Avis Metacritic

In Tobe Hooper’s sequel, the toolkit cannibals are living under a theme park. The mood follows suit, pitched as Evil Deady black comedy. The first third is terrible; the rest judders with abrasive, ultra-demented splatter.

Writer L. M. Kit Carson and director Hooper have made Chainsaw 2 a grisly hoot: a wild satire on modern Texas and horror movies themselves. [31 Aug 1986, p.15]

Hooper's abrasive satire on yuppiedom and excess, centering on a brilliantly deranged Dennis Hopper as a Texas ranger looking to avenge the death of his invalid brother, stands out for its unbridled gore and comic mayhem. It just isn't terribly fun to watch.

Not a patch on the original but amusing enough none the less.

In an age where many horror franchises attempt to adhere as close to the original film’s formula as possible, Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is a fun reminder of a time when makers were able to rewrite their own rules and go for broke. This was never going to top what had gone before, and by acknowledging that, the filmmakers have crafted a wonderfully demented alternative in its place.

A very uneasy, uncertain shocker, quite unable to digest the mix of horror and black comedy which became a genre-must after the first TCM.

No matter how adeptly Chainsaw 2 was put together, it would remain just another exploitation flick for fans who get a tingle from watching blades slash into flesh and innards peep out.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Part 2 carries a proud old name in the annals of exploitation, but its only ambition is to outgross the original film. It fails.

This movie is a great, big mess. It’s never truly scary, and you get the feeling that Tobe Hooper’s been living off the original flick’s rep for so long that he didn’t give a damn if this movie sucked or not. And, believe me, it does.

Hooper took the easy path and went for out-and-out gore, rather than making a carefully constructed horror film. The film feels as if Hooper himself has nothing but contempt for the original and went out of his way to tear it down.