Ìý User Rating 
Repeating the claustrophobic terror of the genre-defining original was never going to be an easy task for gore maestro Tobe Hooper. So for this belated sequel he abandoned the visceral, cacophonous feel of the original for something more interested in playing it for gloriously over-the-top laughs.
Penned by LM Kit Carson (director of Hopper documentary "The American Dreamer", and writer of 1984's "Paris, Texas"), the film finds the inbred cannibalistic family of the original (though few of the original cast, including Gunnar Hansen, could be tempted to return) now residing in a cavernous underground lair, venturing above ground only for the odd slaughter. Hot on their heels is equally deranged former Texas Ranger Lieutenant Enright (Hopper), a relative of the youngsters long since butchered by Leatherface, Grandpa, and co.
Enright finds an unlikely ally in plucky local disc jockey Stretch (Williams) whose suspicions that the local chilli contains prime meat of the long pig variety has the chainsaw wielding Leatherface (here played by Johnson) knocking on her door.
Long since denied a certificate of any sort by the , appearing now in a director's cut version, this is the first time that the film has been released in the UK on any format. Gratuitously violent, and none too subtle (it lacks the subversive qualities of the original) it's also undeniably funny, maniacally energetic fare with a liberal smattering of enjoyable set-pieces.
A committed post-comeback Hopper, whose career since the heady heights of "Apocalypse Now" had re-reached a state of permanent flux, is a hoot. However, admirers of the first film may be in for a disappointment.
"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2" is not available on DVD. Read our review of the disc.
It doesn't quite live up to the first one but, let's face it, nothing has ever been as good.
