- Aspect Ratio: 1:78:1
- Video Codec: AVC MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
- Audio Codec: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, French Dolby Digital 1.0
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
- Subtitles Color: Yellow
- Region: A (Region-Locked)
- Rating: Not Rated
- Run Time: 101 Mins
- Discs: 1 (1 x Blu-ray)
- Digital Copies: N/A
- Studio: MGM
- Blu-ray Release Date: September 11, 2012
- List Price: $16.99
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Overall
[Rating:2.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:2/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:2.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2.5/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(All TheaterByte screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG at 100% quality setting and are meant as a general representation of the content. They do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
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The Film
[Rating:2/5]
In this sequel to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, we find Leatherface (Bill Johnson) back at it killing once more. This time, the events take place some 14 years after the first film. While traveling down to Dallas, Texas for a weekend full of reckless partying, two slack jawed yokels call into a local radio station to harass DJ Vanita “Stretch” Brooke (Caroline Williams). Unbeknownst to these two, Leatherface is right behind them, having been tailing them. Clearly we know what occurs next, only with a ton of blood and, really, some cool effects. Anyhow, the next morning retired Texas Ranger Enright (Dennis Hopper) arrives to investigate. For those that may have forgotten the events of the original, Enright was an uncle to one of the first victims. Will Enright get his revenge or will the mayhem continue? What results is largely a completely forgettable sequel.
Let’s begin with this little side note. Leatherface, in my view, is one of the scarier villains in the last 30-40 years in horror cinema. I could go into reasons why but I’ll just briefly mention his physical appearance and tone brings horror that, perhaps, only Michael Myers did before. With that said, it should come as no surprise to know that the sequel to the excellent Texas Chainsaw Massacre doesn’t live up to the expectations placed upon it. The problem isn’t necessarily the direction as original director Tobe Hooper is back, nor is it the villain himself. Akin to that of the 1978 Halloween, the issue I had with this second attempt was the scares. Everything felt way too cheap, forced, and lacked any real emotion. This surprised me because most of the older horror films (’70s, ’80s) understand thrills and chills, unlike the modern horror movies. I’ll consider this one a movie that was forced to be made.
Video Quality
[Rating:2.5/5]
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 arrives with a 1:78:1 framed, AVC MPEG-4 encoded transfer, which lacks any real detail or overall punch to make it something worthy. Having been shot some 26 years ago in 1986, we clearly see the age of the film in nearly every sequence. The color palette features mostly washed out colors, particularly those that lean toward the darker side of the spectrum. It’s these darker sequences, of which there are many, where detail is lost and the image has an almost blurry/washed out tint to it. Grain is present throughout via a fine layer, while there’s noticeable print damage via occasional blips. While this isn’t a perfect transfer by any means, do know this is probably the best the film will ever look. If you’re aware of that going in, I do suppose you may be somewhat pleased with what MGM has put together here.
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Featuring a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix, this newly added lossless track fares better than the aforementioned video. Dialogue is well reproduced. Atmosphere, as expected is all but absent. A majority of the action sequences focus more on screams, chainsaw rips, blood splattering and musical cues. To be fair though, these effects do, surprisingly, sound fairly impressive. All in all, this mix isn’t the best for an ’80s film on Blu, but still sounds far better than I expected.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2.5/5]
The included supplements are featured in a mix of Standard Definition and High Definition:
- Audio Commentary with Director Tobe Hooper and Filmmaker David Gregory
- Audio Commentary with Bill Moseley, Caroline Williams, Special Makeup Effects Creator Tom Savini and Content Producer Michael Felsher
- The Cutting Room Floor [SD] – This runs 12:33 and offers up 5 deleted scenes, as well as an alternate opening.
- It Runs In The Family [SD] – Running a whooping 1:27:57 in length, this is the original six-part making of from the 2006 DVD release, featuring cast and crew interviews as they discuss different aspects of the film’s production.
- Trailer [HD] – The film’s trailer (1:01) is shown.
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:2.5/5]
Where the original film is a classic in and of itself, this sequel fails on nearly all cylinders. 20th Century Fox’s Blu-ray, akin to that of the film, is a hit or miss as well. While the audio track impressed me, I found the video transfer to be rather problematic; however, the features presented are solid. I suppose if you’re a fan of the film, this Blu-ray is worth picking up. If not, just watch the original film over again.
Additional Screen Captures
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Purchase The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
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[amazon-product]B008MU8ZHU[/amazon-product]
Purchase The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:2.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:2/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:2.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2.5/5]
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