She plays Stretch straight down the line and this keeps us rooted in Texas territory.

Her outline was far more structured, act scared and sickened, display the usual histrionics, then call upon your inner strength and fight your demons head-on. Meanwhile, Caroline Williams gives a far more grounded account of herself as the unwitting object of Leatherface’s misplaced affections, local radio host, Vanita ‘Stretch’ Brock. Personally, I disagree wholeheartedly as he attacks the role with every ounce of the vim and vigor which made him so untouchable in the first place. In fact, Hopper didn’t rate his turn particularly highly and considered this to be his least favorite performance. But the real showstopper is the great Dennis Hopper as the embittered rhinestone-clad uncle of Sally Hardesty known as Lieutenant ‘Lefty’ Enright. Hooper also brings in fresh meat courtesy of Bill Moseley, and his wonderfully over-emphasized Chop-Top steals many of the film’s best scenes. This is entirely pre-meditated of course and isn’t exclusive to Bubba as virtually all players have that same cartoonish quality. Straight off the bat, it makes a massive difference as Johnson’s moves are exaggerated to extremes and his performance lacks the restraint (if you can call it that) of Hansen’s pitch-perfect representation. The iconic Leatherface was no longer played by the hulking Gunnar Hansen and instead Bill Johnson revved up the saw. Of all the original cast, only Jim Siedow returned owned a return ticket. The original had a blackened vein of comedy running through it but second time out we were to be in on the joke and unrestrained humor jostled directly to the forefront. Kit Carson to draft another treatment and finally found their angle. At one point it was considered that the cannibal sickness spread through an entire town, lampooning Kevin Connor’s already satirical take on the original, Motel Hell. Hooper sat on this sequel for some time, pondering which direction to take with original writer Kim Henkel and coming up blank. It was always going to provide the toughest of asks stepping into the shoes of Leatherface and his odious family unit, and only one man alive was ever up to the task. I live it, and anyone complaining that life sucks has clearly never been to Texas in an old run-down camper van. Indeed, as I observe, I do so as a fly on the wall as opposed to soaking this in from the secure vantage of my chosen futon.

To this day, my prefered Texas experience would involve dusting down an old VHS player and watching it in all its unprocessed, seedy quality, despite the evident quality of its Blu-ray transfer. Everything about it positively reeks consternation and it lodges itself deep into our psyches long after the film have unspooled. How on God’s earth do you even contemplate following up The Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Tobe Hooper’s cruel masterpiece is still every bit as culturally significant as it was way back in 1974, when the world simply wasn’t equipped for its bleak madness.

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