This film opens up with a mother discovering her young son with a jigsaw puzzle of a naked woman. He responds to her rage by graphically axing her to death. This pretty much sets the tone for what is to come.
Graphic gore, gratuitous nudity, red herrings, horrendously bad dialogue and gaffs galore this is a bad movie. But it's also an immensely enjoyable one. I like it so much that I own it on pre cert VHS, have 3 copies on DVD and will probably also purchase on BR. I just don't tire of watching it.
And it's not all bad. The gore is decent. The girls are attractive. It's also part Italian and there are effective giallo elements here. Essential viewing to slasher fans.
192 Reviews
Very bloody and over the top 80's slasher
dworldeater1 July 2019
While Pieces is not without its flaws, for low budgeted horror, Pieces delivers the gory goods. Notorious, for being on the UK's video nasty list, gorehounds will not be let down by this crazy and somewhat quirky 80's slasher. A killer is on the loose at a Boston,Mass area college brutally killing and mutilating gorgeous college girls to get body parts to put together a human jigsaw puzzle. For the most part, the overdubbing and acting is atrocious(with the exception of Christopher George as a police detective, who actually is really great in this), there are slow parts and subplots that go nowhere. But, I digress Pieces delivers huge as trashy grindhouse entertainment, with tons of nudity and some spectacular state of the art gore. Gore galore, with lots of boobage and 80's bush, Pieces will please fans of sleazeoid cinema and ultra violence. Add Bluto from the Robin Williams live action Popeye movie as groundskeeper and a cameo of Bruce Le showing his kung fu, you have an odd, but effective splatter film that is very over the top and cool low budget horror flick.
Good fun but makes little sense
tenebrae7017 June 2013
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).
'Pieces' is a wonderfully entertaining trashy slasher movie. Dumb, but lots of fun.
Infofreak14 March 2004
'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...)
A Spanish brutal slasher with plenty of grisly killings , gore , blood and guts
ma-cortes17 October 2020
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 .
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 .
I enjoy it in a trashy sort of way
callanvass11 January 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Back in the year 1942, a young pervert in Boston named Timmy gets chastised by his mother for trying to finish a jigsaw puzzle of a naked woman. The boy snaps, and chops her to death with an Axe. Two bumbling cops let Timmy go free. Forty years later, in a campus on Boston, the students are turning up dead, one by one. A serial killer is desiring to form a human jigsaw puzzle with body parts. It is up to Lt. Bracken (Christopher George) a student named Kendall, and former tennis pro, Mary Riggs (Lynda Day George) to try to stop him
I've seen this countless times over the years. It was one of the very first horror movies I ever bought, back when I was first discovering my love for horror films. I wore out the DVD. Last night was the first time I had seen it in almost five years. Did it manage to give me entertainment still? Yup. This is European, so we have to put up with some horrible dubbing. Let me get one thing out-of-the-way. This is not a good horror movie. It is laughably bad at times, with horrendous acting, but i'm a lover of cheesy films, especially horror. The killer himself is rather average looking. He's hidden for the most part with a trench coat and a hat on. The gore is a different story. There are some truly nasty things in this movie. A student is cut in half, a woman gets drilled with an Axe repeatedly. Someone gets decapitated with a chainsaw, and much more. My favorites are the water-bed death, and the last scene, which I won't spoil. Ever see a woman pee herself during a stalk scene? You'll see it here. With movies like this, I tend to ignore the plethora of plot holes, but there is one I couldn't ignore. The two cops in the beginning are inexplicably stupid. How is it that there is no conjecturing, whether the boy could be the culprit? They let him go free without even looking into it. He was the only one in the house when his mother was killed, so you would think they would look into the boy being the murder. The acting is what you would probably expect. Christopher George is enjoyably corny as the Lt. His gruff persona was at least fun to watch, if nothing else. Lynda Day George is certainly sweet, and very easy on the eyes. She overdoes the hysterics in a big way, though. (Here is an example. BASTARD, BASTARD, BASTARD!!!!!) Ian Sera is OK as Kendall, but it is hard to rate his performance, since he is dubbed. Edmond Purdom is pretty poor as The Dean. His thick English accent felt out of place. The killer is very easy to predict. I'll be shocked if you don't figure out who it is, early in the movie. They try to throw you off guard, but it doesn't work. The shock ending is utterly pointless in every way. It is unrealistic and absolutely laughable with what they do. Very gory, but very stupid as well. Another carp I have with this film is that it does get a bit talky sometimes. I wouldn't call it boring, but it definitely becomes less interesting
Final Thoughts: If you love cheesy horror movies like I do, you'll most likely find things to enjoy about this film. If you are expecting Schindler's List, you may want to get your head examined. What can I say? I have a soft spot for this film, and I am not ashamed of it
5.4/10
I've seen this countless times over the years. It was one of the very first horror movies I ever bought, back when I was first discovering my love for horror films. I wore out the DVD. Last night was the first time I had seen it in almost five years. Did it manage to give me entertainment still? Yup. This is European, so we have to put up with some horrible dubbing. Let me get one thing out-of-the-way. This is not a good horror movie. It is laughably bad at times, with horrendous acting, but i'm a lover of cheesy films, especially horror. The killer himself is rather average looking. He's hidden for the most part with a trench coat and a hat on. The gore is a different story. There are some truly nasty things in this movie. A student is cut in half, a woman gets drilled with an Axe repeatedly. Someone gets decapitated with a chainsaw, and much more. My favorites are the water-bed death, and the last scene, which I won't spoil. Ever see a woman pee herself during a stalk scene? You'll see it here. With movies like this, I tend to ignore the plethora of plot holes, but there is one I couldn't ignore. The two cops in the beginning are inexplicably stupid. How is it that there is no conjecturing, whether the boy could be the culprit? They let him go free without even looking into it. He was the only one in the house when his mother was killed, so you would think they would look into the boy being the murder. The acting is what you would probably expect. Christopher George is enjoyably corny as the Lt. His gruff persona was at least fun to watch, if nothing else. Lynda Day George is certainly sweet, and very easy on the eyes. She overdoes the hysterics in a big way, though. (Here is an example. BASTARD, BASTARD, BASTARD!!!!!) Ian Sera is OK as Kendall, but it is hard to rate his performance, since he is dubbed. Edmond Purdom is pretty poor as The Dean. His thick English accent felt out of place. The killer is very easy to predict. I'll be shocked if you don't figure out who it is, early in the movie. They try to throw you off guard, but it doesn't work. The shock ending is utterly pointless in every way. It is unrealistic and absolutely laughable with what they do. Very gory, but very stupid as well. Another carp I have with this film is that it does get a bit talky sometimes. I wouldn't call it boring, but it definitely becomes less interesting
Final Thoughts: If you love cheesy horror movies like I do, you'll most likely find things to enjoy about this film. If you are expecting Schindler's List, you may want to get your head examined. What can I say? I have a soft spot for this film, and I am not ashamed of it
5.4/10
Naked to Be Killed - A Slash, Gore and Cheesy Cult-Movie
claudio_carvalho24 March 2006
While playing with a puzzle, a teenager is repressed by his mother, and he kills her and severs her body with an ax. Forty years later, in an university campus in Boston, a serial killer kills young women and severs their bodies in parts, stealing body pieces from each student. Lt. Bracken (Christopher George) makes a deal with the dean of the campus, and infiltrates the agent Mary Riggs (Lynda Day George) as if she were a tennis teacher and together with the student Kendall (Ian Sera), they try to find the identity of the killer.
"Pieces" is so bad, senseless and ridiculous, that contradictory becomes very hilarious and a slash, gore and cheesy cult-movie. The first funny points are the beautiful naked "actresses", always naked to be killed - all the victims are women with delicious bodies. The dialogs, screams and situations are so absurd that become another attraction: the tennis player that is an undercover cop to survive; or the student that accesses the documents and help the police in the investigation itself; or the killer that starts killing forty years after his first death with unexplained reasons or trigger. I could list lots of unreasonable situations in the screenplay, but better off the viewer finds them (and certainly will). The bloody effects are good, but when the killer is stabbing a woman on a water bed, the terrible cut is absolutely visible. I personally liked this film a lot, but I only recommend it for fans of trash-movies. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "O Terror da Serra Elétrica" ("The Chainsaw Terror")
Note: On 05 July 2020, I saw this film again.
"Pieces" is so bad, senseless and ridiculous, that contradictory becomes very hilarious and a slash, gore and cheesy cult-movie. The first funny points are the beautiful naked "actresses", always naked to be killed - all the victims are women with delicious bodies. The dialogs, screams and situations are so absurd that become another attraction: the tennis player that is an undercover cop to survive; or the student that accesses the documents and help the police in the investigation itself; or the killer that starts killing forty years after his first death with unexplained reasons or trigger. I could list lots of unreasonable situations in the screenplay, but better off the viewer finds them (and certainly will). The bloody effects are good, but when the killer is stabbing a woman on a water bed, the terrible cut is absolutely visible. I personally liked this film a lot, but I only recommend it for fans of trash-movies. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "O Terror da Serra Elétrica" ("The Chainsaw Terror")
Note: On 05 July 2020, I saw this film again.
Lovable gore movie from a great, great director
zmaturin11 June 2000
Thank you, Juan Piquer Simon! First I'm delighted by your wondrous "E.T." rip off "Pod People", then your amazing killer slug movie, the aptly titled "Slugs". But now I've seen the one that tops those classics and then some: your take on the chainsaw massacre genre, "Pieces". What an amazing, totally hilarious, totally entertaining movie!
After seeing a little kid hack up his mother with an ax (and the subsequent arrival of the police who have no reaction whatsoever to the woman's severed head lying in a closet), we jump to "forty years later" at a college campus in Boston. We know it takes place in America, because there are American flags, maps of the United States, and pictures of Ronald Reagan everywhere. It's obviously NOT Spain. Anyway, this totally-American-and-not-Spanish-at-all killer is on the loose, collecting various body parts for his human jigsaw puzzle. There's tons of great gore as the unseen killer's chainsaw rips through necks, arms, torsos, you name it. But what's just as good is all the scenes between the gore scenes in which the cops try to hunt down the killer.
First of all, one of the cops is the guy from "Slugs" who yelled "You don't have the authority to declare Happy Birthday!". He gets an equally stupid line in this movie with "Right now we're just buying clothes without labels and trying them on for size." He enlists the help of Kendall, a well meaning student who is played by the guy who says "It stinks!" in "Pod People".
Kendall is of no help at all except for the fact that he stumbles on the corpses minutes after the killer leaves the scene and he romances the tennis pro/cop who's hunting the killer undercover. These scenes are creepy because the actress is old enough to be Kendall's grandmother. Watch for the scene towards the end where she's lying down and Kendall touches her face, then in the next shot he's in the middle of the room, nowhere near her.
Also enjoy the fact that the cops find the killer's bloody chainsaw, but he somehow magically has it back for the next killing. Enjoy the scene where a girl on a skateboard smashes through a mirror for no reason, and is never heard from again. Enjoy the scene where a character we've never seen before jumps out of the shadows, does some kung-fu moves, and then leaves, never to be seen again.
But most of all, enjoy the out-of-nowhere insanity of the film's closing moments. I won't spoil it here, but it has to be seen to be believed- actually, even then you might not believe it. "Pieces" is a totally enjoyable movie going experience if you are a fan of enjoyably bad movies and good gore.
After seeing a little kid hack up his mother with an ax (and the subsequent arrival of the police who have no reaction whatsoever to the woman's severed head lying in a closet), we jump to "forty years later" at a college campus in Boston. We know it takes place in America, because there are American flags, maps of the United States, and pictures of Ronald Reagan everywhere. It's obviously NOT Spain. Anyway, this totally-American-and-not-Spanish-at-all killer is on the loose, collecting various body parts for his human jigsaw puzzle. There's tons of great gore as the unseen killer's chainsaw rips through necks, arms, torsos, you name it. But what's just as good is all the scenes between the gore scenes in which the cops try to hunt down the killer.
First of all, one of the cops is the guy from "Slugs" who yelled "You don't have the authority to declare Happy Birthday!". He gets an equally stupid line in this movie with "Right now we're just buying clothes without labels and trying them on for size." He enlists the help of Kendall, a well meaning student who is played by the guy who says "It stinks!" in "Pod People".
Kendall is of no help at all except for the fact that he stumbles on the corpses minutes after the killer leaves the scene and he romances the tennis pro/cop who's hunting the killer undercover. These scenes are creepy because the actress is old enough to be Kendall's grandmother. Watch for the scene towards the end where she's lying down and Kendall touches her face, then in the next shot he's in the middle of the room, nowhere near her.
Also enjoy the fact that the cops find the killer's bloody chainsaw, but he somehow magically has it back for the next killing. Enjoy the scene where a girl on a skateboard smashes through a mirror for no reason, and is never heard from again. Enjoy the scene where a character we've never seen before jumps out of the shadows, does some kung-fu moves, and then leaves, never to be seen again.
But most of all, enjoy the out-of-nowhere insanity of the film's closing moments. I won't spoil it here, but it has to be seen to be believed- actually, even then you might not believe it. "Pieces" is a totally enjoyable movie going experience if you are a fan of enjoyably bad movies and good gore.
Several Cuts Below The Average
marat-51 June 2000
This film might have been more offensive if it had been more competently made. As it is, "Pieces" is surprisingly dull considering the amount of gore and nudity. The unintentional laughs are far and few between to recommend the film on a kitsch level. It also lacks suspense, any sense of style, and the fun of the better slasher films. However, I'll concede that there a couple of sequences that almost work. The first being the prologue scene. The look on that kid's face when he's sawing off his mother's head is probably the scariest part of the movie. The second sequence is the John Woo-ish moment in the elevator. If you're into creative death scenes, this scene isn't too shabby. Also, I love the way the killer is able to conceal his chainsaw behind his back(!) when following that woman into the elevator. It should be noted, though, this scene is preceded by an interminable sequence of the victim during her aerobic workout.
Funniest horror movie ever
bedlamredrum1227 January 2004
Ok, i've seen this movie countless amounts of times and it makes me crack up each time. The kills are so gory and unnecessarily violent while the dialogue and characters are just as absurd. My favorite part would have to be when Willard (Paul L. Smith) is seen near the chainsaw and attacks all of the police officers unprovoked! The guy's completely innocent yet he feels the need to brutally assault all the cops and even Kendall's vicious 2 X 4 beatings can't stop him. Another classic moment is the random ninja who attacks the woman cop and of course is best buds with Kendall. Classic cinema!
Can someone explain me the relevance of the end scene aka the crotch grabbing n castration?
Fella_shibby15 March 2021
I first saw this in the late 80s on a vhs and the opening scene terrified me then.
Revisited the 87 mins director's cut.
The film started off very well n it cud have been a good character study of a psychopath but the makers reduced it into a mere slasher.
The arm severing scene in the lift is brutal n the film has lots of gore n it has plenty of boobs n butts but none of the babes is hot. In fact the mother of the psycho in the initial scene is a busty milf.
The film has some wierd stuff too. Ther is a kung fu guy doing kicks in the middle of the nite n later a woman thanks Kendall for saving her life but there was nothing shown regarding saving life. The only thing Kendall did was give a lift.
It is obvious that ther is some chemistry between Kendall n the woman he gave lift but in the end a lieutenant aka Christopher George (who is the real life husbad of the woman) touches the woman's cheeks n chin. I don't kno why.
In a scene Kendall and a sergeant leave earlier than the lieutenant but somehow the lieutenant reaches along with em.
We have Paul Lawrence Smith (Bluto in Robert Altman's Popeye) found most of the times at crime scenes but he is never interrogated or termed as a suspect.
Christopher George does best at what he is, either a cop, a sheriff or a lieutenant. In one scene he barges rite on time n he is damn accurate with his shot.
We have Jack Taylor in a tiny role but he gave a memorable performance of that of a reserved n quiet professor with a hidden lifestyle.
The film started off very well n it cud have been a good character study of a psychopath but the makers reduced it into a mere slasher.
The arm severing scene in the lift is brutal n the film has lots of gore n it has plenty of boobs n butts but none of the babes is hot. In fact the mother of the psycho in the initial scene is a busty milf.
The film has some wierd stuff too. Ther is a kung fu guy doing kicks in the middle of the nite n later a woman thanks Kendall for saving her life but there was nothing shown regarding saving life. The only thing Kendall did was give a lift.
It is obvious that ther is some chemistry between Kendall n the woman he gave lift but in the end a lieutenant aka Christopher George (who is the real life husbad of the woman) touches the woman's cheeks n chin. I don't kno why.
In a scene Kendall and a sergeant leave earlier than the lieutenant but somehow the lieutenant reaches along with em.
We have Paul Lawrence Smith (Bluto in Robert Altman's Popeye) found most of the times at crime scenes but he is never interrogated or termed as a suspect.
Christopher George does best at what he is, either a cop, a sheriff or a lieutenant. In one scene he barges rite on time n he is damn accurate with his shot.
We have Jack Taylor in a tiny role but he gave a memorable performance of that of a reserved n quiet professor with a hidden lifestyle.
Super Schlock!
Maciste_Brother11 November 2003
PIECES is worth watching for anyone who likes REALLY bad movies. This one is so bad that I'm at lost with what to say. Bad acting, bad script, bad camera work, bad, bad, bad. The gore is freeflowing in this very misogynistic movie but it's rarely troubling because the rest is so hilariously bad. It was filmed in Spain but pretends to be Boston(?!?!) A chainsaw is often used during the killings but you'd think people at the university would notice someone walking around with a big bright yellow chainsaw. And Lynda Day George playing a "young" tennis player is one of the funniest bits of casting I've ever seen. Her overacting is almost peerless. But the scene that sends this "horror" film into sheer "so bad it's good" nirvana is the "surprise" ending. One has to see it to believe it (or not to believe it).
Unapologetically mean and nasty "piece" of entertainment
fertilecelluloid1 January 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Once again, Juan Piquer Simon fires on all cylinders and delivers "Pieces", a gleefully gory slasher that is everything utter crap like Troma's "Splatter University" pretends to be but isn't. The difference is, Troma's rubbish -- with the exception of "Combat Shock and Mother's Day" -- is boring, this is certainly not. I adore the shot of the shabbily assembled corpse tumbling from the closet. I love the graphic stabbings and axe murders, the crazy psychological motivation behind the killer's blood-stained antics (the childhood destruction of one of his porno treasures), and, of course, the chainsawing of various limbs. Sure the acting is average, but Paul Smith is still great as Willard and Christopher George lends some authority to proceedings. Immensely entertaining and unapologetically mean and nasty.
Good at being bad.
roy_ayres418 October 2002
Pieces is a cheese classic! It has bad acting, continuity errors, lovely naked chicks, and tons of gore via chainsaw (dismemberments, decapitations, etc). It' a masterpiece of sleaze and perversity. Any horror fan worth their salt should check this flick out. Features one of the best and stupidest endings in film history. A triumph!
"Decent Slasher Flick!"
gwnightscream1 February 2014
Warning: Spoilers
This 1982 horror film stars Christopher George, Lynda Day, Ian Sera, Edmund Purdom and Paul L. Smith. This begins with a young boy working on a jigsaw puzzle and soon he kills his demanding mother. Forty years later, a mysterious killer starts butchering selected victims at a college campus with chainsaws and knives. He uses their parts to make a jigsaw puzzle in the form of a body. The late, George (Graduation Day) plays police lieutenant, Bracken who tries to find the killer, George's wife, Day plays tennis player, Mary Riggs, Sera plays student, Kendall who helps the police, Purdom plays the Dean and Smith (Popeye) plays grounds keeper, Willard. This is a decent slasher flick with some gruesome deaths and a good, atmospheric score I recommend for fans of the genre.
Splatter-Filled Slasher Silliness
laurieanngermann21 December 2021
If you're on the lookout for a slasher film with less plot and more slashing, Pieces is the film for you. It doesn't twist itself out of shape to give the audience anything unexpected, but it delivers its gruesome delights with a mix of inept dialogue/character interactions and stylish murder sequences. It makes for a strange, but oddly satisfying brew.
Just dreadful
preppy-319 May 2004
Film takes place in Massachusetts (obviously it was shot in Spain). It starts in the 1940s with a mother catching her young son putting together a jigsaw puzzle of a naked woman. She freaks out, yells at him and orders him to get a plastic trash bag (which didn't exist in the 1940s). He leaves, comes back in with an ax and hacks mommy to pieces. That's the OPENING SCENE!!!! Then it cuts to 1983 at a college where somebody is hacking young female students into pieces. But who...and why? You won't really care.
Aside from Christopher George and Lynda Day George all the actors are (badly) dubbed (I love how the dean of a MA college has an ENGLISH accent). The story doesn't make a lick of sense, the gore is explicit and pretty sick (this was released unrated in the US) and it's surprisingly dull at times. Even the casting was way off--one of the characters is (purportedly) the school stud but he's played by a short, below average looking guy with no body whatsoever! There's a sequence with him and a woman in bed which is hilarious.
Basically this film was made to show off tons of blood and gore. I have no problem with that at all--but that's all the movie has. Supposedly the dreadful dubbing was purportedly done badly so people would laugh at it....but it's kind of hard to laugh at any movie which is shoving VERY explicit gore in your face. I saw it in a theatre in 1983 and no one laughed once. The stupidest murder has to be when one girl is decapitated by HEDGE TRIMMERS--in broad daylight--on a college campus--and NOBODY SEES ANYTHING! That's about when I gave up on the film--they're treating the audience like they're full of idiots. And the final revelation of who the killer is was predictable and there's a truly pathetic "shock" at the end.
A very sick, nasty, stupid, dull horror film. For gore completists only
Aside from Christopher George and Lynda Day George all the actors are (badly) dubbed (I love how the dean of a MA college has an ENGLISH accent). The story doesn't make a lick of sense, the gore is explicit and pretty sick (this was released unrated in the US) and it's surprisingly dull at times. Even the casting was way off--one of the characters is (purportedly) the school stud but he's played by a short, below average looking guy with no body whatsoever! There's a sequence with him and a woman in bed which is hilarious.
Basically this film was made to show off tons of blood and gore. I have no problem with that at all--but that's all the movie has. Supposedly the dreadful dubbing was purportedly done badly so people would laugh at it....but it's kind of hard to laugh at any movie which is shoving VERY explicit gore in your face. I saw it in a theatre in 1983 and no one laughed once. The stupidest murder has to be when one girl is decapitated by HEDGE TRIMMERS--in broad daylight--on a college campus--and NOBODY SEES ANYTHING! That's about when I gave up on the film--they're treating the audience like they're full of idiots. And the final revelation of who the killer is was predictable and there's a truly pathetic "shock" at the end.
A very sick, nasty, stupid, dull horror film. For gore completists only
So bad it's INCREDIBLE!
NickKnack6829 January 2022
First saw this on opening night in 1983 Recently revisited and it's just so much cheesy/gory fun: atrocious acting, suspects all over the place, a killer in giallo gear, amazing chainsaw murders, and arguably the most absurd ending in slasher film history. Gotta love it!
No Words
gracehenson-3079012 September 2021
A simple plot description of Pieces might make it sound straightforward enough, but the film itself is filled with so many bizarre non sequiturs that will leave you scratching your head. Just when you think this film's fiendish killer is about to pounce on yet another unsuspecting victim, a kung-fu professor leaps out from behind a pillar and attack them instead. It's scenes like this that keep viewers of Pieces on their toes.
There are still some good giallo-like set pieces thrown in there that might be more effective if isolated from the film surrounding it. At least there's never a dull moment.
There are still some good giallo-like set pieces thrown in there that might be more effective if isolated from the film surrounding it. At least there's never a dull moment.
Pieced Together?
thesar-220 December 2008
'Pieces' was absolutely hilarious. I'm guessing, unintentionally. The acting, the dubbing oh, the dubbing, the Dean that looked like Bean as well as the officer that acted like he doubled for Lt. Frank Drebin, the "Bastard! Bastard! BASTARD!" dialogue, the scenes that were horribly, uh, pieced together most of which had nothing to do with the previous scene (I'm sorry, if you're headed straight towards a giant mirror, and you find yourself on a 'runaway' skateboard, never mind you really should know what to do), the characters gotta love the 'Bluto' gardener with the evil eye and laugh, police work so botched I can tell why the killer chose this easy-target campus and an action scene that's downright a highlight involving kung fu. I could go on, but all that being said, fans of the 'breast & slaughter & everyone's a suspect' 80s films will have everything they rented it for. (There's an absolute abundance amount of slaughter and of female nudity, including full frontal, as well as a full frontal male nudity scene thrown in.) One of the best qualities, from a guy's point of view, is the fact that the males are pretty much safe if you skip the 'are you serious?' comical conclusion. The DVD contains some awesome extras make sure you check out the 'Vine' screener. Ironically, this is the exact type of film 'Student Bodies' spoofed, but 'Bodies' was released one year prior, i.e. the 'Breather' and shameless product placement anyone in the mood for Wendy's?
Absolutely insane
scheduledgeoff9 March 2020
If you love this sort of movie, you'll love this. You know who you are. Very bizarre characters and strange happenings in true slasher style. Don't be fooled, though, as there are still some very effective moments.
--
As armless corpse is being carted off on a stretcher...
Lt. Bracken: "What are her chances, doc?"
Coroner: "I've done all I can, but massive shock has blocked her nerve centers, and loss of blood has done the rest. Not a chance in a million. Sorry." -- That about sums it up.
Lt. Bracken: "What are her chances, doc?"
Coroner: "I've done all I can, but massive shock has blocked her nerve centers, and loss of blood has done the rest. Not a chance in a million. Sorry." -- That about sums it up.
Idiotic with Tons of Entertainment Value
rachelrachel-3343113 October 2021
40 years after a young boy killed his mother for throwing away his pornographic puzzle, he sets out to recreate it by using the bodies of the coeds at a college campus.
If gore is what you're looking for, Pieces has you covered. If tight plotting and suspense is more your speed, you might want to look elsewhere. Pieces' plotting is scattershot to say the least and the script's dialogue is full of howlers. It's a film best experienced after a few drinks.
If gore is what you're looking for, Pieces has you covered. If tight plotting and suspense is more your speed, you might want to look elsewhere. Pieces' plotting is scattershot to say the least and the script's dialogue is full of howlers. It's a film best experienced after a few drinks.
Sherlocke Holmes meets Friday the 13th
rhyatt113 October 2007
Warning: Spoilers
This movie is funny, but not funny enough to watch more than once or funny enough to laugh at with friends (think Troll 2). Pieces is your typical 80's teen slasher movie with a little bit of murder mystery thrown in to make it unique (but not good). The story is about a faceless killer who goes around a college campus killing teenage girls at times when they just happen to be getting naked.
**SPOILERS**
The beginning of the movie shows the origins of the mystery killer and explains why he has a desire to chop up ladies. Actually it doesn't really explain any motivation other than the dude liked nudie mags at a young age. The strange thing is the opening scene is set in the 40's. This is strange because the kid has a large collection of full color nudie mags and a nudie puzzle... in color... in the 40's. I didn't realize mags like Playboy were readily available in the early 40's, but that's beside the point. The kid's mother catches him with the puzzle and threatens to burn it all so he kills her with an axe and chops her up. What we should have learned at this point is that this kid is deranged and will do evil things as an adult, but what we've actually learned is this kid really likes his porn.
After that the text on the screen says it is now 40 years later, which seems like a pretty big jump for a movie that opens with a kid chopping up his mother. You'd think that something might have happened worth mentioning in the 40 year gap, but I guess he led a pretty boring life up until the mid 80's.
From that point random killings start happening at the college and you as the viewer are left to guess who the chainsaw killer is. The obvious suspects are a fat janitor who just happens to use a chainsaw in his daily work to throw you off, a loser kid who is recruited by the police and obviously can't be the killer because he's under 40 years old, a anatomy teacher who pops up right after each person dies just to throw you off, and the dean of the school who obviously couldn't be the killer because he's the dean and he knows police are there. Oh wait, he is the killer.
As I mentioned before this movie earns it's slasher movie title the old fashioned way...with half naked girls being hacked up. There's the stock skinny dipping scene, the overdone lockerroom shower scene, the 80's aerobic scene, etc. If you're reading this and are getting some wack ideas to go watch this movie for the nudity factor then simmer down, you already saw it all in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter.
Anyway, some of the ridiculous things about this movie to question are as follows: Before anyone is killed at the college a random girl is skateboarding down a sidewalk and skates face first into two guys carrying a pane of glass (the director must have pulled this idea from a Tom and Jerry cartoon). This makes no sense because she wasn't murdered... was she? There's no reason to believe the killer had anything to do with this and no reason for it to be in the movie.
As I said before, why is it 40 years later when all this happens? Why did the killer grow up and work his way up to becoming dean of a college before he began killing random women? Why? Apparently he waited 40 years and became a dean because the director thought the viewer would never guess the dean would be the killer. His whole life led up to this point just to throw you off when you were guessing who the murderer is.
One strange and funny scene is when the fat janitor guy stumbles upon one of the dead girls and then when the cops come in the room he goes WWF on them before they even ask what happened and just starts attacking everyone even though he's completely innocent and had nothing to do with the murder. Once again this is just a case of the director trying to throw you off as to who the killer is by making characters do things that would make no sense in real life.
The final problem I'll list about this movie is the last scene. It is so ridiclous and such a stray from the entire movie that I would say it ruins the movie if everything you had seen to this point hadn't already ruined it. After the cops shoot the killer in the head and throw a sheet over him another cop bumps a wall and a dead woman's body falls out onto the kid. OK, that's fine, it's supposed to be one final scare I guess. But then as everything is wrapping up and the cops are about to leave the house, the kid goes back to grab his coat and out of nowhere the dead womans hand reaches out from the sheet and begins to tear off the dudes wedding tackle THROUGH HIS JEANS. Huh? When did this become a movie about nut grabbing zombies? What the hell made the director throw in this wacky scene at the very end of the movie? The entire movie was about a chainsaw murderer not zombies. It's baffling, but I suppose there's no good way to end a movie this bad so the director just said what the hell.
As far as seeing this movie goes I would go straight to scene selection on the DVD menu, select the last scene, fast forward to the very end, and then watch the kid get his nads zombie scratched before you take the DVD back to Best Buy for a refund.
**SPOILERS**
The beginning of the movie shows the origins of the mystery killer and explains why he has a desire to chop up ladies. Actually it doesn't really explain any motivation other than the dude liked nudie mags at a young age. The strange thing is the opening scene is set in the 40's. This is strange because the kid has a large collection of full color nudie mags and a nudie puzzle... in color... in the 40's. I didn't realize mags like Playboy were readily available in the early 40's, but that's beside the point. The kid's mother catches him with the puzzle and threatens to burn it all so he kills her with an axe and chops her up. What we should have learned at this point is that this kid is deranged and will do evil things as an adult, but what we've actually learned is this kid really likes his porn.
After that the text on the screen says it is now 40 years later, which seems like a pretty big jump for a movie that opens with a kid chopping up his mother. You'd think that something might have happened worth mentioning in the 40 year gap, but I guess he led a pretty boring life up until the mid 80's.
From that point random killings start happening at the college and you as the viewer are left to guess who the chainsaw killer is. The obvious suspects are a fat janitor who just happens to use a chainsaw in his daily work to throw you off, a loser kid who is recruited by the police and obviously can't be the killer because he's under 40 years old, a anatomy teacher who pops up right after each person dies just to throw you off, and the dean of the school who obviously couldn't be the killer because he's the dean and he knows police are there. Oh wait, he is the killer.
As I mentioned before this movie earns it's slasher movie title the old fashioned way...with half naked girls being hacked up. There's the stock skinny dipping scene, the overdone lockerroom shower scene, the 80's aerobic scene, etc. If you're reading this and are getting some wack ideas to go watch this movie for the nudity factor then simmer down, you already saw it all in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter.
Anyway, some of the ridiculous things about this movie to question are as follows: Before anyone is killed at the college a random girl is skateboarding down a sidewalk and skates face first into two guys carrying a pane of glass (the director must have pulled this idea from a Tom and Jerry cartoon). This makes no sense because she wasn't murdered... was she? There's no reason to believe the killer had anything to do with this and no reason for it to be in the movie.
As I said before, why is it 40 years later when all this happens? Why did the killer grow up and work his way up to becoming dean of a college before he began killing random women? Why? Apparently he waited 40 years and became a dean because the director thought the viewer would never guess the dean would be the killer. His whole life led up to this point just to throw you off when you were guessing who the murderer is.
One strange and funny scene is when the fat janitor guy stumbles upon one of the dead girls and then when the cops come in the room he goes WWF on them before they even ask what happened and just starts attacking everyone even though he's completely innocent and had nothing to do with the murder. Once again this is just a case of the director trying to throw you off as to who the killer is by making characters do things that would make no sense in real life.
The final problem I'll list about this movie is the last scene. It is so ridiclous and such a stray from the entire movie that I would say it ruins the movie if everything you had seen to this point hadn't already ruined it. After the cops shoot the killer in the head and throw a sheet over him another cop bumps a wall and a dead woman's body falls out onto the kid. OK, that's fine, it's supposed to be one final scare I guess. But then as everything is wrapping up and the cops are about to leave the house, the kid goes back to grab his coat and out of nowhere the dead womans hand reaches out from the sheet and begins to tear off the dudes wedding tackle THROUGH HIS JEANS. Huh? When did this become a movie about nut grabbing zombies? What the hell made the director throw in this wacky scene at the very end of the movie? The entire movie was about a chainsaw murderer not zombies. It's baffling, but I suppose there's no good way to end a movie this bad so the director just said what the hell.
As far as seeing this movie goes I would go straight to scene selection on the DVD menu, select the last scene, fast forward to the very end, and then watch the kid get his nads zombie scratched before you take the DVD back to Best Buy for a refund.
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