"Texas Chainsaw 2" - Netherlands (video box title)
"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2" - Netherlands (informal literal title)

Runtime:

89 min | USA:100 min (director's cut) | USA:111 min (Digitally Remastered Collector's Edition) | Hong Kong:100 min (uncut version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (TVC)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | Germany:(Banned) (1990) | USA:Unrated | Canada:16+ (Quebec re-rated 2006) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Australia:(Banned) (1986 - 2006) | Australia:R (re-rating, 2006) | Singapore:R21 (re-rating on appeal) | Finland:K-18 (self applied) (2001) | South Korea:18 | Canada:18+ (TV rating) | USA:X (original rating) | Italy:VM18 | Canada:18A (Alberta) (reclassification in 2011) | West Germany:(Banned) (1986) | Portugal:M/18 | Argentina:16 | Canada:R | Chile:18 | Denmark:16 | France:-16 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:(Banned) | Sweden:(Banned) | UK:18 | Hong Kong:III | Australia:MA (TV rating) | Norway:18 (DVD rating) (2004) (uncut) | Singapore:(Banned) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Cannon Films

Trivia:

Throughout the film, many references are made to the "Red River Rivalry" or "Red River Shootout" in regards to the football game going on during the film. This was not invented for the film. As any avid college football fan can tell you, the "Red River Rivalry" is the common name for the animosity between the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas. The film takes place during OU vs. Texas weekend.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: When Stretch is telling LG to cut the phone line he says to her "dammit, I'm trying darling" and you can see the boom reflected in the glass screen between them.

Quotes:

Drayton:You coonshits, you fudge packers, you'll be the death of me yet!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Hagan Reviews: Zombeak (#2.6)" (2012)

Soundtrack:

Good to Be Bad

Amazing Grand Guignol Horror Film!

Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is one of the most misunderstood movies of all time. I saw Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 when it was released in theaters back in 1986. I loved this horror flick then. But everyone else hated it. Critics trashed it. Even many horror fans, of the first Texas Chainsaw Massacre or slashers in general, hated it and dismissed it. Now after a decade or so after its release, TCM 2 is now a bona fide cult movie.

There are so many things to point out why TCM 2 is a stand-out. The first and most important thing to point out is that back in the 1980s, horror films were reduced to simple slashers. TCM 2 is totally different than the plethora of slashers that many horror fans expected to see, which is one reason why many horror fans didn't get it. The body count is extremely low in TCM 2 compared to the Friday the 13th or Elm Street flicks. But that doesn't mean it's not violent. No, it's VERY violent. But the violence in TCM 2 is more engrossing, shocking and even at times funny, and in turn less acceptable than the unreal violence found in many slasher films. Because of the amount of violence and violent imagery, films critics trashed TCM 2, pointing out how the first film didn't rely on gore and violence to scare the audience.

I love Texas Chainsaw Massacre as much as I love TCM 2. I understand what the critics were saying. Unfortunately, they didn't get the point of the violence in TCM 2. While TCM is a sweat inducing TERRIFYING horror film in the first order, TCM 2 is a "GRAND GUIGNOL HORROR" horror film in the first order. In TCM 2, Hooper creates a vast canvas of baroque imagery, where we watch the insane and gory story unfold before our incredulous eyes. I'm amazed that critics missed the whole difference between TCM and TCM 2. It's odd that critics will rave about Peter Greenaway's "THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE & HER LOVER" which is a twisted drama in the the Grand Guignol style, but didn't see TCM 2 in the same way. It's probably due to the fact that TCM 2 is a sequel to a quasi-legendary horror film and everyone expected the sequel to be the same as the first movie.

I give credit to everyone involved with TCM 2. They actually TRIED to do something different: different from the equally great TCM, different from the increasingly boring horror films of the 80s. And in my eye, they've succeeded. There are so many memorable scenes in TCM 2, some of which are the most amazing horror moments ever put on screen (when Leatherface tries to put the scalped face on Stretch, the scene when Stretch finds her friend sans face, etc). And there are so many quotable lines too. TCM 2 is also a very funny film ("Rain, rain, rain, rain..." Choptop says as he checks out records at the radio station).

TCM 2 is not perfect. The ending is abrupt. And the chainsaw fight at the end is too short. Dennis Hopper is a bit hard to take as a "hero." But he does play the "twisted hero" right. It's just difficult to see him fighting big and burly Leatherface. BTW, the very last image of TCM 2 is Strecth dancing with a chainsaw in her hands at the top of that amusement park structure. In the original film (and the original video release), we can see cars and trucks driving by on a highway in the distance. On the DVD, they cropped this shot and we don't see the traffic anymore. Personally, I thought it added a LOT to the whole surreal aspect of the film. Like the world was continuing on with its relentless pace, no matter what had just happened that night. I wished they didn't crop this shot on the DVD. Oh well...

It's a shame few people "got" TCM 2 back then. After reading the reviews at IMDb and at Amazon, it's great to see that some are finally "getting it." For anyone who's game, watch TCM 2. You'll be squealing in horror and laughing at the insanity of it all in equal amounts.