20 Exploitation Films You Must See Before You Die

Tobe Hooper’s follow-up to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre establishes its sleazy intent early on, with a close-up of Robert Englund’s crotch (!?) as he announces, “I’m Buck an’ I’m a rarin’ to f**k” to Clara (Roberta Collins), the latest addition to Carolyn Jones’ whorehouse.

When she quits, Collins makes the mistake of absconding to the Starlight Motel, one of those seedy, out-of-the-way places with a crocodile living in the front yard. Worse, it’s run by Neville Brand, the least reassuring motel owner since Anthony Perkins, who upon realizing her predicament kills her and feeds her to the croc for no reason other than because he can.

There isn’t much story here, never mind motivation or logic, so it’s mostly a succession of scenes where Brand stalks his guests with a scythe (including one chase that copies Leatherface’s pursuit of Sally in Chainsaw) and carves them up into snacks for his ‘pet.’ With no one to root for and no central character other than this sicko there’s a patchwork quality to the narrative as characters come and go, and the lack of a wholesome protagonist somehow makes the proceedings feel even sleazier.