***SPOILERS***
Back with a familiar feel this week. This weeks movie felt like we were back on our Beyond Nasty challenge again. Is that a bad or good thing I hear you ask? Well, neither kinda..... this is one of those films that pass an hour and a half and you don't think its bad enough to slate, but at the same time you're left feeling kinda 'meh' about it. I don't want to be too unkind about this movie as it actually wasn't too bad, but I can't help but feel Joe Spinnell is more deserving of better material... unfortunate that he actually wrote 'Maniac'.
So our premis here is a middle aged, chunky, single man (Frank) living in New York. Its shown pretty much from the getgo that he's a bit of a freak. We are shown that he murders young women, scalps them and then places the scalp on a mannequins in his appartment. He has several mannequins, obviously hinting that he is a seasoned serial killer. After several nights of sleeping with his new scalp adorned mannequins. He goes out to find a new victim.
We are also made aware that he has a bit of a mother complex. His mum was a nasty piece of work who died in a car accident. Frank isn't quite ready to accept mummy dearest has gone so he seems to think each of the mannequins IS his mother, having full, allbeit one-sided conversations with her.
We only deviate from his normal routine when a young photographer (Anna) takes his photo in the park. He finds out where she lives and goes to her appartment. Recognising him as the man she photographed, she lets them in... The women in these movies really do need a few safety & security lessons it seems. Although he plans to murder her, he is impressed by her talent and ends up taking her out for dinner.
When visiting her at one of her photo shoots, he is rather taken by a young model she is photographing. He steals a necklace belonging to her, so he can return it later, giving him an excuse to go to her house. This young lady needs to attend the same safety classes as Anna, as she opens the door to this complete stranger. He of course gains access to her appartment, kidnaps her and takes her home. She meets the same fate as all the other ladies, proving meeting Anna has not changed Frank at all.
The movie takes a bit of a quite spiral downwards after this point. We see Frank and Anna going to the graveyard to visit Franks mothers grave. He tries to kill Anna and ends up hallucinating, seeing his dead mother.
We go back to the appartment and he dreams of all his mannequins coming to life as the women that he murdered and piling on top of him before ripping his head off. I was a bit unsure as to whether this was happening, but given he is seen laying on the bed bleeding from what seems to be a suicide attempt in the next scene, I am guessing he was dreaming or hallucinating.
In the final scene, 2 policemen enter his appartment, see his collection of mannequins and him laying on the bed bleeding. Why they imagine him to be dead without checking, who knows.... they leave and Franks eyes snap open. End Movie.
So what did I think? Good points - One thing I would give mention to was certain special effects.... Tom Savini makes a short appearance, making out with a young woman in a car. Frank blows his head off at close range with a shotgun. Quite impressive effects there. Also good blood throughout. A close-up of the first scalping is also believable.
It wasn't a BAD movie, but it certainly wasn't a good one. I thought Joe Spinnell was excellent as Frank, but the movie in itself was just something we've seen 100 times before. Its not something I would recommend someone rush out and see, but I would probably suggest they check out the head explosion scene.
Showing posts with label Tom Savini. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tom Savini. Show all posts
Saturday, 27 April 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.
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