Body Puzzle

I actually enjoyed this more than i thought i would, this being 90's Lamberto Bava- whom i was never a huge fan of (Delirium aside). Despite an incoherent plot it manages to stay engaging, doubtless aided by the wonderful cinematography of Luigi Kuveiller (A Woman in a Lizard's Skin, Profondo Rosso). The ending is quite charming as well. All around fun , especially for a giallo made in the 90s. Better than most of Argento's output during that decade.

I recently came across this movie after seeing a review for it on a certain Horror website (who gave it a positive review) & after finding out that Lamberto Bava directed it, I instantly thought to seek it out after enjoying some of his other movies such as 'Demons' & 'Rabid Dogs' & well I was disappointed by this rather lacklustre effort.

The plot follows a detective on a trail of a serial killer who leaves his victims body parts in a young widow's home, all of which seems to be connected to her late husband's death.

Initially this title sounded a little bit highbrow & yeah, I'd say it is, but that doesn't make it better, despite a promising premise. There's no mystery as to who the killer is as its revealed right from the start, but you don't know why & that could have made for an interesting set up. But as the movie goes on it all becomes muddled with a very unsatisfying twist, that not only comes across as ridiculous, but makes the detective incredibly stupid.

However, there were some cool scenes & some well-maintained tension, but overall, there was a lack of flourish and comes off as very generic with a lack of interesting cinematography, tones & lack of style, coming across as very on the nose. The performances were also very stilted & stuff, despite both actors giving far better performances in other projects.

Overall 'Body Puzzle' isn't one of the better Giallo movies & you can see why this genre died out as by the 90's, the genre clearly run out of gas.

There once was an era, approximately from the late 60's up until the early 80's, during which nearly every Italian director delivered his own personal giallo-movie and they featured the craziest plots and the most far-fetched red herrings. What great times they were! After this, however, the magnificent sub genre almost got extinct and there were only TWO directors that regularly attempted to breathe new life into the formula of mad black-gloved killers and sleaze-laden twists. Dario Argento is the king even to this day and the other one is Lamberto Bava, who was responsible for some truly underrated giallo-efforts like "Delirium: Photos of Gioia" and "You'll Die at Midnight". "Body Puzzle" is yet another criminally neglected film that features all the giallo's extraordinary trademarks, although that sadly also includes the major holes in the plot. "Body Puzzle" serves the absolute most implausible story I've ever beheld, but there are plenty of sadistic & gore-soaked murders on display and the absurd screenplay hints at some controversial topics like hidden homosexuality and schizophrenia. Lamberto Bava doesn't really bother to keep the killer's identity secret, as we immediately witness how a handsome young man brutally stabs an anonymous candy store owner to death. Several more grisly murders are committed before police inspector Michael discovers that the victims have one thing in common. They all received donor organs from a pianist who died in a motorcycle accident and the mysterious killer tries to puzzle him back together. The inspect is much quicker when it comes to falling in love with the deceased pianist's wife, played by Joanna Pacula. "Body Puzzle" completely stops to make sense halfway, but you've got to love Bava's enthusiast direction and his desperate efforts to maintain the suspense. The music and camera-work are more than adequate while the cast features some familiar faces. Giovanni Lombardo Radice briefly appears as the exaggeratedly gay acquaintance of both the killer and the dead pianist. Italian horror fans will certainly recognize him as the poor sucker who always dies sensationally ("Cannibal Ferox", "City of the Living Dead", "Cannibal Apocalypse"…).

After a man loses his lover in a motorcycle accident, he learns that the lover's organs have been transplanted into several different people. So he does what any reasonable person would do, and hacks up everyone, believing he can rebuild his lover and bring him back. Lamberto Bava directs this film with confidence, creating exciting and suspenseful scenes all the way until the wonderful surprise ending. Mario would have been proud!

"Body Puzzle" is a genuine example that the gialli were still brought to life with style in the 90's. Features a high end cast, a nice plot twist and better score than most other 90's (and late 80's) gialli. I would say that this one and Argento's "Stendhal syndrome" are the two best giallo thrillers from the 90's. Well done, Bava Jr.