goblinhaus.com - Texas Frightmare Weekend: Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2, 20th anniversary reunion and panel

By Kara Basham

You know how life is. You have these great intentions, big projects to tackle and you're motivated. But then you have to move. You have to pack and move and unpack and have a party. Then, not even a month after your move, you go on vacation. You know what I'm talking about? How life is? Here at Goblinhaus.com, life is BUSY. It's HECTIC. What it all boils down to, is that we tried real hard to get all of our Frightmare weekend coverage up during the week or two following the event. Shrub did a really good job, but with a full time job and everything else going on in our lives, it didn't quite happen how we wanted it to. So I'm just taking a few minutes to let you know about the Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 panel we were lucky enough to see/hear at Frightmare weekend.

I had not seen Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (TCM2 from here on out) until about a month and a half before Frightmare weekend. And I watched it again with my sister and her boyfriend the night before the convention.
-Dude. If you haven't seen that movie, you need to. It's radical. -
So, most of the celebrities (minus Dennis Hopper) were there at Frightmare weekend. Stretch (Caroline Williams), LG (Lou Perryman), Choptop (Bill Moseley), Leatherface (Bill Johnson), and goremaster Tom Savini. We had met Bill Moseley previously at Hauntcon (see our Hauntcon coverage!), but we had never met any of the others before.

We talked to Caroline and Lou during the day on Saturday when we were getting autographs. Caroline is a character. She's very, VERY bubbly. Just like Stretch in the movie. She's got a definite energy about her. Lou was low key and not exactly talkative. Kind of a humble guy? Said something about time he spent in prison? He had a picture of him with the french fry house from the movie that I should've bought to hang on my wall. Man, I regret not getting that! Didn't really talk to Bill Johnson. He didn't play a huge role in TCM2, so I had no idea what to say to him. Looked like a nice guy though. Feel bad for him. Nobody can live up to the expectations set by Gunnar Hansen. Stopped by to chat with Bill Moseley for a second the next day. Some dude came up and started dominating the conversation, so we took off. Bill Moseley is a cool guy. So it kind of makes me feel pressured to come up with something to say to him that he a: hasn't heard a million times and b: he'll think is interesting or clever enough to continue the conversation. Plus, these celebrities might be real nice and talkative one convention and then seem bored the next. . . . I dunno. I'm just saying.

On to the panel...
They all walked in to a standing ovation. Shuffled some chairs and microphones around. Bill Moseley brought in a ventriloquist dummy that had been made into a Choptop Jr. We were all thinking someone had made it and brought it to him. He set it up on the table for everyone to look at and wonder about. Joe Bob Briggs was the panel moderator. It was February when this happened, so I don't remember everything that was said. They talked about how great Tobe was to work with. Talked about the sets a little. When they took audience questions, someone asked Lou Perryman about the french fry house. Somehow, he had no idea what they were talking about. (remember the picture on his table - right in front of him - mentioned above) Bill Moseley had to explain to him what they were talking about. Caroline was funny. Tom Savini was kind of quiet except when he and Bill Moseley were cracking jokes.

Someone from the crowd asked Bill about the doll he had brought in with him. He said - Oh, this is Choptop Jr. I made him. .... As a matter of fact, he's for sale. Anyone can have him for $100. Immediately, my heart started racing. I looked over at Shrub with a panicky excitement. Give me $100!!! What?? GIMME $100!!! Are you serious? YES! HURRY!!! Shrub's digging through his wallet, counting out $20 bills, hands all fumbly. He hands it to me and I jump up and run to the stage and shove my wad of cash up at Bill Moseley. He sits there for a second, looking kind of stunned. Then he walks around the table holding Choptop Jr and I buy one of my most prized posessions. People start cheering for me and I hold Choptop Jr up triumphantly! I sit down, all adrenaliney and shaky and my face is kind of twitching from all the excitement. I don't really remember much after that.

The truth is, you had to be there to experience the panel...EXCEPT - there's going to be a new edition TCM2 out on DVD in the not soooo distant future. We were told that the panel discussion would be included in the extras of that DVD. If you haven't seen the movie, hold out to buy the new edition. If you have seen the movie, you'll buy the new one anyways, I'm sure. Because you know the greatness that is TCM2.

Folks, keep checking back with Goblinhaus.com. Things are slowing down for us on the homefront, so we will be able to bring you new and exciting stuff on a more regular basis. We appreciate all the positive feedback we've received. If you haven't already, let us know what you think of the site. Have something you'd like to submit? Original short story? Newsworthy information? Contact us! We'd love to hear from you. We're working on getting some of the new design of Goblinhaus.com shirts too! We've had a lot of requests.

Chowdy.