YMMV / The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

• Awesome Music: Chainsawing a couple of idiots from the back of a moving pickup to Oingo Boingo's "No One Lives Forever"? Awesome.
• Broken Base: Over whether there's any humor with Stretch trying to charm Leatherface into not killing her or if it's a straight sexual assault scene.
• Contested Sequel: While agreed to not be as good as the original, whether the film is worth watching is a subject of heavy debate. Many fans of the first film despise the shift into horror comedy and the gorier tone that contrasts with the first film's gritty low-budget minimalism, while another camp enjoys the quirkiness that ensued and cite Bill Moseley and Dennis Hopper's characters as positive highlights.
• Crazy Is Cool: Lieutenant "Lefty" Enright is fondly regarded by viewers for this reason. Played by Dennis Hopper in Large Ham mode, who else would go into a chainsaw duel with deranged killers singing with a chainsaw in each hand?
• Creepy Awesome: Chop Top is the most remembered new character from the film, thanks to his Laughably Evil nature greatly complimenting his depraved actions, which include assisting Leatherface in his killings and mortally wounding L.G.
• Cult Classic: Received middling reviews and a poor box office performance on release, but it has built up a following thanks to its black comedy tone to the point it received a Collector's Edition release from Scream Factory in 2017. This was followed up by a very lavish 4K release from Vinegar Syndrome in 2022, something no other film in the series received at the time.
• Draco in Leather Pants:
  • Leatherface's depiction in this film is often treated as a big misunderstood sweetie, more so than the other films in the series on account of his affection for Stretch. While he is certainly a Jerkass Woobie who gets mistreated by his family, he is still a cannibalistic murderer who was trying to murder Stretch before he became interested in her.
  • Chop Top surprisingly gets quite a bit of this, on account of his Laughably Evil antics. This is despite his hideous appearance and being a cannibalistic killer like the rest of his family. This wouldn't be the last evil killer that Bill Moseley would play to receive this reaction.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Even people that don't like the movie freely admit that Chop Top is awesome.
• Germans Love David Hasselhoff: According to Bob Elmore and Chris Douridas, the film has a large cult following in Germany and Russia.
• Harsher in Hindsight: L.G. getting assaulted by the Sawyers and repeatedly hit in the head by a hammer leading to his eventual death. is already sad, but it becomes even more disturbing and upsetting when one knows that his actor Lou Perryman was murdered through a similar manner.
• Heartwarming Moments: L.G., having already been carved up by Leatherface, barely able to talk or move, spends his last moments saving Stretch and setting her free. She quietly tells him she loved him before he dies.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: When Chop Top re-enacts the recording of Leatherface killing the yuppies on the bridge, he sarcastically asks if it’s from the Rambo III soundtrack. This movie was released in 1986, 2 whole years before the actual Rambo III came out.
• No Yay: Some viewers have this reaction to Stretch's attempts to charm Leatherface into not killing her, as he's still a mentally-challenged cannibal trying to kill her, to the extent he had a hand in killing her good friend.
• Retroactive Recognition: Bill Moseley has basically played Otis B. Driftwood long before Rob Zombie started making movies.
• Special Effects Failure:
  • It's quite obvious to an observant viewer which scenes have different actors playing Leatherface, as while they have similar builds, the mask fits each of the three actors differently.
  • When Lefty is testing out the chainsaws it's obvious they are not real chainsaws. Dennis Hopper doesn't pretend they have any weight at all and swings them around effortlessly, and when he turns them on they are not moving.
• Squick: Stretch and Leatherface's "love" scene, as he slides a chainsaw blade up her leg and into her crotch before dry-humping against her.
• Vindicated by History: The film received a muddied response on release and a poor box office performance with many put off by its more violent and campier tone in contrast to the grittier original film. After several more controversial Texas Chainsaw sequels were released over the years, this film received a cult following and reevaluation that is more complimentary of the black comedy, even if it hasn't displaced the original film. Tellingly, it has received two highly produced home media releases from Scream Factory and Vinegar Syndrome over the years.
• The Woobie: Stretch. After all she goes through, is it any wonder she goes insane at the end of the movie?

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