MUST READ! Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 – After Decades of Silence Stretch’s Fate Finally Revealed
Steve Barton
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Last night we had Caroline Williams on Brainwaves: Horror and Paranormal Talk Radio, and she revealed something that will change the face of horror as we know it… the fate of her character Vanita “Stretch” Brock in Tobe Hooper’s 1986 classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2.
When last we saw Stretch, she was chainsaw dancing at the top of a haunted attraction in an abandoned theme park we will lovingly refer to as Nam Land if only because Nubbins is a diva.
Since then we have had several Chainsaw sequels, prequels, a remake, and everything in between. Stretch survived what could only be described as a night in hell. So where has she been?
Last night we asked Caroline her thoughts on the matter. The answer will surprise you…
It turns out Stretch has been hiding in plain sight in two other films.
“Nobody has ever asked me this before,” said Williams. “That’s the reason that none of the other conversations I’ve ever had about Stretch lead me to this point. It took Brainwaves and my conversation with you guys to make this point.”
For those who don’t remember, Stretch was a radio DJ who was sent out into the field to cover a chili cook-off. That was all fine, well, and good; but she wanted to do something more important with her life. She wanted to make a difference. Little did she know she’d end up chasing one of the most infamous and dangerous legends the world has ever known. Somehow, though… she managed to survive.
“Jeff Burr, director of Part III, called me on the phone and said, ‘Look, I don’t know how long this Chainsaw franchise will carry on, but I want to keep your character alive. I don’t want to get rid of you. You are not mentioned anywhere in this screenplay, but I want to make sure that for the ages if anybody wants to revisit Stretch, it HAS to be you. [You will] be seen in Part III, so indelibly speaking, the fans will know it’s you.’”
In Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, Williams made a brief appearance as a television reporter. A logical step up from her radio gig.
“I love Stretch. She got out there and maintained her pursuit of the Chainsaw family. It took Adam Green and his character of [news reporter] Amanda Perlman to bring her fully forward. [In Hatchet III] you got to see Stretch, now known as Amanda Perlman, pursuing the Victor Crowley legend, and that’s the way I played that character. BJ McDonnell [director of Hatchet III] told me, ‘She’s Stretch. That’s what we’re doing here.’ I played the character of Amanda precisely as she would be. Stretch grew up, she changed her name, she married a law enforcement guy played by Zach Galligan, and she split [from him] because she’s a woman who is obsessed with pursuing these legends… these myths, which in her mind are NOT myths.”
“[With the exception of Part III] none of the other people associated with the Chainsaw films have ever approached me. Nor have they recreated Stretch. Part of it is because Sony owns the film, the characters, and their names, so they cannot be used without paying a hefty sum to the studio. Sony has been unwilling to release them, but that has provided me, in a way, with a marvelous insurance policy. I will always be Stretch… on the screen and to the fans. When I read the role that Adam wrote for me, you could see so vividly that he had just brought Stretch into the present day. And then I got killed by Kane Hodder! *Laughs* Another world famous masked monster.”
Fitting.
So there you have it, fiends. One character unofficially traverses two additional films, one not even in the same franchise, in pursuit of a killer legend. I don’t think that’s ever happened before, but let’s face it… Stretch and Caroline are used to paving their own way on their own terms.
Too cool.
Check out the whole interview – and believe us; it’s a good one – by clicking the above link.
Categorized:News
