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Vern tells you all about the TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2: THE GRUESOME EDITION DVD!!!

What this site needs is more political debate by BannedOnTheRun	Oct 10th, 2006 04:15:00 AM
I just can't hear enough about the mythical "excesses of the Reagan years." Thank God we straightened out our priorities in the stock market bubble Enron WorldCom Nasdaq DOW 36,000 peace and prosperity Clinton '90s. That said, it's the Breakfast Club poster on this disc or nothing, thanks.
I saw this when in high school... by skitch	Oct 10th, 2006 04:50:38 AM
Right after I watched the original for the first time...and I loved it...perfectly 80's but still had something about it that separated it from the rest of the group. Now don't get me wrong... I grew up on (and still cherish) classics and bad B's such as Night of the Comet, Night of the Creeps (still better than Slither), Night of the Demons, Chopping Mall, et al... But this sequel is really well worth buying...and as I was unaware that the special edition was coming out...well hold the phone, make me some flapjacks and Ike hit me again and put some steak on it...I will purchase this with no thought of paying things like bills... Just think...will paying those keep you warm at night? Mayhaps. Will they leave the light on for you? Who cares? Get this edition as it is really one truly worthy successor to the original (which still scares the hell out of me). Just think...how many of the "stars" of the original did you ever see again? Not like the remake where you see Jessica Biel on TV or in the tabloids... And this is somewhat similar...this was back in the old days...before the dark time...before the Empire (media, internet) Get it...you'll be glad you did!
First Caught.. by Hugh Jarse	Oct 10th, 2006 05:14:41 AM
..this on a crappy 10th gen video here in the UK about 13 yrs ago (BBFC didn`t like chainsaws back then) and saw it again on TV couple a of nights ago for the 4th time..and I enjoy it more each time I see it..Am glad that stylistically each film takes a different approach instead of looking like carbon copies of previous films. Sounds like the Special Edition is well worth getting too.
Apparently it's still the same crappy R rated version by Floyd_Dylan	Oct 10th, 2006 06:04:20 AM
According to rewind comparisons!!! http://www.dvdcompare.net/comp arisons/film.php?fid=162#overa ll
I stopped reading this about half-way through by Mister Man	Oct 10th, 2006 07:09:44 AM
Learn to be concise, or shut up.
Bringing in the Sheaves by Mister Man	Oct 10th, 2006 07:13:29 AM
I assume that's what you meant.
Hooray! by tonagan	Oct 10th, 2006 07:47:48 AM
I missed out on the Anchor Bay version, so I've been eagerly awaiting something like this. I remember seeing it when it first came out. The ticket-person tried to talk me out of seeing it because it was "terrible" so, there I was, opening weekend, in an empty theater. I always took it as a black comedy - or something along the lines of how Evil Dead 2 compares to the original. Thanks for the review.
On this movie we can agree, Vern. by Childe Roland	Oct 10th, 2006 08:05:55 AM
I loved it back in the day and still have a deep fondness for it. I think Rob Zombie owes the entirety of his House of 1000 Corpses and Devil's Rejects to this movie. And he didn't quite capture the same sense of dizzy fun mayhem as TCSM 2. Oh, and Mister Man needs to lighten up some.
Thanks Vern! by brycemonkey	Oct 10th, 2006 08:31:31 AM
I'll check this out. I didn't know anything of it until now. I love horror and 80's excess so this sounds great to me.
It's great to see people who appreciate TCM2. by rev_skarekroe	Oct 10th, 2006 08:55:06 AM
I'll be picking this up next time I'm down at Best Buy. One of the best sequels of all time, but so few understand it. Still, no shot of the truck at the end? We used to drive by that amusement park on the way to my Grandparents place. Guess I won't be trashing my VHS copy, then.
glad to hear they are giving this one its due by chillzatl	Oct 10th, 2006 08:57:33 AM
As another poster said, this movie has been the inspiration for everything Rob Zombie has done (albeit much lesser versions) and it's high time it got its due. I would put it up there as one of, if not the best horror sequel of all time. It has the same cringe inducing moments that the original had, but with a disarming humor that makes the whole thing seem far more insane than you would ever expect. I grew up watching and quoting this one with my punk listening, hard partying, horror loving friends and I'll be adding this DVD to my collection (along with the VHS version I've had for years).
DAWG WILL HUNT!!! by choptop	Oct 10th, 2006 09:23:31 AM
sigh yeah, now I know what I'm doing when I get off work. My bologna has a first name, it's b-e-s-t, my bologna has a second name, its b-u-y....
Yay Vern by SuckLeTrou	Oct 10th, 2006 09:25:02 AM
Thanks for sharing thoughts about this great movie. Clover also discusses its merits in Men Women and Chainsaws (whatever you think of that book, it's still just nice to read about this and I Spit On Your Grave taken seriously.) You didn't mention my favorite line, the one that keeps me pulling this one off the shelf every so often, when the cook gets chainsawed in the ass and expresses relief that now he won't have to go to the hospital to have his hemrrhoids taken care of...
Has anyone noticed how much Devil's Rejects Apes this? by Lucidz	Oct 10th, 2006 09:31:14 AM
Seriously, I love Rejects, but when I saw this movie (admittedly after Rejects) I was amazed at how similar it is. Rejects is damn near a note for note remake of this film! Its incredible.
Lucidz by choptop	Oct 10th, 2006 09:42:22 AM
Stunning observation! You should be an internet film critic!
Finally, one of my fave college movies gets some love! by GiggityGoo	Oct 10th, 2006 10:31:53 AM
This was a hoot when my friends and I saw it in the theater, and I've been waiting for the Special Edition treatment on DVD for ages now. Like Vern says, this movie is very brutal and sick, BUT the humor is gut-busting. (Pardon the pun.) I should be receiving this in the mail today, and it's going into my Friday night stack. Hmmm, I just realized: my double-feature for this weekend is going to be "Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2"... and "The Little Mermaid". Perhaps I've got... issues?
Sorry, off topic but... by brycemonkey	Oct 10th, 2006 10:37:19 AM
Is one of those Rebel Troop figures (doll?) based on Dante from Clerks? I don't remember anyone rocking the goatee in SW...
I like Vern's negative reviews better by JohnGalt06	Oct 10th, 2006 11:00:35 AM
They should've called this movie THE PARIS, TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE... that might have made it worth seeing. Seriously, you dropped the ball on this one, Vern. This movie blows.
nice article by reckni	Oct 10th, 2006 11:30:04 AM
Haven't seen the flick, one of these days I might.
Cheers Vern by drugstore	Oct 10th, 2006 12:37:48 PM
I'd forgotten how much I liked this film. Will have to dust off my old DVD. Was hooked on this one after that decapitation scene at the start
Vern, Ray Liotta eats his own brains. by Sir HickoryBeans McCrackin	Oct 10th, 2006 12:38:55 PM
in that Silence of the Lambs sequel with the chick from The Forgotten (where people are getting all sucked up into the sky randomly). And he does it oh so casually! with a fork.
Vern just sold me on this. by zombieslayer	Oct 10th, 2006 12:41:30 PM
of course, i did wear out my vhs copy along with Evil Dead 2...
Ugly cover is UGGGGGGGGGGGGGLY!!! by godoffireinhell	Oct 10th, 2006 12:48:37 PM
I'd buy this without hesitation if it weren't for that piece of shit cover "art"work. The way it is I'll just borrow it from a friend. Fucking MGM dumbasses, no wonder they went bankrupt before.
Vern, you better appreciate TCM: THE BEGINNING because by godoffireinhell	Oct 10th, 2006 12:51:26 PM
without the piece of shit prequel there wouldn't have been this special edition of Hooper's original. See, remakes suck and all that but they have good side effects sometimes. The DAWN OF THE DEAD remake's success got Romero's LAND OF THE DEAD greenlit, for another example. Now some like to hate that movie (LAND) but no matter what you say now you still wanted to see it get made and made it got, thanks to a remake.
Nicely done, as always, Vern. by Gilkuliehe	Oct 10th, 2006 12:52:36 PM
This edition, I shall purchase.
To Lucidz by Vern	Oct 10th, 2006 01:24:59 PM
I don't see it. There is the scene in DEVIL'S REJECTS where Bill Moseley (star of both movies) puts the face on the girl in the hotel, which is obviously a deliberate CHAINSAW homage. And I guess both have a crazy cop-type after the family of killers. But note for note remake? CHAINSAW has a family of cannibals in an elaborate underground lair that gets invaded by outsiders, REJECTS they get raided by a SWAT team in the opening scene and are on the road for the rest of the movie. In Chainsaw, your sympathies are with Stretch and Lefty, in Rejects William Forsythe is so sadistic you are tricked into siding with these horrible killers. Chainsaw 2 takes place in the dark and is kind of atmospherically stylized, Rejects is drenched in sun and made to look much more realistic than its predecessor. And the whole tone of the two movies is completely different. Chainsaw 2 is a gorey horror comedy, Rejects is a make-you-feel-dirty '70s crime movie with some underlying humor and weirdness. I like both movies, and both have Bill Moseley in them, but I don't see where you're getting this connection.
"E - X - I - T." by crazywomansquilt	Oct 10th, 2006 01:27:51 PM
"Exit!!!"
to Floyd Dylan by Vern	Oct 10th, 2006 01:28:52 PM
Do you know any specifics of the "crappy R-rated version" you refer to? I know in the old days when I saw it on VHS it was an R-rated cut that didn't have as much of the head hammering or the scene where Bubba puts L.G.'s face on Stretch. But those were intact in both the previous release of this and the new one. The previous one was labeled R, 100 minutes, this one is labeled unrated, 101 minutes. But I kind of suspect they're the same unrated cut and they labeled it wrong before. Let me know if you know otherwise.
Hey, Music Lover by mrbong	Oct 10th, 2006 01:40:26 PM
the only remote use for TCM2 was that it gave late 80's prototype-rave band S'Xpress a whole load of interesting lines to sample on such gems as "Theme From S'Express" and "Hey Music Lover". i have an irrational obsession with chainsaw films, and yet this one is dull, boring and insipid. if you put a dog turd in a shiny box and name it a "special edition dog turd", nothing changes the fact that it is a dog turd.
Vern... by rev_skarekroe	Oct 10th, 2006 02:34:12 PM
I personally never sided with the Rejects in "Devil's Rejects". I was with Forsythe's character all the way through. Those bastards deserved everything they got. Man, that was a good flick. About a million times better than "House of 1000 Corpses".
goldmember was a self-cannibal by Bob C. Cock	Oct 10th, 2006 03:22:44 PM
i can't think of any others off the top of my head...
skarekroe by Vern	Oct 10th, 2006 04:04:58 PM
Let me clarify that - I started to side with them only at the end when they were nailed to the chairs and he was staple gunning them. And then I felt bad about it. They are not the most likable bunch, as funny as Captain Spaulding is. Well, Tiny is kind of likable.
It's the small bussinessman who always gets it in the e by Dark Knight Lite	Oct 10th, 2006 04:22:51 PM
Not the true classic that the original is, but still, this movie's a hoot.
I cheered when they got staple-gunned. by rev_skarekroe	Oct 10th, 2006 04:27:34 PM
Seriously. And I was the only one in the room, so I guess that's kind of weird. I suppose I saw the film as more of a vigilante justice story rather than an fugitives on the run story. Maybe that's not what Zombie intended, but it did the trick for me.
I always thought this was a great flick... by wash	Oct 10th, 2006 05:42:49 PM
but surprisingly dated though the last time I watched it a few years ago. But I watched it countless times in high school. Chop Top is one of the most fucked up horror movie characters ever, and it one of the best film roles for Dennis Hopper as well.
Hey Vern! Get Us TCSM fans some All American Massacre by sentient	Oct 10th, 2006 07:20:00 PM
Maybe since your such a fan added to the fact that you have the Mighty Texan TCSM raised Harry Knowles. Well is there anyway you guys could convince Tobe to give you the 20 or so minutes of this attempted Sequel, and then You Tube the video for all us regulars to watch. I'd really like to see it... The website had a trailer with Bill Moseley doing his Chop Top routine. It's gone now.... Tobe's Son made it. Something went wrong and it was never finished, but Damn I sure would love to see what was filmed! Heres the website! www.allamericanmassacre.com
re: house of 1000 corpses / devil's rejects by llephen	Oct 10th, 2006 07:32:40 PM
while watching TCM2 a few weeks ago, i noticed something kind of crazy. At the beginning, when lefty shows up at the car crash site of the two guys in the car, some police officers show up and tell lefty to leave. There's one line where a cop is talking to another cop, and he refers to him by the same name as the cop brothers who are in house of 1000 corpses and devil's rejects. unfortunately, i can't remember what the name is right now, but i know it was the same. So maybe we are supposed to believe that it's the same cop in house of 1000 corpses that was there to investigate the car crash site so many years earlier?! has anyone else noticed this before?
I haven't seen this film.I by proper	Oct 10th, 2006 08:21:45 PM
I haven't seen this film.I didn't want to besmirsch the original by diluting the level with a sequel.Part 1 still freaked me out when I got it on DVD nearly 3 years ago(I can't bring myself to buy it again,wasn't that edition special enough??).I'll get this based on Vern and Rev Skarekroe's good names and reputation.Saying that,The missing trucks at the end bothers me greedo style already just in case =0,so is the VHS version definitive now?.I feel cheated,I hate that sort of thing,the fact that somebody on the commentary mentions it caps it.http://tinyurl.com/e28j8 :>.No Gilmore girls for you Vern,Give City of God a try.
It's a fun sequel... by LeiaDown&FuckHer	Oct 10th, 2006 09:20:38 PM
...in exactly the kind of way that the next two sequels, and the overly slick remake & it's prequel weren't. It's not quite a classic, but it is under-appreciated, in much the same way that Romero's Day Of The Dead was for many years, and you've gotta love Hopper's batshit crazy performance.
It's the same by 24200124	Oct 10th, 2006 11:09:32 PM
The unrated cut is the same as the R-rated MGM DVD that came out a bunch of years ago. I've just watched both of them side by side, and they're the same cut. It was mistakenly labeled as being rated R when they released the first DVD. Vern's right - I remember seeing the R-rated version and the unrated version within months of each other, and this is definitely the unrated version.
llephan by Badger999	Oct 11th, 2006 03:25:00 PM
It's more likely that Rob Zombie was just making a TCM reference, rather than trying to establish any kind of continuity.
Hells Bells, Finally! by DukeDeMondo	Oct 14th, 2006 07:11:15 PM
Vern, manys a time i've agreed with you, and even if i haven't i've given myself a damn good fistin' far side o' reading your screeds, but i agree whole-arsedly here. TCSM 2 is a damn masterpiece. As smart and funny a horror flick, or any flick, that's e'er been etched in the 1:35 or whatever ratio we're dealing with here. Incidentally, Carol Clover talks about the flick at great length in the fuckin gorgeous Men, Women And Chainsaw book. i'd give that a peek if'n you're interested in the Stretch / Leatherface relationship an' what have you. www.mondoirlando.com
TCM by Childe Roland	Oct 16th, 2006 01:51:04 PM
At least that's my verdict after rewatching both this past weekend. Mind you, that's not to say either is a bad film (quite the contrary, both were better than I had remembered), just that I feel 2 succeeds on a multitude of levels and, in retrospect, beyond any aspirations the film makers could possibly have had while the original is suprisingly atmospheric and immersively frightening given the encumberance of an obviously low budget and some sub-par performances. I've gushed a bit about 2 in this talkback already, and I owe Vern a reaction to the original (since he's the only reason I gave it another chance) so I'll let 2 alone for now. The things that really worked for me in TCM were: the cinematography, the fill-in-the-blanks backstory and the character of Leatherface. I'll agree full on with Vern that Leatherface is more frightening when we don't know exactly how he got to be the way he is or why. His family is more frightening when we can see them all working together toward a common end (the titular Massacre) without ever having them explain why. Digging too deeply into even the idea of what came before or how these people got this way robs the narrative of some of its horror. I'm thinking specifically of the characterization the remake imbues Leatherface with (granted, through another person's explanation). It makes him more relatable, yes, but also less frightening of a figure than he is in the original. So it both adds something and takes something away. The net result of that equation is a lessening of the character's impact during the snapshot of time the movie captures, even though it's creating a more fully realized and grounded character -- somthing that usually makes a story better so I don't necessarily fault the film makers for trying (although it calls into question their decision in the prequel -- which I haven't seen yet -- to quickly gloss over Leatherface's actual beginnings so they can rush to what sounds like a rehash of the remake's plot). And while I'm on Leatherface, despite the added characterization in the TCM remake, the character seemed to have more depth in the original. I remain open to the notion that this is an illusion created by my mind's desire to fill in the blanks left by Gunnar Hansen's suprisingly nuanced performance as this gibbering masked retard, but the effect is undeniable. Leatherface is both more frightening and more compelling in the original than he is in the remake. That said, the remake has a lot of stuff going for it. For one, I think the supporting cast is better. I just do. And it's not all R. Lee, either (although he really does bring the film up a notch for me). I had less trouble suspending disbelief with any of the characters in the remake than I did in the original (with the obvious and unfortunate exception of Leatherface). And the look and feel of the remake is obviously more polished if less innovative and artful than Hooper's original. So while I very much see what folks appreciate about the original and can agree that it is a great little horror film, I can't automatically lump in a condemnation of the remake with that opinion. I think they're (suprisingly) different movies with different strengths and shortcomings. I can and do appreciate both and will readily admit I admire the original more than the remake, but I'll probably rewatch the remake more frequently. Of course, given the choice I'd watch TCM 2 again every time because I think it was a smarter, more fun film than either. And that's all I have to say about that.
Heh, in re-reading my post... by Childe Roland	Oct 17th, 2006 01:30:31 PM
...I see that the headline was cut off. It should've read: "TCM
It did it again! by Childe Roland	Oct 17th, 2006 01:31:47 PM
Apparently you can't use the "less than" sign? WHat up with that? WHat I meant was TCM is not as good as TCM 2. Sheesh!

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