Pieces… “It’s exactly what you think it is…” nothing could be further from the truth for this tag line of the almost forgotten 80’s slasher film. While watching Pieces, the viewer has to detach themselves from reason and embrace the horror. After all, if you aren’t rooting for the killer in a film like Pieces why are you watching it?
It is Boston 1942 and a young boy is being scolded by his mother for putting together a naughty puzzle of a nude woman. In an instant, we know that we are seeing the origins of a Norman Bates type of character. Will this young boy lash out or repress his anger? In a violent whirlwind of blood and gore he unleashes his anger and Pieces begins. It’s easy to point out the flaws of this film with just the opening scene. For 1942, the mother’s hair and clothes are completely wrong. A football pennant in the bedroom for the New England Patriots is another indication that this is a low budget non-historically accurate film. This isn’t high art; it’s blood and boobs so let’s move on to the present.
Forty years later, we arrive at a New England University. A new grounds keeper, Willard (Paul L. Smith) is keeping an eye on the student’s bodies. Several of the students are quickly sliced and diced with a chainsaw and Willard becomes the prime suspect. Det. Lt. Bracken (Christopher George) and Det. Sgt. Holden (Frank Braña) don’t have enough evidence to convict Willard, so they set up an undercover agent, Mary (Lynda Day George), to bring Willard or the real killer out in the open. Several other suspects arise as the killer cuts through the campus. Prof. Arthur Brown (Jack Taylor) makes the list as he harbors a creepy affinity for cutting up people (he’s the human biology teacher). All this is seen from the vantage point of Kendall (Ian Sera). Kendall is the campus babe hound and one of his ladies was killed early on in the picture. He has a score to settle and the police involve him at every turn. Sadly, all this mystery falls perfectly flat on bad acting and a poor script.
The gore factor is what makes Pieces a C movie classic; that and a great trailer. The plot surrounding Kendall logically makes no sense. The Detectives involve him and trust him without question. As the audience, we could easily get behind Kendall trying to stop the murders on his own or prove his innocence if this was part of the story. Instead, Kendall is constantly banging another babe or trying to hit on the undercover girl Mary. The killer’s identity remains a mystery up until the end, but the revelation really comes as no surprise. What is a surprise is the how poorly lit many of the scenes are. At one point, a key victim is running from the killer but we have no idea who that victim is. Another odd piece of Pieces is a Kung Fu sequence with a character that literally appears out of nowhere and is gone just as quickly. Sadly, it ends like all horror movies did of that era but in this case, again, it makes no sense.
Pieces… “It’s exactly what you think it is…” Remember: if you watch the trailer and think that this movie looks like fun, you just saw a bit of half decent editing. The plot is a farce, the acting is a joke, and it is only the gore that makes Pieces worth watching as a Halloween party winds down.
Pieces is available from Arrow Film in the United Kingdom.Check out the DVD and their full catalogue here. Arrow Films holds nothing back for the true film aficionado as all these special features come with the Pieces DVD.
THIS EDITION CONTAINS: - Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork - Double-sided fold-out artwork poster - Collector’s booklet featuring brand new writing on the film by Stephen Thrower, author of ‘Nightmare USA’. DVD CONTAINS: - Introduction by star Jack Taylor - Pieces of Jack: An Actors Experience of Spanish Splatter – Actor Jack Taylor recollects his experiences of performing in Pieces - Pieces of Deconstruction: Looking Back at a Grindhouse Gorefest – Hostel producer Scott Spiegel, filmmaker Howard S. Berger, Fangoria's Michael Gingold and horror historian Santos Ellin Jr. reflect on the lasting legacy, and lacerations, of Pieces! - Original Trailer - Audio Commentary with Fangoria magazine’s Tony Timpone, sharing first hand recollections of the golden age of slasher cinema, moderated by Calum Waddell
Pieces Alternate Arrow Cover:
Trailer:
Robert Trate writes two weekly columns for Mania the DVD Shopping Bag and the Toy Maniac. Follow Robert on Twitter for his for Geek ramblings, Cosplay photos and film criticisms.
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