Perfectly in keeping with its title, Pieces is a jigsaw of elements from other films: the ‘x-years earlier’ prologue was of course a mainstay of slasher films after Halloween a knife-stabbing through the back of a head and emerging via the mouth is lifted from Lucio Fulci’s gorefest The House by the Cemetery the school setting and absurdly suspicious gardener are ripped off from Jess Franco’s Bloody Moon a pop-up shock is drafted in from Carrievia Joe D’Amato’s Beyond the Darkness a brutal murder in a lift recalls Brian de Palma’s Dressed to Kill and of course the inspiration for the chainsaw murders is obvious. Like one of the hilarious mock-trailers from Quentin Tarantino’s Grindhouse magically transformed into a real movie, it’s a riot from start to finish. So what if some of the fun is unintentional? It’s a combination of supercharged gore, hilarious goofs and gaffes (a push-button phone in 1942?) and deliciously silly performances (Linda Day George’s maniacal outburst of “Bastard! Bastard!!!” is a highlight). The film’s absurd dialogue, terrible acting and illogical plotting may induce feelings of contempt in some viewers but ultimately Pieces is exactly what it wants to be – great, great fun. With murder by axe, knife and chainsaw, severed limbs and hacked torsos, decapitations and litres of blood, it’s an energetic explosion of gory nonsense: a horror fan would need a heart of stone not to enjoy it.
Pieces is impossible to take seriously but very easy to love, providing you get a kick out of grisly dismemberment, ridiculous plotting and crazy dialogue.
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