texas chainsaw masscre 2

Horror films are particularly prone to sequelization. It seemed like only moments after Frankenstein's Monster dropped out of sight in that burning windmill in 1931 the genre discovered its own secret to eternal life: by recombining those pre-owned parts into and endless parade of spin-offs, reboots and re-imaginings. But very rarely do those sequels deviate from the successful formula established by the original. Bride of Frankenstein was the early exception to the rule, toying with audience expectations for another serious shocker but delivering a whip-smart spoof instead. Director Tobe Hooper does much the same with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part Two, inserting a copious amount of inside-jokes, capitalistic commentary and a loopy Lone Star State sense of humor that matches - and often overwhelms - the expected blood and gore.

To be honest, the original TCM had very little onscreen violence; but the film's intensity made it a grueling experience nonetheless. It was a tough act to follow, which probably explains why Hooper waited 12 years to even attempt it. But he and screenwriter L.M. Kit Carson didn't deliver anything near what executives at Cannon films expected. While not an outright comedy, the further adventures of the Sawyer family - a psychopathic foursome whose award winning chili-recipe calls for large helpings of human flesh - mixes black humor and no-holds-barred levels of violence.

Dennis Hopper gets top billing as Lieutenant "Lefty" Enright, the uncle of one of the victims of the original massacre in '74. His rather despicable plan to track down those responsible involves setting up a local DJ, "Stretch" (Caroline Williams), to play a recorded call-in of a recent murder. When Leatherface shows up, joined by his unbalanced Vietnam vet brother "Chop-Top" (Bill Moseley), Lefty follows them back to their underground lair and proceeds to saw the place down in a fit of religious vengeance.

In actuality, Hopper's part as the righteous Lt. Enright is just an extended cameo. It's Stretch who does most of the running and screaming, with Williams doing her best to match the legendary lungs of Marilyn Burns. And it’s her endearing performance that keeps the film grounded, even making her clumsy seduction of Leatherface (a moment the film really owes to Friday the 13th Part 2) believably memorable. In fact, she's so likable that the film's "mallet to the head" finale is somewhat more disturbing that the original. Stretch doesn't seem to deserve all this pain and suffering.

And it's that sort of mean-spirited dichotomy that makes TCM2 so interesting. Just when the film seems to have settled down as an offbeat comedy, guided mostly by Moseley's hyperactive performance as Chop-Top, a skin-eating flower child with a metal plate in his skull, it hits you with unexpected moments of madness. Hooper never lets you guess what his next move will be. And for a sequel that's the most difficult trick to accomplish bar none.

Although TCM2 has hit home video before, Scream Factory's Blu-ray collector's edition seems like it was the foregone conclusion everyone was waiting for. And, man, does it ever deliver! The new 2K transfer of the film itself is set-up on disc one, while the original transfer supervised by DP Richard Kooris is included for completist's sake on disc two. No need to argue which looks better, now you have both. And all that nightmarish production design has never looked better!

Along with that come three audio commentaries (various combinations of Hooper, the cast and the crew), several new featurettes and almost all the old ones. First up is an interview with the FX crew, followed by the actors who portrayed yuppies in the opening scene, editor Alain Jakubowicz, Leatherface himself (this time around) Bob Elmore and Horror's Hallowed Grounds segment that tours old locations from the film.

But the primary source of behind-the-scenes info is the repurposed feature-length documentary It Runs in the Family which is tacked on again, along with several deleted scenes and an opening title sequence. You couldn't learn any more about TCM2 unless you were on the set yourself!