Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2’

Written by Scott Edwards

​There are times when you leave work just shaking your head because of what you have witnessed. So many things can happen throughout the workday from getting a new workload dropped on you to getting a bomb threat called in. Every day has new surprises, and they never cease to amaze us as the word continues to change. The only thing you can do is keep yourself centered and don’t get rattled when these things happen, because sadly they are becoming our way of life.
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Getting phone calls for requests at the radio station, Vanita ‘Stretch’ Brock is ready for her night to end when a couple of troublemakers continue to tie up her lines. Listening to the two drunk guys asking for everything under the sun, she hears something that she will never be able to forget. Listening to the two seeming to fight for their lives, the sound of a chainsaw hitting their car is something nobody expected. Listening to the two men dying, on the air, Stretch knows that she needs to get this tape to someone that will be able to do something with it and lucky for her, that man has just come to town.

Checking out the wreckage, Lieutenant ‘Lefty’ Enright is having flashes of what happened to his family years before. Noticing the chainsaw scratch marks on the side of the car, he knows that the family responsible for his loss is nearby. Getting a report on the news so the public is aware that there are killers on the loose once again, he is surprised to get a visit from Stretch in his hotel room. Trying to get him to listen to the tape that preceded the accident, Lefty declines, but knows that there might be something to it. With a plan to get revenge on the family that killed his, Lefty hits up the hardware store and picks up some weapons to take on the demons, as everybody knows you can only win the battle with a chainsaw.

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Arriving at work dumbfounded that Lefty does not want the evidence that she had, Stretch is surprised to see him sitting there and waiting for her. With a request to play the tape on the air, Lefty has a plan to bring the killer family out of hiding and knows that playing their greatest hits would do just that. As the broadcast night comes to a close, Stretch plays the tape and is shocked to see that a new fan has arrived at her station. Refusing to leave the station until he gets what he wants, Chop-Top has a surprise for the young woman as his brother comes in chainsaw a-blazing. Getting trapped in her office as Leatherface is ready to end her life, Stretch uses a little bit of her femininity to keep from being hacked to shreds. She sees that the man behind the mask is lonely and looking for a woman and somehow, she will be able to use that to her advantage.

Winning the state’s chili cook off once again, Drayton Sawyer admits that the secret to his success is the meat that he uses. Not giving away anything else, he is looking forward to another successful year and paying his taxes, which seem to do nothing for him. Driving home and hearing the recording of his boys killing some kids on the street, he is beside himself and will not let this stand between him and the future. With the kill order put out to get the tape back, Drayton goes about his underground business with a new body that needs to be cut up. With his mind wrapped up in his business, he has no idea that he has some uninvited guests that are looking to end his little charade and shut down his butcher shop for good.

While this might not be one of the greatest sequels to a masterpiece I have ever seen, I do see where plenty of current directors have gotten their ideas from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. I will admit that this is different than the first one in many ways, but mainly the blood that keeps it at an R rating.  Seeing more mutilation and getting a feel for what Leatherface wants out of life, you get some villains that are a little bit more humanized, yet still completely crazy. The revenge story for Lefty seems to be the driving force for the movie and while he may get what he wants, it is more costly than he could have expected. With plenty of blood, countless chainsaws, body mutilation, face masks, heroes, villains, and more dancing than any horror movie has ever had, it is really just a good old horror time. Even though this might not be my favorite movie, it continues to stick with me over the years, mainly because of the dancing, but also because it was an inspiration to so many other horror movie makers that have been able to use this story to make their own. Stay Scared.

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