DVD Review: Pieces

Review by 42nd Street Pete

1981, Directed by Juan Piquer ( J P Simon) Starring Christopher George, Edmond Purdom, Linda Day George, Paul Smith and Jack Taylor. DVD by Grindhouse releasing.

Hot on the heels of their groundbreaking Cannibal Holocaust DVD comes a restored and remastered version of one of the sickest splatter films of the 80’s, Pieces. This was one of the last bloodbaths to play on 42^nd Street. What it lacks in continuity, it more than makes up for in outrageous bloodletting.

A chainsaw wielding killer is decimating girls at a private school. The killer takes little souvenirs of his victims. Who is the killer? The hulking gardener? The Dean? A deranged student? Or maybe one of the girls? I’ll never tell.

This is a two disc set with some excellent extras. A shitload of trailers, liner notes by noted gorestorian Chas. Balum, great interviews with director Juan Piquer and Paul Smith. The Smith interview is worth the price of this set. It is one of the best that I have ever seen and Paul covers almost his entire career here. How he broke into the business in Exodus. How he fought in the Six Day War. He also covers how he was cast in Popeye, Dune, Midnight Express, Sonny Boy and many others.

This may be my pick for the best DVD release of 2008. It is a must have for many reasons. The transfer is excellent and it’s the uncensored version. Kudos to Grindhouse Releasing for this one.