Disc Reviews

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 Blu-ray Review

19th Nov 2013

12 years after Tobe Hooper’s cult movie The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in 1986, the horror guru returned to bring his next installment of the franchise which was obviously being aimed at the MTV generation. Even the publicity posters for the feature had the characters posing identically to those from the John Hughes classic The Breakfast Club. Arrow Video have once more worked their magic on an old horror tale and brought to the table the ultimate release of the TCM 2 and introduced a BLU RAY edition loaded with extra features and a painstakingly restored picture that will be greatly received by old and new fans alike.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 was a far cry from the eerie and psychologically disturbing original with humour and cheese being added by the bucket load which seemed to be the formula for most horror films around this time.

It probably hasn’t aged as well as its predecessor and would easily be forgotten like some of the sequels and reboots that have followed, but with that aside it is quite a fun episode to reacquaint yourself with if you’re not expecting anything ground breaking and like your horror with its tongue rammed firmly in its cheek!

The TCM 2 did however have a great cast who put in some pretty sturdy performances with Dennis Hopper playing Lefty, a police lieutenant with revenge on his mind. It was his family members that the Sawyer family terrorised and slayed in the first movie. The scene in the movie when he’s in a DIY store selecting his weapons for a showdown with the flesh hungry family is a joy to watch. We have a new member of the sawyer family with Bill Moseley’s hysterical portrayal of Chop Top, a weird and crazy hippie with a metal plate in place of a part of his scull!

Jim Siedow returns to the role of cook and brings a new level of psychotic to the character and gets more screen time this time round which worked quite well given the feel and direction of the sequel. One of his highlights being early on in the film when he wins another Texas chilli cook off competition.

The heroine of the film, Stretch is played by Caroline Williams. A Radio DJ who attracts the attention of the Sawyer family when she continuously plays a recording from a phone in on her show which ended with the caller’s death by the hands of a chainsaw. She later comes a little bit more acquainted with this weapon in a dry humping scene with the films anti-hero Leatherface (yes you read that right!). It’s the turn of Bill Johnson to play the chainsaw wielding hulk in TCM2, the on screen presence of Leatherface wasn’t anywhere near as effective or menacing as the original Gunnar Hansen, but that can probably be forgiven as the context of this movie is totally different.

Arrows edition of this film includes a whole pile of extras to support the main feature with a 6 part documentary titled It Runs in the Family, looking behind the scenes and the history of Tobe Hooper’s sequel including interviews with all the films main stars. Deleted scenes and an alternate opening sequence are also included along with the original theatrical trailer.

Audio commentaries with cast and crew also add a great insight to the movie with Bill Moseley, Caroline Williams and Tom Savini stepping up to the microphone. Even the man himself Tobe Hooper recollects his time directing the movie.

If you thought all this was good value for money and a plethora of history to accompany the film then you haven’t heard the best of it yet! For the first time ever on home video, Tobe Hooper’s early works finish off this amazing release. Tobe’s short film The Heisters (1964) and his debut feature Eggshells (1969) are both presented in HD with a commentary available on Eggshells and are a must have for anybody who calls themselves a horror fan or collector.

How do they do it? Arrow Video keep stepping up to the plate and knocking these features straight out of the ball park! This release really does set a benchmark though for their future releases and I’m sure that they won’t disappoint! Bravo Arrow, Bravo!

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is available now through the Arrow Video Label