marat-5

An irresistible piece of 80's cheese. I actually remember this one from its initial broadcast. Back then I thought it was terrible. Now, though, seeing it through my world weary, irony-heavy eyes, it has a brand new appeal. Let's start with the premise. A killer is stalking and slashing male strippers in the middle of their act. Oh no! Well, I can only imagine the writers had intended this to be an antidote to the inherently misogynistic stalk and slash genre by putting a gender reversal spin on the proceedings. Here, the audience gets to see half naked men get butchered, and see the female protagonist(Marilu Henner)rescue her hunky young boyfriend from the the clutches of the killer. Being a made for television film, the slashings are remarkably tame. In fact, in the first kill scene, I had serious doubts the victim could die from the wound inflicted on him. It kind of looked like a big cat scratch. Also, the romance between Henner and a pre-"Melrose Place" Thomas Calabro(looking pretty comely here)is not particularly interesting. Better, is Lesley-Anne Down's Joan Crawford-like performance as the owner of the strip club and Susan Blakely's big hair. There's also a potentially interesting sub plot that's introduced early in the film involving a housewife/mother sneaking away to catch the strip shows. When her husband sees a story of one the murders on television, he asks "What type of woman goes to a place like that?". Unfortunately, we later find out this woman had been a prostitute. Although it probably was not intended, I think this plot point uncomfortably links her former life and her current interest in seeing men strip. It definitely underscores how marginalized women are sexually. Putting my soap box aside, though, this is still one of those oddities from the 80's that warrants at least one viewing.

Not the best of the WIP's, but not the worst either. I honestly feel guilty laughing at this film considering it had to be career lows for all involved. Yet the acting, dialogue, preposterous scenarios, and the ever present boom mic get to me everytime and certainly add to its bad movie charm. As much of a Linda Blair fan I am, top (or topless) honors go to Sybil Danning. Also, special kudos to Henry Silva, who's the only one in the cast who doesn't play his role too seriously. Viewing, the film now, though, makes me look at Stella Stevens character more closely. She plays the head officer, and I have to wonder if this where Hilary Clinton decided to adopt her current look and demeanor. After all, I'm sure she had to look no further than her husband's video collection to find this film. Not that I'm judging. I've seen it several times myself, and it all makes me wonder what would've happened if Mr. Clinton had been allowed to install a hot tub in the Oval Office. Hmmm.

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.