MURDER-SET-PIECES

A camera's flash illuminates a darkened screen. The film cuts to show us what the lens is focusing on - a naked, bloodied woman strapped to a torture chair, wimpering pathetically.

The silhouette of a muscle-bound, naked man approaches the woman and hisses some Germanic obscenity at her.

The man in question is "The Photographer" (Sven Garrett, NIGHT SHIFT) - an Arayan guy based in Las Vegas, posing as a fashion photographer always on the hunt for gorgeous young girls to shoot.

Once the girls have agreed to pose for the unnamed lensman, he takes them back to his plush house and down into his cellar, where he coaxes them to get naked (with alarming ease, it must be said). Invariably the photographer then ends up shagging the stunning lasses, occasionally anally raping them but always ending the night by torturing and slaying the luckless femmes in brutal fashion.

In-between all of this madness, the killer finds time to enjoy an on-off relationship with hairdresser Charlotte (Valerie Baber, EMMANUELLE VS DRACULA), much to the distaste of her younger sister, Jade (Jade Risser, SINISTER).

Jade is creeped out by the photographer, but cannot seem to persuade Charlotte of her ill feelings towards him. He stares menacingly at her and her school friend, discusses women's periods round the dinner table and speaks proudly of his grandfather's close friendship with Hitler ... not your average boyfriend, then!

When Charlotte goes missing, Jade's suspicion of the boyfriend is heightened and she decides to investigate further ...

MURDER-SET-PIECES is just that - 90 minutes of film that exists almost entirely without a plot. Whatever "story" there is merely serves as a springboard from one gore scene to the next.

So, in that respect, the film is very quickly paced. You never have to wait long for the next sadistic scene of dementia to assualt your senses - making MURDER-SET-PIECES in many ways the gorehound's wet dream.

But even the most hardened blood freak will surely want some kind of comprehensible plot to follow, and MURDER-SET-PIECES - despite the aforementioned thin premise - manages to make a mess of it's storytelling. Whether it be a problem with the editing, I'm not sure ... but the film seems to leap from one scene to the next with little continuity, and no regard for whatever just happened on screen seconds earlier.

Writer/director Nick Palumbo has trod similar ground before, with his debut NUTBAG - so he should have been able to spin his yarn a little smoother this time (indeed, this film was originally going to be called NUTBAG 2).

The running time is so padded out with scenes of attractive women shackled and screaming for their lives (without ever having been introduced into the film prior to this), that whenever Jade's story does progress we no longer really care.

Then there's the acting. Gore films are not renowned for their talented casts, and MURDER-SET-PIECES is no different. Risser stands out as a credible young actress, and most of the victims pull off their thankless roles competently.

But Garrett almost ruins the entire film, with his permanent scowl and hammy portrayal of what he believes a Nazi-loving woman hater must behave like in public. Honest, he might as well be wearing a sign above his head saying "I'm a serial killer" - his performance is so obvious.

Having said that, he fills the role better when he's actually let loose on his victims, spitting out his Teutonic bile as he clenches his fists and teeth. Good at playing psycho - terrible at making it plausible that he could get by in the real world unnoticed.

There's a few notable cameos on offer too - including Tony Todd (CANDYMAN) as a video shop clerk, in an embarrassing scene which I presume was intended to inject 'humour' into the film, and Gunnar Hansen (THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE) as a fellow Nazi sympathiser. TCM's hitch-hiker, Ed Neal, also turns up - winning the award for 2nd worst performance in the film.

On the plus side, the film looks great. It was shot on 35mm with a $2.2 million budget and benefits from gorgeous cinematography courtesy of Todd Ramsay (THE THING).

The gore FX by Toe Tag Pictures are above average, and will please anyone who bemoans the lack of Savini/De Rossi type gore evident in horror flicks these days. There's plenty of razor-blade, hammer and chain saw violence to savour here! However, the violence graphically conducted against children may be enough to turn some viewers off ...

The final fifteen minutes, despite the lack of plot prior to this, are genuinely gripping. The lighting here is reminiscent of Agento's better films, as are some of the off-kilter camera angles, and the music - by Goths Zombi - helps with the atmosphere too.

With both it's good and bad points to consider, it's difficult to either slate or hail MURDER-SET-PIECES ... although I admit it's left me with a curious need to watch it again, despite having viewed it twice already.

One thing's for sure: MURDER-SET-PIECES is getting talked about a lot within horror communities at the moment, and has provided it's young director with a whole host of headaches to boot.

The major headache has been this Director's Cut DVD itself. Apparently, Palumbo made a distribution deal with someone Stateside who intended to heavily cut the film for general release. Palumbo objected, and announced plans to release his own uncensored director's cut on DVD, via his own Frightflix website.

Then the lawyers got involved, and Palumbo had to fight just to maintain the right to release a limited number of pre-ordered discs to curious horror fans. Then there were delays ... Palumbo and Garrett couldn't find time to autograph the pre-ordered discs as advertised ...

Companies such as Xploited, Diabolik and Poker Industries were astute enough to buy a few pre-ordered copies, but once they're sold out this title is most definitely out of print. Or so we're told.

Frightflix's disc is a pretty good one then, considering.

The film has been mastered from the original 35mm negative and looks gorgeous - particularly when the photographer is driving round a Neon-lit Vegas by night. Crystal clear image presentation, with bright vibrant colours. Lovely, and presented in the movie's original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. However, the movie is not 16x9 enhanced ... which is a disappointment.

Audio is available in stereo and 5.1 - both of which are excellent choices. Unfortunately there's no subtitles, so I'm going to have to learn German if I want know what Garrett's screaming at his victims!

Of the extras, the best is an audio commentary from Palumbo, Garrett and Ultra Violent editor Art Ettinger. This is fluent and entertaining, with Palumbo not at all shy of declaring his pride in the completed film. There's a lot of technical info to draw from Palumbo, and Ettinger's questions are good enough to ensure we get the most out of the talkative director.

12 minutes of deleted scenes provide us with footage that mainly involves the photographer driving around in his convertible. There's nothing of great interest here. Apparently the director's cut has a slightly different ending to the theatrical version - if that's the case, I would have liked to have seen the alternative ending on this disc too.

There are two trailers for MURDER-SET-PIECES - one more extreme than the other. Both include footage that doesn't feature in the director's cut of the movie.

We also get two trailers for NUTBAG, and a six minute promo reel for Palumbo's forthcoming SINISTER (which also co-stars Risser and Hansen).

An optional video introduction to the film shows Palumbo stood in a graveyard, telling us this is the only time the director's cut will ever be released on DVD (we'll see!). He also explains how the director's cut is SHORTER than the theatrical version, due to additional editing he felt was necessary.

Production photos and a "Gallery of Outrage" (reviews - mainly positive ones) follow.

Finally, there's an Easter Egg on the extras page - a trailer for the original AUGUST UNDERGROUND.

The animated menus are attractive and well-executed. The film can be accessed via 14 chapters.

If you wish AMERICAN PSYCHO had had the balls to dip into the gory territory of, say, THE NEW YORK RIPPER or MANIAC, then this may just be what you are seeking.

I'm still uncertain of my verdict, largely due to Garrett's performance, and the dubious scenes with minors (what's more worrying is some of the reactions to the child murders that have been posted on the Frightflix forums!). But ... I think I may have a better idea of how I feel when I go and watch the film again right now!

Certainly worth a look.

Review by Stuart Willis