And so, the law of diminishing returns rings true...
Only the first film is mentioned in the opening crawl (ignoring the 2nd), and Leatherface is the ONLY returning Sawyer, transplanted inexplicably into a new family! (well, a grandpa is in it now, it may be the same one, but he's dead either way).
This time out (as hinted in the title) the goal is clearly to take Letherface to franchise, and pretty much abandon the TCM legacy.
And it fails.. miserably.
With the new family, this could also be seen as a reboot to the franchise; in fact, opening crawls asside, both is entry and the 2nd could be seen as completely unrelated movies, which each have a take on the character of Leatherface, but don't take place in the same fictional universe.
One thing I loved in the first movie (but it was underplayed and a lot of people miss it) is that Leatherface has a verity of masks, which he wears to suit his mood. A the beginning of the film he wears the mask most of us know from merchandising; the "killing mask", and a butchers apron. Later we (briefly) see him in the kitchen, wearing a light blue ladies apron, and an "old lady" mask (with blue rinse); Finally, from dinner onward Bubba puts on his best black suit, and a "pretty" mask (Which is to say it has make-up on and a ladies wig).
To me, if Leatherface is to be expanded upon and taken to franchise, this is the direction to go - almost like a morbid Worzel Gummidge with grotesque skin masks rather than turnip heads! Alas, like the previous entry, this movie features only a "killing mask" (although, admittedly, its a great one).
This time around the man behind the mask is R.A.Mihailoff; who, to his credit, is quite possibly the best thing in the movie, getting just the right balance between retarded and imposing; you wouldn't want to be chased by this dude, with or without his chainsaw! That said, a lot of the time I was put in mind of Kane Hodder (Jason, Friday the 13th parts 6 through 10)* so maybe it's my fondness for that series coming through.
As I've hinted a couple of times already, this entry in the TCM legacy is not a movie I could recommend Nor is it so mind-numbingly awful that I'd tell you to avoid it either... but there are definitely slashers I'd watch before this one.
*I've just read around and it turns out that's because Hodder was the stunt man on this, and pretty much every time the chainsaw is running it IS him.
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Saturday, 19 January 2013
Saturday, 12 January 2013
Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 - Will's Review
*** Contains spoilers for the first "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" ***
Tobe Hooper returns to pull directorial duties; making the massive shift in tone from the original all the more baffling.
This time the terror element is toned down, while the dark comedy element is ramped way up; not that dark humor was absent from the original, but it was a lot more subtle; also the blood is upped this time (hardly surprising as the always reliable Tom Savini has been brought in for makeup effects) .
More serious than the change in tone, is the change in characterization which plagues the film; once it's in full swing, Bill Johnson is superb as Letherface, although his earlier scenes show an enjoyment to the killing and teasing of his victims which was not present, likewise Jim Siedow returning as Drayton (simply 'the cook' in part 1) now revels in the violence that he previously couldn't bear to be around; it's worth noting however, that in both cases the script, rather than the actor, is at fault.
New to the Sawyer Clan, is genera stalwart Bill Mosley, as Nam Vet 'Crop-top' - an obvious stand in for the hitch-hiker (who also returns (in prop form), as 'nubbins' a corpse that Crop-top carries around with him*)
Finally, Grandpa returns; although he is once again hidden until a dinner scene, which plays far too much like a bad do-over of the one in the first. Of all the scenes to remake in the sequel, why pick the one that has already been done so perfectly?
On the side of good (cannon fodder aside) we have only 2 character of note; local DJ 'Stretch' (Caroline Williams doing her best Laurie Metcalf impression) and 'Lefty' (Dennis Hopper), a Texas ranger, uncle of the victims from the first movie, and only man in law-endorsement who believed in the cannibal family. I have to mention at this point, that seeing Dennis Hopper shopping for filing chainsaws is a thing of beauty.
On the subject of Lefty's ties to the original; Franklyn's skeleton makes an appearance, which is just silly; not only is it still in-tact an in it's chair (surely it would have been broken down for meat), but it's also in the Sawyers new digs (they have moved several times between movies, and currently live in an abandoned theme park) implying that the family take their victims remains with them when they move.
I really do enjoy this movie, probably more than it actually deserves; but as fun as it is, its still a shame to see Leatherface and the Sawyer family reduced to a clan of post-Freddy hero killers... That said, there isn't really much sequel potential if everything had remained unchanged.
Works well as a fun horror movie, but not necessarily as a sequel to TCM...
*untill this viewing, I'd always assumed that Crop-top was the Hitchhiker; the plate being a 'repair' from his meeting with the truck in part one. Watching the two in close succession, I notice that hitch hiker's death in part one was pretty final, and he shares a facial birthmark with Nubbins the corpse.
Tobe Hooper returns to pull directorial duties; making the massive shift in tone from the original all the more baffling.
This time the terror element is toned down, while the dark comedy element is ramped way up; not that dark humor was absent from the original, but it was a lot more subtle; also the blood is upped this time (hardly surprising as the always reliable Tom Savini has been brought in for makeup effects) .
More serious than the change in tone, is the change in characterization which plagues the film; once it's in full swing, Bill Johnson is superb as Letherface, although his earlier scenes show an enjoyment to the killing and teasing of his victims which was not present, likewise Jim Siedow returning as Drayton (simply 'the cook' in part 1) now revels in the violence that he previously couldn't bear to be around; it's worth noting however, that in both cases the script, rather than the actor, is at fault.
New to the Sawyer Clan, is genera stalwart Bill Mosley, as Nam Vet 'Crop-top' - an obvious stand in for the hitch-hiker (who also returns (in prop form), as 'nubbins' a corpse that Crop-top carries around with him*)
Finally, Grandpa returns; although he is once again hidden until a dinner scene, which plays far too much like a bad do-over of the one in the first. Of all the scenes to remake in the sequel, why pick the one that has already been done so perfectly?
On the side of good (cannon fodder aside) we have only 2 character of note; local DJ 'Stretch' (Caroline Williams doing her best Laurie Metcalf impression) and 'Lefty' (Dennis Hopper), a Texas ranger, uncle of the victims from the first movie, and only man in law-endorsement who believed in the cannibal family. I have to mention at this point, that seeing Dennis Hopper shopping for filing chainsaws is a thing of beauty.
On the subject of Lefty's ties to the original; Franklyn's skeleton makes an appearance, which is just silly; not only is it still in-tact an in it's chair (surely it would have been broken down for meat), but it's also in the Sawyers new digs (they have moved several times between movies, and currently live in an abandoned theme park) implying that the family take their victims remains with them when they move.
I really do enjoy this movie, probably more than it actually deserves; but as fun as it is, its still a shame to see Leatherface and the Sawyer family reduced to a clan of post-Freddy hero killers... That said, there isn't really much sequel potential if everything had remained unchanged.
Works well as a fun horror movie, but not necessarily as a sequel to TCM...
*untill this viewing, I'd always assumed that Crop-top was the Hitchhiker; the plate being a 'repair' from his meeting with the truck in part one. Watching the two in close succession, I notice that hitch hiker's death in part one was pretty final, and he shares a facial birthmark with Nubbins the corpse.
Saturday, 5 January 2013
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - Will's Review
What can I even begin to say about TCM that hasn't already been said?
Unoriginal though this sentiment may be; the first thing I'm going to say is 'if you haven't seen Texas Chain Saw; go watch it'. Although that seems a little redundant; if you like horror movies enough to have found yourself on the corner of the interwebs where people watch one every week, then you have almost certainly seen this one a couple of times already!
Unoriginal though this sentiment may be; the first thing I'm going to say is 'if you haven't seen Texas Chain Saw; go watch it'. Although that seems a little redundant; if you like horror movies enough to have found yourself on the corner of the interwebs where people watch one every week, then you have almost certainly seen this one a couple of times already!
With that in mind, I'm not going to be especially mindful of spoilers from here on in.
The thing I think most people find so surprising about this movie is the lack of blood.
The only blood-drawing scenes are 2 smallish knife cuts (one to a hand, one an arm) a pricked finger, and an accidental 3" cut to Leatherface's leg... Only the latter would require stitches!
The second thing that surprises people is that it takes more than one viewing to even realise how little blood there is; the movie is such an assault on the senses that a first viewing is likely to leave you too overloaded to notice specifics. The soundscape especially seems to have been (and I'm sure; was) especially made to fill you with fear, and knock you mentally off balance.
After a nerve jangling opening, the movie quickly settles down into a quite road trip; the visit from a demented hitch-hiker acts as groundwork for what is to follow, but still the tone quietens down as out cast (surprisingly, to a modern audience) arrive at their intended destination.
This quietness though, is what gives the films 3rd act it's power; from the second we enter the Sawer's home, the nerve jangling goes up to 11, and doesn't let up for the rest if the movie.
Really the only problem I have with this film is Grandpa... Until he turns up, the film is squarely in 'it could happen' territory; and suddenly showing a... Whatever grandpa is (a zombie?) really bugs me.
But then without Sawer Snr, we'd miss one of the most horrifying scenes ever commuted to film; The hitchhiker, assisting grandpa in an attempted slaughter of our final girl; it's so drawn out that it's not easy to watch, and by the time she finally loses it and goes hysterical, we completely understand!
It's hard to believe that this was brought to us by the same Tobe Hooper who would go on to bring us "The Mangler" and the "Toolbox Murders" remake...
The thing I think most people find so surprising about this movie is the lack of blood.
The only blood-drawing scenes are 2 smallish knife cuts (one to a hand, one an arm) a pricked finger, and an accidental 3" cut to Leatherface's leg... Only the latter would require stitches!
The second thing that surprises people is that it takes more than one viewing to even realise how little blood there is; the movie is such an assault on the senses that a first viewing is likely to leave you too overloaded to notice specifics. The soundscape especially seems to have been (and I'm sure; was) especially made to fill you with fear, and knock you mentally off balance.
After a nerve jangling opening, the movie quickly settles down into a quite road trip; the visit from a demented hitch-hiker acts as groundwork for what is to follow, but still the tone quietens down as out cast (surprisingly, to a modern audience) arrive at their intended destination.
This quietness though, is what gives the films 3rd act it's power; from the second we enter the Sawer's home, the nerve jangling goes up to 11, and doesn't let up for the rest if the movie.
Really the only problem I have with this film is Grandpa... Until he turns up, the film is squarely in 'it could happen' territory; and suddenly showing a... Whatever grandpa is (a zombie?) really bugs me.
But then without Sawer Snr, we'd miss one of the most horrifying scenes ever commuted to film; The hitchhiker, assisting grandpa in an attempted slaughter of our final girl; it's so drawn out that it's not easy to watch, and by the time she finally loses it and goes hysterical, we completely understand!
It's hard to believe that this was brought to us by the same Tobe Hooper who would go on to bring us "The Mangler" and the "Toolbox Murders" remake...
Fun Facts:
- The Roadkill armadillo from near the beginning of the film did not appear in the script; the crew just found it on location.
- Letherface's self-inflicted chainsaw wound did not use a stuntman, and was achieved by placing a metal plate, and then a steak, on actor Gunnar Hansen's leg under his trousers. Hansen sustained a burn to his leg because of the friction between the chainsaw and the plate.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)