Pieces (1983) Reviews

With a tagline that reads, "You don't have to go to Texas for a chainsaw massacre," this Spanish-Italian entry into slasher film territory went on to achieve a dubious distinction as one of the most tasteless films ever produced. The bloodshed opens in 1942 with a scene of a little boy axing his mother after her discovery of him piecing together a puzzle of a nude girl. Cut to 42 years later and the little ax-man has moved on to chainsaws as he begins buzzing coeds on the campus of a New England college. Police Lieutenant Bracken (Christopher George) and his partner arrive to investigate. They find a trail of dismembered bodies that happen to be missing some parts and a group of suspects including a shady dean of students (Edmund Purdom), an anatomy professor (Jack Taylor), and a monstrous caretaker (Paul Smith). Led by beautiful undercover cop Mary Riggs (Lynda Day-George) and student-stud Kendall (Ian Sera), the investigation leads everyone to the killer, who has just finished adding the final pieces to his human jigsaw puzzle. ~ Patrick Legare, Rovi