A frustrated Boston detective searches for the maniac responsible for mutilating a number of university coeds.
| Tagline | You don't have to go to Texas for a chainsaw massacre! |
| Release Date: | Aug 23, 1982 |
| Genres: | Horror, Thriller |
| Production Company: | Almena Films |
| Production Countries: | Spain |
| Casts: | Christopher George, Lynda Day George, Frank Braña, Edmund Purdom, Ian Sera, Paul L. Smith, Jack Taylor, Gérard Tichy, May Heatherly, Leticia Marfil, Hilda Fuchs |
| Status: | Released |
| Budget: | $0 |
| Revenue: | 1198346 |
***The Shadow knows… and slays with a chainsaw!*** Someone is murdering women at a Boston campus with a chainsaw and acquiring body parts for some unknown purpose. Christopher George plays the lieutenant in charge of the investigation while Lynda Day George is on hand as a tennis instructor. “Pieces” (1982) borrows components of previous slashers, like “Psycho” (1960), “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (1974) and the first two “Friday the 13th” movies (1980-1981), but places the story at a Massachusetts university. Yet this is actually a Euro-horror flick shot in Madrid with some exteriors from Boston. Unlike “Halloween” (1978) and “Friday the 13th,” which were state-of-the art at the time and therefore have a timeless quality despite the obsolete fashions, “Pieces” is dated and feels like an early-to-mid 70’s flick. The ambient score, which is reminiscent of “The Warriors” (1979), and an outdated rock track contribute to this vibe. This is a Whodunit with a killer that dresses like The Shadow and prefers a chainsaw. The idea that a person can inconspicuously move about a campus in such peculiar apparel while lugging around a freakin’ chainsaw is unlikely to say the least. Another amusing quirk is when a curious Kung Fu instructor suddenly appears and just as quickly disappears. If you can laugh with these hitches, along with the dubbing, “Pieces” is actually a serious murder mystery with a thought-out story, a decent cast, convincing gore and a good eye for women, such as the aerobics instructor and student. The film runs 1 hour, 25 minutes. The Spanish title is “Mil gritos tiene la noche,” which translates as “One Thousand Screams in the Night.” GRADE: B
