I recently submitted a review of the 1986 Tobe Hooper sequel to his most infamous movie ever in the IMDB website. What prompted me to do so was how I somehow was reminded that I was actually given a copy of a rare(r) VHS version which was widescreen, uncensored, and had bonus material. Now I do not know if everyone (or the majority of them) were, like myself, exposed to the heavily truncated theatrical / 80s pan & scan VHS version which left a horrible taste in everyone's mouth, but it is no wonder this sequel had such a bad reputation if only the heavily edited version was seen.
The history lesson:
My brother always was an avid gore and horror fan. He would buy magazines (Fangoria, Mad Movies, Gorezone, Blood Red, etc.) and read up on all things horror before things were released. Think of the pre-internet days (if anyone remembers such an era!) of pre-release spoilers and such. Anyway he would keep himself informed quite a bit about what was happening, who was doing what, what was being censored and edited, and everything surrounding theatrical as well as home-video-only releases.
Somewhere in either late 1986 or early 1987 we rented the widespread pan & scan VHS of "TCM 2", since we were unable to go see 18+ / R-rated films at the time (age restrictions were highly enforced: 18+ meant 18+ no exceptions). Both of us were appauled at how incredibly censored and amputated the film was, especially since after all the hype the film was getting in pre-release. None of the gore which was previewed in the magazines made it into the final film, which in turn felt not only uneven and incomplete, but as though it was a mere shadow of itself. No Wonder it had such horrible reviews if this was the version "everyone" was exposed to.
Cut to maybe a decade later. An ex-friend of mine picked up for me (thinking it would interest me) at a yard sell or something a VHS copy of the film. The cover was different, and it claimed to include a new 35mm transfer of the film in letterbox (widescreen) preserving it's original aspect ratio, as well as previews and a couple of deleted scenes. Since the film had left such a horrible impression on me, I did not actually Watch it until much later during my then pot-infused late night insomnia headphone viewings. Things open up as expected, in nice 1:85 widescreen which is always an improvement over 4x3, and radio DJ "Stretch" is being hounded by these two yuppy meatheads driving around and shooting at road signs.
I almost chocked when I finally saw Leatherface's gory dismemberment of the driver of the car: I half hazingly remembered (possibly a fantasmagoric imagining) a picture of the chopped-up yuppy but had never seen it. And there it was, in all it's glory gory beauty. It was at that point that I thought that maybe, just maybe, I may have stumbled upon an un-cut, or work-print version of the film.
It has been a long while since I watched it (due to the difficulty of actually viewing VHS tapes in today's day and age) so I can not recall with accuracy exactly all the details about what was re-inserted into the film, but I will attempt at mentioning some of what I recall:
- The aforementionned introductory yuppy kill
- A longer chase sequence in the radio station between Leatherface and Stretch.
- Chop-Top repeatidly bashing Stretch's radio assistant with a hammer
- A whole sequence where Stretch hides in a room where leatherface stashes the dead bodies, where he applies a face/mask to a corpse and dances; he cuts off the radio assistant's face, discovers Stretch but tries to have her wear the cut-out face, and then the assistant waking up, looking for his face.
- Leatherface's death is actually shown as Dennis Hopper's chainsaw rips through his tummy
- More cuts and bruises during Stretch's final escape out of the Sawyer family hideout
There is probably much more but these are what my forgetful mind can recall, as I write this is semi-secrecy while at work.
But the fun bonus stuff did not end there. After the previews which followed the feature on the tape, there were a bunch of deleted scenes, including the long lost and somewhat anticipated by fans (so no Wonder they were so frustrated when none of this made it in the movie) scene where Leatherface essentially kills off a college football team in an interior parking garage. Sadly, this and other bonus cut moments are of horrible quality, as though shot with primitive portable video Equipment of the era. Still, since all of this was never before seen nor available, it prooved to be an exquisite experience to anyone who had any type of hopes for this film to even being a hint of the follow up to one of the 70s' most iconic and infamous horror films.
After that viewing, my opinion of the film has changed. Finally, the film "made sense" (if such a thing is possible with such a movie from the twisted mind of Tobe Hooper who was always typecasted as a slightly deranged film-maker... bordering on the incompetent), in it's own sick, deranged, twisted way. It was both an adequate follow-up to the first one, while also being in the time of the era in which it was made: humour, both straight and dark/black, and gory enough for the gorehounds of the day. Why this version was never released on DVD (as an unrated cut) still surprises me as today's audiences have seen much worse in terms of intense and shocking sequences of bloody disgusting dismemberments and such. In any case, as soon as I have a few hours to myself and a properly working VCR, I'll be transfering this version on DVD as well as all the bonus tidbits!
If you have any information concerning any plans of anyone ever releasing this film in this uncut/workprint version, feel free to leave your comments below.
