PIECES (1983) 3 DISC DELUXE EDITION (Grindhouse Blu-ray Review)

PIECES (1983) 

3-DISC DELUXE EDITION BD/CD 

Label: Grindhouse Releasing:
Release Date: March 1st 2016
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 83 Minutes, 86 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Mono 2.0, Spanish DTS-HD MA Mono 2.0, Vine Theater Experience English Dolby Digital Surround 5.1
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1)
Director: Juan Piquer Simon
Cast: Jack Taylor, Christopher George, Paul L. Smith, Lynda Day George, Bruce Le, Robert Purdom

Spanish filmmaker Juan Piquer Simón's Pieces (1983) opens in 1942 as an adolescent boy assembles a nudie jigsaw puzzle on his bedroom floor as his mother bursts into the room and catches him with the naughty novelty. She chastises the boy with taunts that he is a louse just like his father before she smashes a picture of dear old dad against a mirror. While she searches the boy's room for more naughty contraband she sends the boy to fetch a garbage bag, but he returns with an axe instead which he thrusts repeatedly into her cranium. With mother properly dead he sets aside the axe in favor of a handsaw which he uses to saw off her head, which he places inside a closet before finishing-up his preciously lewd jigsaw puzzle. Eventually the police are alerted by a worrisome nanny and arrive on scene, when they find the young boy in the closet they assume he's the survivor of the grisly ax-attack and not the fiendish culprit.

Some forty years later the adolescent murderer now a disturbed adult who keeps mementos from the massacre hidden away in a shoe box, inside are his mother's blood spattered flower print dress and shoes, plus the naughty jigsaw puzzle now stained with mother's blood. The killer appears to have kept his murderous urges at bay for all these years but when he witnesses a young girl skateboard into a pane of mirrored glass it resurrects his long dormant blood lust and fascination with kinky jigsaw puzzles. The killer begins to terrorize a Boston area college slaughtering young ladies with a chainsaw, collecting their body parts and assembling them into a perverse human jigsaw puzzle of his own creation.

The first piece of the heinous body-puzzle is a co-ed who the killer finds sprawled out on the campus lawn, her head severed with a chainsaw in an artfully shot kill as her head spins through the air followed by a crimson wave of blood. The shocking murder is investigated by Lt. Bracken (Christopher George, The Exterminator) and Sgt. Holden (Frank Brana, Slugs) who arrive on campus to inform the Dean of Students (Robert Purdom, Don't Open Till Christmas) of their odd plan to place police woman Mary Riggs (Linda Day George, Day of the Animals) undercover as a tennis coach in an effort to identity the maniac. Top on the list of suspects is a cock-eyed gardener maned Willard (Paul L. Smith, Sonny Boy) who appears in near every scene with chainsaw in hand, after that we have the odd Prof. Brown (Jack Taylor, Eugenie ...the story of Her Journey into Perversion), and young college student named Kendall (Ian Sera, The Pod People) who has been near the scene of each of the murders ...so of course the cops deputize him and make him part of the investigation. With this brilliant dragnet in place what could possibly go wrong?
  
The investigation does little to deter the chainsaw slasher who dismembers several more co-eds in quick succession. The killer decked in the latest Giallo fashions sports a black trench coat, black leather gloves and a black fedora, it is a very stylish and menacing get-up to be sure. He literally nets the next victim while she skinny dips in a pool and then dismembers her leaving a neat pile of severed limbs right next to the instrument of her death. When the body is discovered the Lt. calls Prof. Brown to the scene and asks if he thinks that perhaps the chainsaw next to the corpse, it's teeth covered in chunks of meat and gore, might possibly be the murder weapon, which is a nice bit of what-the-fuckery. A third victim is a dancer caught in an elevator by our stealthy sicko who somehow sneaks a running, yellow chainsaw into the confines of a small elevator. The woman recognizes the killer's identity but doesn't seem to notice the gas-powered chainsaw behind his back until it's too late. The gore effects in the film are surprisingly gruesome, with plenty of disembowelment, dismemberment, chainsaw savaged flesh and multiple stabbings perpetrated against a variety of nude women. Two of the best kills are left for last, we get an artful Argento worthy slow-mo stabbing on a water bed and a gruesome locker room evisceration with the chainsaw tearing through flesh. It may be a bit surprising just how much great gore is crammed into such a silly film, particularly considering how goofy some of the film's more dramatic elements are. Let's not forget a nutty kung-fu professor which is perhaps one of the most random chop-suey fueled nonsensical moments in all of horror film history, a scene that will leave you scratching your head in wonderment.

One of my favorite scenes comes immediately following the elevator death when all of the film's red-herrings are gathered together in a hallway looking suspicious beyond belief as the lightning dramatically illuminates their faces, a completely hilarious moment straight out of  an episode of Scooby-Doo. The film's final moments are bat-crap insane as one shocking reveal careens preposterously into a shocking, ball-shredding, ending that will leave you speechless and gasping for air. There's nothing else like it out there, not sure if the inherent camp is intended but I don't see how it possibly could be, this is the kind of stuff you just can't plan for and is most likely a happy accident of schlocky b-movie cinema. While there's no other film quite like it I would make a comparison toe Lucio Fulci's The House by the Cemetery which is equally gore-tastic while also uniquely absurd.

Pieces is a very silly movie, it borders on a slasher-parody, but what saves it from pure-camp are some gloriously gruesome gore scenes that rival anything you will see in a more venerated classic slasher. Some of the funky English dubbing might actually enhance the charm of the movie, the dialogue is straight-up crazy. Perhaps the most memorable quote from the movie is Linda Day George's notorious blood curdling shrieks of "BASTARD!" in a bizarre, oddly paced succession, just one of the weird and wonderful oddities of this splatter-classic. Plus we have some fine appearances from Euro-cult all-stars Jack Taylor, Christopher George, Edmund Purdom, and the reddest herring in all of cinema, Mr. Paul L. Smith. The cinematography is above average for an early 80's slasher, too. Perhaps not on par with the works of Argento or Fulci but not too shabby either, that water-bed murder sequence definitely stands out

Audio/Video: Grindhouse Releasing have gone back to the original camera negative for a brand new 4K scan of the movie, and WOW is all I can say about the results. Film grain is nicely managed, the details and textures have never been more crisp and the the colors are more vibrant than ever. I wasn't quite prepared for how robust this gory grindhouse classic would look in 1080p with improved depth and clarity, this is well worth a double or triple dip, as some who own both eh previous Grindhouse and Arrow Video releases I can assure you that you need this in your life. 

The main feature has two audio options, we have the English language version with the library music score featuring Steve Cipriani, Carlo Maria Cordio and Fabio Frizzi and the original, uncensored director's cut presented in Spanish with an original score from Librado Pastor (Don't Panic), both presented with DTS-HD MA Mono 2.0 audio. Both come through clean, with the English version having not just the better fidelity, but the better score in my opinion. The Librado Pastor piano score seems a bit clunky in comparison, but both pale in comparison to the Umberto synth re-score also found on this disc. 

The first disc contains the feature length movie, in two version, we now have the Mil Gritos Tiene La Noche (86 Mins) version – the original uncensored director’s cut, presented in Spanish with original score by Librado Pastoras, the versions are seamlessly branched. There's a brand new commentary from Eurocult star Jack Taylor moderated by Calum Waddell with the star reflecting on how he came to appear in the gore-classic, also touching on other facets of his career, reminiscing about the director and his co-stars, mentioning that this was not some great piece of art, ha ha.  A very cool extra is the option to watch the movie with the Matt Hill (Umberto) re-score which he performed live an Beyond Fest and Mono Con. This score is available on CD and vinyl under the title 'The Night Has A Thousand Screams'. Unfortunately the audio option is a music only track, too bad they couldn't have it re mixed into the film as a viewing option with dialogue and sound effects.

Finishing up disc one we have a collection of stills galleries, each focusing on the various video releases, lobby posters, and print ads for the movie. Among these is a video of Simon culling through various lobby cards for the film and nudie pics from the audition process, which are also included in one of the galleries. There are at least two Easter egg tucked away on the main menu of the first disc, one of Eli Roth introducing the film at the New Beverly Cinema and mixing it up with fans waiting in line, while singing the praises of Pieces. This video also has a snippet of actor Clu Gulager (The Initiation) giving an appreciation of the gore-classic! Also hidden away is a an additional five-minutes of J.P. Simon looking at more lobby cards and more  nude shots from the audition process.

Onto disc two of this magnificent set we find the interviews with director Juan Piquer Simón and actor Paul L. Smith from the previous DVD release, both are great, with the Paul L. Smith not just touching on Pieces, but also David Lynch's Dune, Popeye, Red Sonja and Crimewave with Sam Raimi. Grindhouse have also added a brief three-minute audio only interview with Producer Steve Minasian who speaks a bit about the troubled distribution of the movie and being ripped-off by another producer.

The main course on the second disc is the Calum Waddell and Naomi Holwill produced documentary '42nd Street Memories' which is a ton of fun. This is the story of the rise and fall of 42nd street, beginning with its history as a pre-depression era venue for vaudeville acts, descending into a pit of sleaze in the '70s and '80s until it was cleaned-up by Mayor Rudolph Guilliani in the '90s. What makes this one so damn fun is the slew of notable directors and distributors speaking first hand about what a cesspool many of the theaters were. We have appearances from directors Bill Lustig, Larry Cohen, Frank Henenlotter, Buddy Giovinazzo, Jeff Lieberman, Matt Comber, and Joe Dante among others. Well worth a watch, and a lovely tribute to the seedy underbelly of NYC cinemas. The doc is stuffed with vintage video and images of the infamous block, including clips from movies like Nightmare in a Damaged Brain, The Exterminator, Basket Case and The Massage Parlor Murders that features the neon-lit strip in it's heyday. 

Easter eggs tucked away on disc two include a clip of J.P. Simon speaking about Christmas themed horror films, mentioning the the Dick Randell produced Don't Open Till Christmas. The bios contain a few videos, too. One is a funny one-minute promo for Don't Open Till Christmas with producer Dick Randell, the other is a three-minute clip of producer Steve Minasian speaking about promoting Mark of the Devil with the now infamous vomit-bag. You may also find a one-minute clip of Paul L. Smith speaking about a few movies he enjoys, plus another brief clip of Smith behind-the-scene during the interview. Author Michael Worth chimes in with a hidden two-minute clip shedding some light on how Bruce Le happened to appear in the movie in that weird kung-fu scenario. The last hidden interview I found was a two-minute clip of J.P. Simon going through some behind-the-scenes shots of his other movies like Devil's Island and The Crack, some cool special effects make-up shots.

Among the in-depth bios and filmographies are trailers for Primative World (4 Mins), Ecco (4 Mins), Don't Look in the Basement (1 Mins), Mark of the Devil (1 Mins), Last House on the Left (1 Mins), City of the Living Dead (3 Mins), Day of the Animals (1 Mins), and Witchcraft '70 (2 Mins). There are also a videos of Smith speaking about working on his Russian accent for Richard Donner's Maverick, and a three-minute clip of J.P. Simon speaking about his own personal favorite movies.

Separate from the disc extras we have a very handsome embossed slipcover with vibrant coloring - this one really pops and looks stunning on the shelf. Inside there's an eight-page collector's booklet with liner notes by horror journalists Rick Sullivan (Gore Gazette) and Chas. Balun (Deep Red). The Balun notes are also fond on the 2008 DVD release from Grindhouse, the Rick Sullivan entry is new to this release.  

Again Grindhouse have included the original motion picture soundtrack for the English version on a separate CD with a slipcase, much like they have for Cannibal Holocaust, Cannibal Ferox, The Big Gundown and The Beyond. I hope they keep this up, love getting the soundtrack with the movies. Also of note, the first 3000 units include an actual 15-piece jigsaw puzzle of the infamous nude puzzle from the movie, which is just all kinds of awesome. 

Special Features:
– Two complete versions of this shocking gore classic: PIECES (83 min.) – the original, unrated U.S. theatrical version, presented in English. MIL GRITOS TIENE LA NOCHE (86 min.) – the original uncensored director’s cut, presented in Spanish with original score by Librado Pastor
– Spectacular new 4K transfers – scanned from the original camera negative
– Brand New Audio Commentary by star Jack Taylor moderated by Callum Waddel
– Special 5.1 audio option – the Vine Theater Experience!
– In-depth interviews with director Juan Piquer Simón (55 Mins) and genre superstar Paul L. Smith (58 Mins)
- Audio Interview with Producer Steve Minasian (3 Mins)
– 42nd STREET MEMORIES – all-new feature-length documentary containing interviews with Bill Lustig, Larry Cohen, Frank Henenlotter, Buddy Giovinazzo, Jeff Lieberman, John Skipp, Lynn Lowry, Terry Levene, and many other exploitation icons (82 Mins)
– Extensive Gallery of Stills and Poster ArtL Production stills (20 Images) HD, Publicity Materials (22 Images) HD, Video Releases (39 Images) HD, Bits and Pieces (60 Images) HD, Juan Piquer's Still Show (8 Mins) SD
– Exhaustive Filmographies
- Grindhouse Releasing Previews (36 Mins) HD
- Theatrical Trailer (1 Mins) HD
– Liner notes by legendary horror journalists Rick Sullivan (GORE GAZETTE) and Chas. Balun (DEEP RED)
– BONUS CD – original soundtrack – newly remastered from the original studio tapes
- Beautiful embossed slipcover
– First 3000 units include an actual jigsaw puzzle! Strictly limited to 3000 units!

Pieces could be considered an awful film, that beyond reason has turned into one of my favorite slasher movies of all time. A none too subtle demented chainsaw slasher that's straight-up ridiculous and bat-crap crazy, but I love it and consider this a must own schlockfest. Te new Grindhouse 3-Disc Deluxe Edition BD/CD is the finest it has ever looked. Worth the double-dip alone for the '42nd Street Memories' doc, this is a knock out of a release.  5/5

SONNY BOY (1989) (Scream Factory Blu-ray Review)

SONNY BOY (1989) 

Label: Scream Factory 
Release Date: January 29th 2016 
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Stereo 2.0 with Optional English SDH Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1) 
Director: Robert Martin Carroll
Cast: Brad Dourif, Conrad Janis, Alexandra Powers, David Carradine, Michael Griffin, Paul L. Smith, Savina Gersak, Steve Carlisle, Sydney Lassick

Strap yourself in for a slice of weirdo-cinema by way of Robert Martin Caroll's Sonny Boy (1989), a dark fairytale set in the dusty back roads of New Mexico. The movie begins with an attempt to steal a car by Weasel (Brad Dourif, The Exorcist III) who is interrupted by the owner of the car. Weasel turns a gun on the couple, murdering them and making off with the sweet ride, which he brings to small town criminal boss Slue (Paul L. Smith, Pieces), a very violent man who is less than pleased to discover that along with the car, and a crappy black and white TV, the crook unknowingly brought him a young baby boy who was hidden away in the backseat of the car. 

Slue's first instinct is to toss the baby to his ravenous hogs as food, but his wife Pearl (David Carradine, Death Race 2000) begs him to keep the child, as she has always wanted a family of her own. Pearl is played by David Carradine dressed in drag, I am not sure if his character is supposed to be transgender, a man in drag, or just a manly woman, the movie doesn't say, but it's a strange touch, and it worked for me. Carradine ages throughout the movie, donning a series of wigs before ending up looking like a granny in a silver-haired wig. Carradine made a string of quality-challenged b-movies throughout the '70s and '80s, but this is somethings special amongst his repertoire, this is something quite different, and I was surprised how well Paul L. Smith and himself worked as the oddball couple. 

Slue begrudgingly takes on the role of a demented father, subjecting the child to various tortures throughout the years, which includes cutting out his tongue, dragging him behind a car and subjecting him to fire. Keeping the boy chained-up outside like a dog, becoming a violent man-beast, more an animal than a human being. The older sonny Boy is played by actor Michael Griffin, the character is mute and his body scarred from years of abuse, the actor does a phenomenal job of using body language, and facial expressions to convey the humanity of the tortured character, I am not familiar with his other work, but what is onscreen here is pretty impressive. 

Crime boss Slue is surrounded by a cast of low-life henchmen, we have the aforementioned Weasel played by the always interesting Brad Dourif, who comes off as a back road metal head, he's the more outrageous of Slue's crew. There's also Sydney Lassick (The Unseen) as Charlie P., I found it disconcerting to see Lassick with a moustache, so weird. There's also a disgraced local doctor named Bender (Conrad Janis) with an odd back story, all of these make for interesting side characters that flesh out the strange world of Sonny Boy. 

Slue will occasionally throw Sonny Boy into the back of a caged ice cream truck and drive him to the homes and businesses of his enemies, unleashing the feral teen on them, which always ends in their screaming and painful death. One of these attacks occurs at a church, where sonny sees the image of the crucified Christ, he seems drawn to the character, it's a nice touch to an otherwise strange and brutal scene. While in the back of the truck Sonny is approached by a young woman named Rose (Alexandra Powers) who confesses her problems to the feral teen, and I think it is this encounter that sets Sonny on a road to redemption in an odd sort of way. 

As the movie nears the end we have Sonny Boy escaping from Slue and wandering about town as the angry town folk rise up against Slue and his crew, with some decent siege scenes, including an angry mob cornering Sonny Boy in a barn, with the expected bloody results, though the movie is mostly bloodless, it relies more on black humor and weirdness. As I said before, I enjoy the movie for the weirdness of it, and it is surprisingly touching, but you can tell the movie had some issues during production, that freeze-frame final scene seemed awfully uninspired and a bit desperate.  

The movie is well shot by cinematographer Roberto D'Ettorre Piazzoli who some good work on Italian knock-off movies likes Beyond the Door (1974), Starcrash (1978) and Raiders of Atlantis (1983), he does fine work capturing the almost apocalyptic New Mexico landscape. The movie also benefits considerably from a harmonica-infused score from Carlo Maria Cordio (Pieces, Witchery), which accentuates the themes of humanity and sorrow. Also of note is a twangy tune written and sung by actor David Carradine that plays over the opening credits.  

Sonny Boy is a deranged slice of movie making, that it died a painful death at the cinema is not at all surprising. Fans of cult-cinema who have not yet discovered it should give it a watch. No, it's not a perfect movie by any means, but as an odd bit of what-the-fuckery this is fun watch, there's nothing else quite like it. 

Audio/Video: The movie arrives on Blu-ray with an AVC encode from Scream Factory, presented in the original scope aspect ratio, which gives the exterior shots a very nice openness.  I imagine using the same master that MGM used for the Limited Edition Collection DVD last year, and it looks decent and free of print damage, with a nice layer of film grain, some modest depth, but nothing too Earth-shattering in respect to depth, clarity and fine detail though. The English DTS-HD MA Stereo 2.0 audio does the job, free of any hiss or distotion, dialogue and the Carlo Maria Cordio score are nicely balanced, optional English SDH subtitles are included. 

Scream fatory offer two brand new commentaries, one from Director Robert Martin Carroll and another from  the original Writer Graeme Whifler. Carroll speaks about taking on the strange project and working with the actors, some of whom were not keen on the movie at first, how he was not allowed to speak with Writer Graeme Whifler about the script, and the troubles ge faced making the movie. He also speaks about his troubles with producers, casting directors, and some of his ideas that maybe used in the movie. It's a pity the movie killed his career, he made a unique slice of eighties cinema, I would have enjoyed a few more movies from him. 

Writer Gtaeme Whifler (Dr. Giggles) does his own commentary moderated by Mathew Churnoff from Variety.com who gets right into things with the origin of the story, based on stories told to the writer while house-painting. He also goes into whom he based the characters on, many coming from a neighborhood biker gang he was familiar with. He talks about his dismay with the finished movie upon first seeing it, muttering how he wanted to kill him, though he does say he received an apology letter from Carroll at some point after the movie was released into theateres, but you can tell he's stil pissed that they turned his Frankenstein into a pretty boy. Extras are finished up with a theatrical trailer for the movie plus the first draft of the original script which is available via BD-ROM, plus a sleeve of reversible artwork. 

Special Features
- NEW Audio Commentary With Director Robert Martin Carroll
- NEW Audio Commentary With Writer Graeme Whifler
- Script – 1st Draft (Accessible Via BD-ROM)
- Theatrical Trailer (2 Mins) HD 

I love it whenever Scream Factory rescues something from the vaults of obscurity and bring it to the fans on Blu-ray. Sonny Boy is a strange one, and I love that it fully embraces the weirdness and somehow manages to make it touching at the same time, coming off as David Lynch's Wild At Heart by way of The Baby. Not a movie for everyone, but for those who love to plunder the cinema vaults for the obscure and weird there's some fun to be had.  

PIECES (1983) Coming On Blu-ray March 1, 2016 from GRINDHOUSE RELEASING!

PIECES (1983) 

Label: Grindhouse Releasing
Release Date: March 1st 2016
Duration: 83 Minutes 
Region: Region-FREE
Video 10180p HD Widescreen (1.66:1)
Audio: English DTS-HDMA Mono with Optional Englisg Subtitles 
Director: Juan Piquer Simon
Cast: Christopher George, Lynda Day George, Paul L. Smith, Edmund Purdom, Jack Taylor

YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO TO TEXAS FOR A CHAINSAW MASSACRE!

Grindhouse Releasing is proud to present the sickest and most violent of all the early '80s slasher movies. A psychopathic killer stalks a Boston campus, brutally slaughtering nubile young college co-eds, collecting body parts from each victim to create the likeness of his mother who he savagely murdered with an axe when he was ten years old! PIECES is a wild, unrated gorefest, with enough splatter and sleaze to shock the most jaded horror fan.

Bonus Features:
- TWO complete versions of this shocking gore classic:
PIECES (83 minutes) - the original, unrated U.S. theatrical version, presented in English
MIL GRITOS TIENE LA NOCHE (86 minutes) - the original uncensored director's cut, presented in Spanish with original score by Librado Pastor
- Spectacular new 4K transfers - scanned from the original camera negative
- Brand new audio commentary by star Jack Taylor
- Special 5.1 audio option - the Vine Theater Experience!
- In-depth interviews with director Juan Piquer Simon and genre superstar Paul L. Smith
- 42nd STREET MEMORIES - all-new feature-length documentary produced by Calum Waddell containing interviews with Sam Sherman, Bill Lustig, Larry Cohen, Frank Henenlotter, Buddy Giovinazzo, Jeff Lieberman, John Skipp, Lynn Lowry, Terry Levene, and many other exploitation icons
- Extensive gallery of stills and poster art
- Exhaustive filmographies
- Liner notes by legendary horror journalists Chas. Balun and Rick Sullivan
- BONUS CD - original soundtrack - newly remastered from the original studio tapes
- Beautiful embossed slipcover
- First 3000 units include an actual jigsaw puzzle! Strictly limited to 3000 units!
AND OTHER SURPRISES!

Trailer link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIaOh2PHn24

DVD Review: PIECES (1982)

PIECES (1982)

LABEL: Arrow Video

REGION CODE: Region 0 PAL
RATING: 18 Certificate
DURATION: 82 mins
VIDEO: Anamorphic Widescreen (1.66:1)
AUDIOo: Optional English and Spanish original mono audio
DIRCETOR: Juan Piquer Simón
CAST: Christopher George, Jack Taylor, Paul L. Smith, Edmund Purdom, Lynda Day George
TAGLINE: PIECES. It's Exactly What You Think It Is

Spanish filmmaker Juan Piquer Simón's PIECES opens in 1942 as an adolescent boy assembles a nudie jigsaw puzzle on his bedroom floor when his mother bursts in putting an end to his healthy sexual curiosity. Overreacting she chastises the boy with taunts that he's a louse just like his father then smashing a picture of dear old dad against a mirror which shatters. While searching the boy's room for other naughty contraband she sends the boy to fetch a garbage bag whom returns instead with an axe which he thrusts repeatedly into her cranium, it's a blood fest and pretty damn graphic. With mother properly dead he sets aside the axe in favor of a handsaw which he uses to discombobulate her head which he places inside a closet and then sets about finishing-up the lewd jigsaw puzzle until the police, alerted by a worrisome nanny, arrive on scene. The boy slips into the closet where he is discovered by the police whom assume he's the survivor of an attack and not the fiendish culprit.

Some forty years later the adolescent murderer now a disturbed adult keeps mementos from the massacre hidden away in a box, inside are his mother's blood spattered flower print dress and shoes, plus the naughty jigsaw puzzle now stained with mother's blood. When the killer witnesses a young girl bizarrely skateboard into a pane of mirrored glass the death reawakens his blood lust and fascination with kinky jigsaw puzzles. Soon he sets about terrorizing a Boston area college slaughtering young ladies with a chainsaw, collecting body parts and assembling them into a perverse human jigsaw puzzle.
 

The first piece of the puzzle is a cute co-ed sprawled out on the campus lawn whose head severed is with a chainsaw, it's an artfully shot kill as her head spins through the air followed by a crimson wave of blood. The shocking murder is investigated by Lt. Bracken (Christopher George, THE EXTERMINATOR) and Sgt. Holden (Frank Brana, SLUGS) who arrive on campus to inform the Dean of Students (Robert Purdom, DON'T OPEN TILL CHRISTMAS) if their odd plan to place police woman Mary Riggs (Linda Day George, DAY OF THE ANIMALS) undercover as a tennis coach in an effort to suss out the maniac's identity. The list of suspects is pretty great, we have the suspicious, cock-eyed gardener Willard (Paul L. Smith, CRIMEWAVE) who is in pretty much every other scene with chainsaw in hand, the odd Prof. Brown (Jack Taylor, THE NINTH GATE), and young college student Kendall (Ian Sera, THE POD PEOPLE) who's one of the more likely suspects, so of course they deputize. With this brilliant dragnet in place what could possibly go wrong?



Reversible Artwork Option

  The investigation does little to deter our maniacal chainsaw slasher who stalks and dismembers several more young women in quick succession. The killer decked in the latest Giallo fashions sports a black trench coat, black leather gloves and a black fedora. His next victim he nets while she skinny dips in  a pool and then dismembers her leaving a neat pile of severed limbs right next to the instrument of her death. When the body is discovered the Lt. calls Prof. Brown to the scene and asks if he thinks that perhaps the chainsaw next to the corpse, it's teeth covered in chunks of meat and gore, might possibly be the murder weapon, well duh. Our third victim is a dancer caught in an elevator by our stealthy sicko who somehow sneaks a running, yellow chainsaw onto a 5'x5' elevator. The woman recognizes the killer's identity but doesn't seem to notice the gas-powered chainsaw until it's too late. The effects in the film are surprisingly gruesome, there's plenty of disembowelment, dismemberment, chainsaw savaged flesh and stabbings perpetrated against mostly nude women. Two of the best kills are left for last, we get an artful Argento worthy slow-mo stabbing on a water bed and a gruesome locker room evisceration featuring the saw tearing flesh to bits, it's super gory. It may be a bit surprising just how much great gore is crammed into the silly film, particularly considering how goofy some of the film's more dramatic elements are. Let's not forget a nutty kung-fu professor which is perhaps the most random chop-suey fueled nonsensical moments in film history that will definitely leave you scratching your head.

One of my favorite scenes comes immediately following a the elevator death when all of the film's red-herrings are gathered together in a hallway looking suspicious beyond belief as lightning dramatically  illuminates their faces, it's a completely hilarious moment straight outta an episode of Scooby-Doo. The film's finale is just outta this world with one shocking reveal careening preposterously into a shocking, ball-shredding ending that will leave you speechless or in stitches, maybe a bit of both. There's nothing else like it out there, not sure if the inherent camp is intended but I don't see how it possibly could be, this is the kind of stuff you just can't plan for and is most likely a happy accident of schlocky cinema. While there's no other film quite like it I would make a comparison toe Lucio Fulci's THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY which is equally gore-tastic while also uniquely absurd.
  

Working for the film are some great gore-sequences, it's impressive stuff. Also some funky English dubbing might actually enhance the film's charm not to mention some great appearances from Euro-sleaze all-stars, Jack Taylor, Christopher George, Edmund Purdom and the greatest red-herring of all time Paul L. Smith. The cinematography is above average for an early 80's slasher, too. Perhaps not on par with the works of Argento or Fulci but not too shabby either. Perhaps the most memorable quote from the film is Linda Day George's blood curdling shrieks of "BASTARD!" in a bizarre, oddly paced succession, it's weird and wonderful and par for the course. 

DVD: Arrow Video presents PIECES fully uncut in anamorphic widescreen (1.66:1) and while I can't say for sure the transfer looks to be the same restored master as Grindhouse Releasing special edition. The PQ is quite good with some decent grain, saturated colors and acceptable black levels but it's not a film that's gonna blow you way when upscaled 1080p on your HDTV but it's quite watchable and from a clean print.

Audio options include both a English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 mono and it's what you might expect from a mono presentation, not overly dynamic but clean sounding and the dialogue is clear and audible. Toggling back and forth between the English and Spanish options I see that the Spanish version has an alternate score from Librado Pastor (THE POD PEOPLE) which I didn't care for at all. On the other hand the CAM sourced library tracks from the English version were fitting if not spectacular.
 

Main Menu

 Arrow Video would have been hard-pressed to compete with Grindhouse Releasing's supplements but I must say that High Rising Productions have risen to the occasion with some UK exclusives well worth owning. First we have a short intro from actor Jack Taylor, plus Pieces of Jack: An Actors Experience of Spanish Splatter (17:55) an interview with the euro-sleaze star of such film as THE GHOST GALLEON whom speaks of his introduction to acting at the age of six, moving from NYC to Mexico to pursue his craft, meeting Jesus Franco and  working FEMALE VAMPIRE (1973), SUCCUBUS and THE GHOST GALLEON among others. He also recollects working with Juan Piquer Simon on THE FABULOUS JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH, comparing the workings styles of Franco vs. Simon and his experiences on-set with co-stars Christopher George, Linda Day George , Edmund Purdom and Paul L. Smith. Taylor also speaks about the film's controversy, not realizing the satirical nature of the film and revealing that he's never watched PIECES.

The second featurette is Pieces of Deconstruction: Looking Back at a Grindhouse Gorefest (22:14) which features fond remembrances of this crazy slasher from filmmakers Scott Spiegel (INTRUDER) and Howard S. Berger, Fangoria editor Michael Gringold and film historian Santos Ellin Jr. all of whom lovingly recount their first experiences watching the film and their continued enjoyment of it.


The audio commentary with Arrow regular Calum Waddell and Fangoria's Tony Timpone is not so much a scene by scene deconstruction of the film as a fun conversation that occasionally highlight the film's greatest moments and some of it's history, distribution and reception, very entertaining and informative. My screener check disc arrived sans artwork, poster or booklet but they're detailed below in the special features summary.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Introduction by star Jack Taylor(0:25) 16:9
- Pieces of Jack: An Actors Experience of Spanish Splatter – Actor Jack Taylor recollects his experiences of performing in Pieces (17:55) 16:9
- Pieces of Deconstruction: Looking Back at a Grindhouse Gorefest – Hostel producer Scott Spiegel, filmmaker Howard S. Berger, Fangoria's Michael Gingold and horror historian Santos Ellin Jr. reflect on the lasting legacy, and lacerations, of Pieces! (22:14) 16:9
- Audio Commentary with Fangoria magazine’s Tony Timpone, sharing first hand recollections of the golden age of slasher cinema, moderated by Calum Waddell
- Artwork by Jeff Zornow Must be Destroyed
- Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork
- Double-sided fold-out artwork poster
- Collector’s booklet featuring brand new writing on the film by Stephen Thrower, author of ‘Nightmare USA’.

VERDICT: PIECES is an awful film that beyond reason is simply one of my  favorite slashers of all time. It's a none too subtle demented chainsaw slasher that's utterly ridiculous and steeped in sleazy excess and for that it gets a high recommend from me. Arrow's DVD with exclusive content is worth a purchase even if you own the Grindhouse Releasing special edition. PIECES. It's exactly what you think it is ...a must own schlockfest!

DVD Review: Mr. Skin presents Women in Prison Triple Feature (1983-1985)

Mr. Skin Presents
WOMEN IN PRISON TRIPLE FEATURE

Panik House Entertainment [PH1012] 
Release Date: July 12th 2011

Celebrity skin legend Mr. Skin and Panik House Entertainment have teamed-up to bring you what is considered by many to be the Unholy Trinity of Women in Prison Films: CHAINED HEAD (1983), RED HEAT (1985) and JUNGLE WARRIORS (1984)! It's a triple-threat of 80's behind bars exploitation featuring Linda Blair (THE EXORCIST), Sybil Danning (HOWLING II) and John Vernon (CURTAINS) in three films guaranteed to slap, tickle and titillate those brave enough to bare witness to the depraved depictions of life behind bars 80's style. This triple feature is only available for a limited time so snatch it up while you can.   

CHAINED HEAT (1983)

Label: Panik House Entertainment
Region Code: All Regions NTSC
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 98 mins
Video: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Audio: Dolby Digtal 2.0 Mono
Director: Paul Nicholas
Cast: Linda Blair, Sybil Danning, John Vernon, Henry Silva, Tamara Dobson
Tagline: What these women did to get into prison, is nothing compared to what they'll do to get out!

CHAINED HEAT is considered the ultimate Women in Prison film and I would have to agree, though my experience in the genre is actually quite virginal and relegated to the three films found on this set, so take that as you will. Linda Blair (THE EXORCIST) stars as Carol Henderson, a naive suburban teenager who is sentenced to 18 months in a women's prison for vehicular manslaughter. The "prison virgin" is in for a rather rude awakening to the realities of L.A. prison life. While being matriculated into the prison system Carol befriends a repeat offender meets named Val (Sharon Hughes, THE LAST HORROR FILM) and unfortunately also catches the attentions of the perverted Warden Backman (John Vernon, DIRTY HARRY) who always has an eye for fresh meat. Once settled in on her cell block she has an encounter with Ericka (Sybil Danning, THE HOWLING II), the leader of the white faction who along with Captain Taylor (Stella Stevens, THE MANITOU) are dealing cocaine within the prison walls.

Warden Backman is portrayed with delicious sliminess by the great John Vernon, the guy has a pimp office with a friggin' hot tub which he utilizes when making homemade porn with surveillance cameras. His current inmate playmate is the smokin' hot snitch named Debbie (Monique Gabrielle) whom he not only gives the double-secret penetration to but also enlists to sniff out who's selling the nose candy as it cuts into his own drug peddling activities, of course. Ericka finds out about the snitch and decides that the bitch has to go but this doesn't sit well with Duchess (Tamara Dobson, CLEOPATRA JONES), the empowered leader of the black faction, who fears that the heat will come down on the black inmates given that racial tensions are already at the breaking point. The shit going on on this prison is pretty epic; Captain Stella is smuggling girls outta the prison to pimp them out to L.A.'s sleazy elite, there's a shit ton of double crossing going on and the the coke-addled Warden rapes poor Carol when she comes to him for help, not knowing any better,  which leads to a scheme by which Val plans to seduce the Warden to get the videotape of him raping Carol and expose him to the authorities, but the hot tub seduction is interrupted by Captain Stella and the frightful red-haired guard Paula (Edy Williams, BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS) who drown the Warden and then kill Val by beating her with a billy club. Captain Stella then turns on Ericka and pins the murders on her - I told you this is Shakespearean, well maybe not all that but it is pretty awesome. Carol discovers Val dying and with her last breath she reveals the identities of her killers which transforms Carol from naive rape-victim to vengeful bad ass.  The waring factions join forces and riot in an effort to get the VHS tape which now has the murder of the Warden, Val and Carol's rape which leads to a satisfying finale stuffed with violence, revenge and mayhem.

I've long heard of this film's legend and I gotta say it lives up to the hype on every level, it's a fantastic cavalcade of lesbians in prison stereotypes, tough chicks, sleazy jailers, rampant drug use, rape, revenge and the all important nude shower scenes. The performances from Blair, Danning, Stevens, Dobson and Vernon range from grimly dramatic to pure delicious campiness and it's makes for the perfect balance of sleaziness and good campy fun, it's a great watch and highly recommended.

DVD: According to DVD this marks the films first-time available uncut and remastered in it's original aspect ratio of 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen and I gotta say it looks pretty great, no doubt helped by Mac Ahlberg's great cinematography. Transferred from a clean source print with very minimal print damage of any kind, it's quite hard to pinpoint any issues with the print and the film's grain structure is nicely intact, bonus, the colors are strong and black levels are good. The English language Dolby Digital mono suffices, it's clean and free of hiss, crackle and pop plus Joseph Conlan's droning score sounds pretty sweet. No subtitles are offered.

Special features include an video introduction from Mr.Skin recapping the film's sleazier skintilating highlights, an anamorphic theatrical trailer and video interviews with both Stella Stevens and Sybil Danning

DISC 1 Special Features:
- Introduction for film by the Legendary Mr. Skin
- Captain Taylor Unchained: Interview with Stella Stevens (11:14) 16:9
- Ericka in Heat: Interview with Sybil Danning (11:23) 16:9
- CHAINED HEAT Theatrical Trailer (2:08) 16:9

RED HEAT (1985)

Label: Panik House Entertainment Region Code: All Regions NTSC


Rating: Unrated
Duration: 94 mins
Video: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Audio: Dolby Digtal 2.0 Mono
Director: Robert Collector
Cast: Linda Blair, Sylvia Kristel, Sue Kiel, William Ostrander
Tagline: Only one film could top the intensity of CHAINED HEAT. This is it!

Linda Blair returns to the women in prison sub genre just two years later with RED HEAT as red-headed American college student Christine Carlson who comes to West Germany to visit her fiance, Mike, a serviceman in the US Army stationed in Germany. After an argument over dinner Christine goes for a walk when she stumbles upon abduction of a suspected spy by the East German Staasi who in turn kidnap her as a CIA accomplice. She's interrogated and deprived of sleep until exhausted she breaks down and confesses to the accusations. She is sentenced to imprisoned in an East German prison where she encounters the East German version of Ericka from CHAINED HEAT, Sofia (Sylvia Kristel, EMMANUELLE), who is the sadistic lesbian-rapist lover of the warden Einbeck (Elizabeth Volkmann, VERONIKA VOSS). Her fiance Mike at first assumes she's left him following the argument but when her passport is discovered in the parking lot outside he realizes something terrible has happened. Not getting satisfaction through regular channels Mike enlists the help of his military buds and stages a daring prison bust to free Christine. Sounds exciting, huh? Well, it's not as great as it could have been, the prison break-out is pretty anti-climactic but like I said, it's a good watch it's just not CHAINED HEAT.

It lacks that proper balance of sleaziness and camp that made the former so much fun, I think we needed John Vernon here to alleviate some of the oppressive atmosphere. This is a very dark film, it's not easy to digest the sleazier WIP elements when they aren't offset by some campier shenanigans, at least in my experience.  


DVD: Presented in anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen with English language Dolby Digital Mono, no subtitles offered. Not a bad looking print but it's a dark and grainy affair, the film seems a bit underlit. Not sure if the film was going for a dark look or if the production couldn't afford decent lighting, either way it's a drab film but it suits the film's grim tone. The Dolby Digital mono handles the dialogue, effects and Tangerine Dream's kind of bland score pretty well. Special features include a fullscreen trailer and a Mr. Skin introduction for the film.

JUNGLE WARRIORS (1984)

Label: Panik House Entertainment
Region Code: All Regions NTSC

Rating: Unrated
Duration: 95 mins
Video: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Audio: Dolby Digtal 2.0 Mono
Director: Ernst R. Von Theumer
Cast: Sybil Danning, John Vernon, Paul L. Smith, Nina Van Pallandt, Marjoe Gortner, Kai Wulff 

Interestingly the third feature is not really a women in prison film at all. JUNGLE WARRIORS is in fact a jungle/action film with some minor WIP elements. That's kind of cheating but since it brings both Sybil Danning and John Vernon from CHAINED HEAT back together I'll allow it.

This time out five gorgeous American models along with pretentious art director Larry (Marjoe Gortner, THE FOOD OF THE GODS) and photographer Joanna (Nina Van Pallandt, THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER) charter a plane piloted by Ben (Kai Wulff, ASSASSINS) to fly them to some exotic jungle locations in South America for a sexy fashion photo shoot.

Enter the always entertaining John Vernon (ANIMAL HOUSE) whom appears as the American drug lord Mastranga who along with his second in command Spilotro (Alex Cord, THE DEAD ARE ALIVE) have arrived to trade 50 million in gold for cocaine with drug lord Cesar Santiago. Whiler scouting for some scenic locations the plane encroaches on the drug lord's compound and is shot down. After escaping the crash unscathed the group are left to fend off pythons, cayman and the drug lord's mercenaries who are in pursuit. When the soldiers of fortune catch-up to them the usually uppity Larry momentarily turns bad ass and takes out a few mercs until he is impaled by a nasty trap. After being captured the group are taken to Cesar Santiago (Paul L. Smith, PIECES, POPEYE) doing what he does best, being awesomely odd, his delivery is quite weird but always fun. He invites them to dinner were he introduces his half-sister Angel (Sybil Danning, CHAINED HEAT). During the uncomfortable meal things go awry and Ben is decapitated and the girls are imprisoned in a dungeon. Hanging by chains from the ceiling the girls  are interrogated by Angel who gives 'em the once over and a nice titty squeeze for good measure and then throws them to the typically savage mercenaries who squeeze, grope and rape the women though what we see onscreen is pretty tame. Later the models escape from the dungeon with the help of a sympathetic elderly woman, they arm themselves and make a break for it. Hot babes with guns in the jungle, it's not quite WIP but I'm not gonna complain, this is a fun watch. At about the same time Santiago double crosses Mastranga and everything goes south with the three armed-to-the-teeth factions engaging in an intense gun battle as the CIA moves in further complicating matters. The remainder of the film climaxes as an 80's jungle-action flick and in the end it's all a bit slightly goofy but still a pretty damn entertaining action flick. It's not on the same level as CHAINED HEAT but I prefer it's trashiness to RED HEAT's rather grim aesthetic. If you enjoyed Brian Trenchard-Smith's CUT AND RUN I think this will be a fun watch. Plenty of violence and a tiny smattering of the WIP tropes.

DVD: Presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen with English language Dolby Digital mono with no subtitles. Of the three films on this set it's the softest looking image of the bunch, but despite some lack of fine detail, heavy grain, truly poor black levels and some super-hazy cinematography it does come from a clean source print and is quite watchable. The special features include a 16x9 enhanced trailer and a Mr. Skin introduction for the film.  

DISC 2 Special Features:
- Introduction for each film by the Legendary Mr. Skin
- RED HEAT Theatrical Trailer (2:08) 4:3
- JUNGLE WARRIOR Theatrical Trailer (1:37) 16:9

Verdict: As my introduction to WIP films I think this was a great set that I would recommend to devotees of the subgenre as well as newbies like myself. Good sleazy slammer exploitation nastiness, chock full of nude babes, vile jailers and every other stereotype you could hope for with an exploitation flick. When it comes to WIP films I can tell that for my own enjoyment I need a certain amount cheesiness, camp, kitch or whatever you wanna call it to offset the the heinous rape scenarios.  

CHAINED HEAT 4 outta 5
RED HEAT 2.75 outta 5
JUNGLE WARRIORS 3.5 outta 5

CHAINED HEAT Screen Caps

RED HEAT Screen Caps

 

JUNGLE WARRIORS Screen Caps