10 Horror Films You Constantly Have To Defend Loving

5. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)

Audiences that expected more of the same from this sequel were aghast at seeing a goofy comedy whose tone, pacing and story were all different. There was no build-up, no atmosphere, none of the original€™s claustrophobia and, most unforgivably, the family members all behaved like clowns. What they failed to appreciate was that director Tobe Hooper was sending up the critics who€™d either missed the original€™s black humour or €œread€ the film the wrong way. Dumbfounded by readings from Marxists (who ascribed the actions of the film€™s antagonists to economic woes), feminists (who noted the lack of a matriarch), and Freudians (who were awed by the phallic power tools), Hooper resolved to show them the error of their ways. Some even read the first film as a grim(m) fairy tale, so Hooper has a character construct a house not out of gingerbread but take-out fries, which perfectly sums up his movie. It€™s junk food. It€™s not deep, it€™s not clever and it€™s certainly not good for you but boy is it tasty. As silly, throwaway filmmaking goes, it€™s some sort of masterpiece.