13. ALL THINGS BEING SEQUEL: …So long as it isn’t a Half 1.
The Texas Chainsaw Bloodbath 2
One factor to find out about me going into this evaluation is that I largely agree with this tweet, which, unsurprisingly, had individuals frothing on the mouth.
Not just for horror however possibly one of many 5 greatest American movies ever made, yeah https://t.co/7QQ6t2lyno
— Brandon Streussnig (@BrndnStrssng) October 10, 2024
The Texas Chain Noticed Bloodbath is the proper New Hollywood movie. It is moody, atmospheric, lo-fi, anti-establishment, and completely imaginative, wrenching the slasher style from its hiding place at the hours of darkness of night time and shoving it into the intense Texas sunshine. Gasoline stations, chickens, pick-up vans, and all the state of Texas have been freaky for the reason that day this movie was launched in 1974. Its indifferent grittiness coaxed the rise of found-footage horror many years later, and Sally Hardesty’s maniacal laughter revealed the psychological toll on the ultimate lady for the primary time, a theme that is repeated with Halloween’s Laurie Strode, Scream‘s Sidney Prescott, and numerous different slasher survivors.
I might posit that solely Alien has had a wider cultural affect on horror, however Ridley Scott really cited TCM as an affect on his movie.
The Texas Chain Noticed Bloodbath‘s sequel, nonetheless, is one thing fully completely different. And by “fully completely different” I imply that Tobe Hooper directed a black comedy, and it is superior.
The Texas Chainsaw Bloodbath 2 opens with two excessive schoolers prank-calling a radio station as they cruise down a rural freeway, quickly to be slaughtered by Leatherface. The homicide is overheard (and recorded) by native disc jockey Stretch. Former Texas Ranger Lefty (Dennis Hopper!) will get concerned when he catches wind of the recording. Seems he is received pores and skin within the recreation—he is the uncle of Sally and Frank Hardesty, two of Leatherface’s earlier targets.
When Stretch performs the recording on her radio present to drum up public response, she by accident summons Leatherface and his psychotic, hippie-adjacent relative Chop-Prime, who had a steel plate grafted onto his cranium throughout the Vietnam Battle. The pair present up on the radio station to kill her, a protracted scene through which Chop-Prime hollers the movie’s most essential line: “Lick my plate, you canine dick!”
The central thrust of TCM 2 is that Leatherface is sexy now. He illustrates this by positioning a chainsaw dangerously near Stretch’s (jeanshorted, fortunately) vulva. In opposition to a soundtrack of Oingo Boingo, Concrete Blonde, and the Cramps’ “Goo Goo Muck,” Stretch is pressured to make use of her candy Texan attraction to fend off Leatherface’s chainsaw, which is precisely as awkward and gross because it sounds. It additionally solely works for thus lengthy. Quickly, Stretch tumbles down a slide into the Sawyer clan’s subterranean hell dungeon, the place she has different psycho-killers (like silent, hammer-wielding Grandpa) to cope with.
There are surprisingly few kills on this sequel, however tons to like. It had roughly 39 occasions the funds of the unique (TCM filmed for round $120,000; TCM 2 for $4.7 million), so the units are far out, and the gore is squelchy. Hooper additionally crafts one thing fairly uncommon within the slasher horror style: The sequel is humorous and weird, after all, however balances that weirdness with extra of his relentless, imaginative gnarliness. If you happen to’re eager to examine in on Leatherface with out fairly the remoted brutality of the unique, The Texas Chainsaw Bloodbath 2 is a chief reduce.
The Stranger is collaborating in Scarecrow Video’s Psychotronic Problem all month lengthy! Each October, Scarecrow places collectively an inventory of cinematic themes and invitations people to observe alongside and watch a horror, sci-fi, or fantasy flick that meets the factors. This 12 months, Stranger staffers are becoming a member of the enjoyable and we’re sharing our every day suggestions right here on Slog! Learn extra about Scarecrow’s 2024 problem—and get the watch record—right here. And you’ll monitor our every day suggestions right here! 💀
