Murder-Set-Pieces

In Las Vegas, a sadistic and psychopath Nazi photographer (Sven Garrett) has sex and takes pictures of naked prostitutes first and then he kills his victims. His girlfriend Charlotte (Valerie Baber) does not suspect that he is a serial-killer, but her younger sister Jade (Jade Risser) is afraid of him.

"Murder-Set-Pieces" is an extremely violent movie with free sadism and brutality. Unfortunately there are practically only lots of gore and many naked women in erotic scenes in the plot. The bold director and writer Nick Palumbo does not spare even children from being murdered by the insane killer, but the flawed sick story does not develop the characters well and seems to have the only concern of showing graphic violence. Further, in spite of the murders, the police never chase the killer. There is only a cameo of Cerina Vincent and Tony Todd to give their names to the credit and lure the viewers. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Estripador de Las Vegas" ("Las Vegas Reaper")

Having searched for this movie for well over 6 hours, I finally found it nestled amongst the annals of many of the world's most reviled films. Reading the description, and how the film was banned in multiple countries and was deemed an "atrocity of human decency", I knew this was exactly the type of movie I wanted to watch. Once it started, I quickly realized that it wasn't the content of the film that made it disturbing, but the fact that someone actually got it financed. The acting was embarrassingly bad, the dialog even worse, and nothing about this film left any kind of impression on me, least of all fear. It did have great special effects, and the blood was extremely realistic, but when that is the only redeemable quality of the film, you know you have hit a dead end in cinema. This movie is one of those films that deserves to be banned because of how horrible in quality it is; it was written & directed by people whose sole purpose was to shock and disturb, and still managed to f$%k that up. Do yourself the favor and watch some French Extreme horror and forget this trash was made. There are plenty of movies out there that are infinitely more deserving of your valuable time.

I love horror movies and this was just terrible. It was ridiculous and an insult to the genre (and the audience). There weren't any good "jumpy" moments and the laughs we had were because of the things we whispered to each other because it was so bad. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't expecting this movie to change my life but I didn't think it would be awful- and it really was. I know reading a bad review of a horror movie wouldn't stop me from seeing one but after seeing this, I feel compelled to try. It was pretty bloody, but you didn't see a lot of the murders. There was a lot of badly implied violence and a lot of blood. I can't write a real critique about the movie because I don't really think of it as a real movie. The plot holes were enormous, the acting was terrible, blah blah, blah. I guess there is something to say about the fact that this managed to be a monotonous, boring slasher film. I have seen stupid slasher films- but not one that was so repetitive and yes- boring. I also agree with the other review that it was gross for it's own sake and shocking as well. Some of the things that I am sure are controversial (people murdered and images in his dreams)seem to just be there because they can be or to try and prove something. I don't think they worked at all and I was mad that he would use them in such a cheap way. Normally, I think any film that makes you feel anything this strongly has to have something redeeming in it. Not this one, it was 2 hours of my life completely wasted.

I've read the hype. I've anticipated checking it out for myself. I was even a little hopeful that the negative feedback about this flick (both here on IMDb and EVERYWHERE ELSE on the web) was just backlash. I guess I should have known.

The fact of the matter is, MURDER SET-PIECES is a giant steaming pile of crap. Unimaginative crap. Boring crap. Poorly acted crap. Unbelievabley BAD crap. An acquaintance of mine had ordered the unrated/original cut off the MSP website, and knowing that the R-rated Lions Gate version was about to drop, I asked to borrow his to check out this so-called "masterpiece of horror". What a joke. I'm so glad I haven't bothered to try and buy a copy myself. Here's a few takes on this gigantic misfire:

THE ACTING - horrid. The lead is a joke, a hulking boring one-dimensional lug who looks like he was dragged out of the gym - unwillingly - to mutter poor dialogue. When he slipped into German, I couldn't help but stifle laughter.

THE DIALOGUE - atrocious. Come on Nick, give us SOMETHING. I'll say this, the dialogue matches the acting-- flat and poorly done.

THE GORE - well you'd think that at least the film's saving grace would be the gore fx, right? WELLLLLL... sorry to say, no. In fact, there is VERY LITTLE GORE in this film. I have to think that the Lion's Gate cut version must have concentrated more on cutting-out nudity than gore. Sure, there's blood. Whoop-dee-doo. Guess what, I can go to a costume shop and get a gallon of fake blood too. So if you're anxious to see splats of blood hitting walls/floors, this movie is for you. If you actually want GORE EFFECTS, look elsewhere. The ToeTag team have done much better work in the A.Underground films (which I wasn't too keen on, but have to admit the FX were stunningly well conceived).

THE NUDITY - yeah, there's a great number of nekkid ladies in this film. If you're under 15 years old and don't have an internet connection, than this movie will really pop your corn. Otherwise... *yawn*. When there's NO CONTEXT, then naked bloody ladies just don't have any affect on the viewer (especially a seasoned horror fan). It's pointless... just like this whole film. Oh, speaking of pointless...

THE 9/11 FOOTAGE - tacky, tasteless and downright unnecessary. Just like this whole film.

It's downright hilarious that the director thinks he's made a masterpiece here. I suggest he start watching the horror-titles he constantly throws-around and take some lessons from REAL film-makers, because he just isn't anywhere CLOSE to their league or level of talent.

The only "disturbing!" thing about this film is the giant waste of money and resources this poor-excuse-for-a-horror-flick represents. Apparently the budget was approx. 2-million, and it was (as the director will quickly point-out) shot on 35mm. Big bloody deal. It still ends-up being a giant wasteful dump of a movie with no characterization, no plot, no FX, and no reason for existing. Some of the best horror-films were shot on a shoestring budget on 16mm. Go figure.

Avoid this at all costs.

Murder Set pieces is a good horror/exploitation movie (but, by no means its "the most visceral movie" or whatever...). Its a psycho movie with torture, sex (good amount), naked chicks ( a lot and very hot babes), and a good amount of blood (but not a lot of gore). Its entertaining, the soundtrack is cool, the photography is a highlight compared to other movies of its kind (MSP is shot on 35 mm film) but its not a classic. I believe its a movie horror fans can enjoy if the expectations aren't too high ( a lot of hype surrounded this movie). 6/10 (i ve seen the "Unrated" version not the "R" that its now worldwide(?) released)