Pieces

Whether or not this movie is an accidental camp comedy or if it was intended to be as silly as it was, Pieces delivers exactly what it promises - a chainsaw massacre that's not in Texas.

A strange slasher film with some very poor acting. Paul L. Smith wins the honours for worse acting in this daft gore flick but he is also the most entertaining as the very unhelpful gardener whose chainsaw goes on walkabout (why he never feels the need to lock it up to keep it away from the deranged killer is beyond me, but then again there are many points like this in this film). For such a big campus we have very few suspects, three in total (which includes the gardener who is ruled out pretty early) which get wittled down even quicker within the first 30 minutes leaving the viewer with only one glaringly obvious suspect, but never mind... How the murder gets around the campus with this chainsaw hidden is beyond me but there are some pretty neat hacking and dismemberment to watch and the piles of limbs left behind is quite comical. Speaking of which, we are subjected to a hilarious scene when undercover tennis playing police woman finds another victim in the changing rooms (this victim is sawn in half and the legs taken. She screams out "Bastard!" numerous times whilst clenching her fists, and then we have a random martial arts instructor kicking out at her in another scene for absolutely no reason..! There is a God-awful and stupid plot twist 20 seconds at the end of the film that makes no sense whatsoever and almost destroys what is a daft but fun addition to the slasher cycle. I give it 6 out of 10 (an extra point for the gore and a rather good axe job at the beginning of the film).

Co-eds of an Universitary College are being murdered by a masked killing executing an extreme criminal spree . Meanwhile , a lieutenant Police Inspector : Christopher George and a Sergeant : Frank Braña are investigating the twisted cases . The sum of the parts = the whole Body . Absolutely No One under 17 admitted to this Performance . When you meet him , you'll go to Pieces ! The Chainsaw Devil ! In his hands he has the power. His mind has the will, Death is his master !, Anyone can be his prey . Fear so intense , it will grab you by the balls ! If you think you are safe on the Campus , you're Dead Wrong !

This is a macabre story of revenge in which a series killer and his devasting Tool make women scream . The film has a lot of gory scenes, violence , brutality , rage , twists and turns . If you like strong thrills , cold chills , blood and guts , you must see this film , but do not come to watch it alone , just in necessary case . While this movie has been universally panned by prestigious critics , however, having a kind of quality that is really considered by Cult Movies lovers and must be endured to be totally appreciated. It is a gruesome and chilling feature that will have you on the edge your seat and you will never be able to forget it due to the bloody scenes including : slashing , beheading , slitting , dismembering and anything else . Although most of the guts and blood were actually internal organs from a nearly Slaughterhouse including cows and pigs. The main and support cast give so-so performances , filled with familiar faces as Christopher George of The Immortal series , his real wife Linda Day George , the tarnished Hollywood star Edmund Purdom , Paul L Smith of Midnight Express , Jack Taylor a Jess Frank's regular , the Spanish/American May Heatherly , Gerard Tichy , Isabel Luque , among others .

It displays an adequate cinematography by Juan Marime , shot utterly in Madrid surroundings due to its low-budget , though set in Boston. This one one among the many Cult classic Horror films that have newly been restored and digitally remastered . The film was professionally directed by Juan Piquer , being full of gaps , flaws , failures , however , resulting to be entertaining . Piquer was a craftsman , a Spanish filmmaker mainly known for directing some cult classy horror films . He was one of the greatest of the Spanish Horror boom in the 70s and 80s especially for his quartet of Terror films as Escalofrío, Slugs , Cthulhu Mansion and this big hit : Pieces . Piquer also especialized in other genres as Adventures : Fabulous Journey to the Center of Earth , Mystery on Monster Island , Sea Devils , The Gilded Beetle , Manoa The Golden City , and Science-Fiction : The Rift , Supersonic Man , Dirty War , Nexus 2431 , The New Extraterrestrials . Rating : 5.5/ 10 . Passable .

'Pieces' is a wonderfully entertaining trashy slasher movie. Dumb, but lots of fun. It has impeccable exploitation credentials - directed by the guy who gave us 'Slugs - The Movie' and co-written by both Dick Randall (assorted kung fu and Emanuelle movies) and shlockmaster Joe D'Amato, director of the legendary 'Antropophagus'(a.k.a. 'The Grim Reaper') to name the most notorious of his 150+ movies. Plus the star is Christopher George ('The Exterminator', Fulci's 'City Of The Living Dead'). George plays a cop sent in to investigate some bloody slayings on a college campus (the movie is Spanish but tries to pretend it's American). The viewer knows the killer is obsessed with female bodies and there is a recurring motif involving jigsaws and mirrors. As in most slasher movies there are plenty of suspects to choose from, including a scary looking gardener (cult favourite Paul Smith, 'Midnight Express', 'Crimewave'), a Professor of Anatomy (Jack Taylor, who appeared in a few Jess Franco classics like 'Succubus' and 'Eugenie'), and the Dean (Edmund Purdom, 'The Fifth Cord', 'Ator'). The lovely Lynda Day (Christopher George's wife) plays an undercover tennis coach(!) and spaghetti western veteran Frank Brana is George's sidekick. If you approach 'Pieces' with the right frame of mind you'll have a hell of a good time. It's bloody, completely illogical and contains the most unexpected martial arts scene in the history of horror movies (yeah, I know...)

How could I not love this movie? It is a rare cinematic occurrence indeed to find such delightfully sleazy ingredients as chainsaw massacres, disco aerobics, on screen vomiting, pornographic jigsaw puzzles, a girl wetting her pants, and a guy salivating over a woman's feet all in one place. Only from the combined minds of Joe D'Amato, Dick Randall, and J. Piquer Simon could such a thing spring forth – and judging from the number of reviews here, I'm not alone in my fondness for this movie.

Many of the cast members will be familiar to fans of these kinds of movies. Christopher George (having already been through Graduation Day and a trip to the Mortuary) is a strong lead as the no-nonsense detective on the case, while Jess Franco veteran Jack Taylor creeps around the increasingly decimated campus as an anatomy professor. Of course the victims are just anonymous dead meat, but then that's all they need to be.

Say what you will about the overall quality of the film, but one thing's for sure - Pieces doesn't suffer from a lack of blood and guts. The crimson stuff flows freely once the chainsaw starts up, and the movie actually lives up to the surprisingly honest tagline - `it's exactly what you think it is' - take it or leave it. And the ending - what an ending!