October 18:
Pieces (1982) Well having never seen this film and having heard so much about it over the years it was a real treat to finally lay eyes on it. Directed by Juan Piquer Simón the film is one of many from the time period where some form of sexual repression creates a male psycho killer who attacks women. In this case a young boy when confronted by his mother for having a puzzle of a naked woman chops her up with an ax. Years later we join the campus of a New England college where suddenly there is a murder. A coed is cut up by a maniac with a chainsaw. The incredible buffoonery of the local police makes this film a comedy. They have no urgency beyond Lt. Bracken's (Christopher George) wildly incoherent diatribes, they show no knowledge of any procedure. There is no adding a ton of police to the campus instead going to one female cop, Mary Riggs (Linda Day George) undercover with the excuse that we're all so busy. They are completely inept as a police force and Christopher George's over acting is way too comical to be taken seriously.
The film does a great job in creating red herrings characters we have several suspects in the mix and the writers Dick Randell and Roberto Loyola do a great job of mixing in the possibility that the killer could be any of them. First there is the angry janitor Willard (Paul L. Smith) who we see with the chainsaw used in the killings. Then there is the awkward Professor Brown (Jack Taylor) whose suspicious behavior makes one question his motives. Student Kendall (Ian Sera) seems to be around whenever a body is found, and the writers make him a favorite of the police maybe throwing us off the trail that he is actually the killer. There is also the quiet unassuming but strange Dean of the school (Edmund Purdum) who does several odd things making him a suspect also.
The murders are gruesome and the killer takes parts, at least the cops never find all the pieces. It is probably because they are the worst cops in the world. Mary Riggs is the last victim drugged by the killer ready for a chopping. Then the ineptitude of the cops comes in as they arrive on the scene. They enter the room to find the immobilized Riggs. After standing there for a few seconds they all leave the room because it appears the killer is gone. Riggs though is moving her eyes towards the curtains trying to warn the killer is behind them. Yep they did not look behind the curtains and now there is a chance of another murder. The cops rush in at the last possible second killing the murderer with a shot to the head and saving Miss Riggs. As the film incoherently comes to a conclusion we learn where all the missing body pieces are, as well as having one last totally incomprehensible scare. Wow, a classic in the ridiculousness that was the 1980s slasher era. I can't say this is a good movie in any way, but I can say I really was entertained.
October 19:
Dagon (2001) This Stuart Gordon gem is a wild ride of destiny. A H.P. Lovecraft adaptation where a group of people seek shelter from a storm in a little village in Spain, only to learn that the village inhabitants are more than they seem. This is a wonderful story, newly wealthy tech genius Paul Marsh (Ezra Godden) is sailing off the coast of Spain with his girlfriend Bárbara (Requel Moroño) and friends Vicki (Birgit Bofarull) and Howard (Brenden Price). His mother left this area of Spain many years before and we are setup with a man not too sure about who he is with his new found wealth. His story arch in this is starting as a guy not too sure of himself, we see him develop into a hero as he learns the fate that has brought him here. A freak storm smashes there boat onto some rocks and Paul and Bárbara take the dinghy to get help, while Howard stays with the trapped and injured Vicki on the leaking boat.
This starts a story about a village who took up a religion worshiping a creature from the sea who brought gold and life to the village but at a very steep price. Connect to dreams to the lovely Uxía Cambarro (Macarena Gómez Traseira) he is drawn to this village and its strange people. Helped along the way by an old man Ezequiel (Francisco Rabal) our hero has a fate he can not avoid. I think that everyone should see this film. It is kinda great so I won't spoil too much here. The story primarily about Paul and his unknown connection to this his mother's homeland. About how that ties his destiny to the strange cult in the town and his inevitable confrontation with their god.
The film does a great job in creating red herrings characters we have several suspects in the mix and the writers Dick Randell and Roberto Loyola do a great job of mixing in the possibility that the killer could be any of them. First there is the angry janitor Willard (Paul L. Smith) who we see with the chainsaw used in the killings. Then there is the awkward Professor Brown (Jack Taylor) whose suspicious behavior makes one question his motives. Student Kendall (Ian Sera) seems to be around whenever a body is found, and the writers make him a favorite of the police maybe throwing us off the trail that he is actually the killer. There is also the quiet unassuming but strange Dean of the school (Edmund Purdum) who does several odd things making him a suspect also.
The murders are gruesome and the killer takes parts, at least the cops never find all the pieces. It is probably because they are the worst cops in the world. Mary Riggs is the last victim drugged by the killer ready for a chopping. Then the ineptitude of the cops comes in as they arrive on the scene. They enter the room to find the immobilized Riggs. After standing there for a few seconds they all leave the room because it appears the killer is gone. Riggs though is moving her eyes towards the curtains trying to warn the killer is behind them. Yep they did not look behind the curtains and now there is a chance of another murder. The cops rush in at the last possible second killing the murderer with a shot to the head and saving Miss Riggs. As the film incoherently comes to a conclusion we learn where all the missing body pieces are, as well as having one last totally incomprehensible scare. Wow, a classic in the ridiculousness that was the 1980s slasher era. I can't say this is a good movie in any way, but I can say I really was entertained.
October 19:
Dagon (2001) This Stuart Gordon gem is a wild ride of destiny. A H.P. Lovecraft adaptation where a group of people seek shelter from a storm in a little village in Spain, only to learn that the village inhabitants are more than they seem. This is a wonderful story, newly wealthy tech genius Paul Marsh (Ezra Godden) is sailing off the coast of Spain with his girlfriend Bárbara (Requel Moroño) and friends Vicki (Birgit Bofarull) and Howard (Brenden Price). His mother left this area of Spain many years before and we are setup with a man not too sure about who he is with his new found wealth. His story arch in this is starting as a guy not too sure of himself, we see him develop into a hero as he learns the fate that has brought him here. A freak storm smashes there boat onto some rocks and Paul and Bárbara take the dinghy to get help, while Howard stays with the trapped and injured Vicki on the leaking boat.This starts a story about a village who took up a religion worshiping a creature from the sea who brought gold and life to the village but at a very steep price. Connect to dreams to the lovely Uxía Cambarro (Macarena Gómez Traseira) he is drawn to this village and its strange people. Helped along the way by an old man Ezequiel (Francisco Rabal) our hero has a fate he can not avoid. I think that everyone should see this film. It is kinda great so I won't spoil too much here. The story primarily about Paul and his unknown connection to this his mother's homeland. About how that ties his destiny to the strange cult in the town and his inevitable confrontation with their god.
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