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Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film Directed by Jeff McQueen Co-produced by Starz and ThinkFilm, this made for cable/DVD documentary examines the slasher film phenomenon that dominated the horror genre for much of the 1980s. The well made Going to Pieces is far better than many of the films it discusses! To be fair, there are gems within the slasher genre. Tobe Hooper's original Texas Chainsaw Massacre , the first Halloween by John Carpenter, along with Bob Clark's Black Christmas , are all genuinely scary films with good acting and characters to care about. Their directors put a lot of thought into how the films were made. Unlike later films, whose sole purpose was to provide cheap thrills, the early entries were stylish classics in their own right. Though much homage is rightfully paid to John Carpenter's Halloween , the makers of Going to Pieces fail to give Massacre and Christmas their due. Both films are mentioned herein, but their great success and influence on the genre is strangely overlooked. Going to Pieces harkens back to Psycho . Though hardly a slasher film, it is generally agreed that the unnerving shower scene in Hitchcock's masterpiece may have been the slasher genre's original influence and springboard. Psycho screenwriter Joseph Stefano shares his memories in both the feature, and in a lengthy interview included with Piece 's extras. He is one of the doc's finest subjects. Going to Pieces follows the slice ‘em/dice ‘em genre from the Carpenter film, to Friday the 13th , and the many, many less than stellar films that followed. The history of the genre is seen, including its swift decline, brought on by too many inferior, copycat films that were released in rapid succession. A few self-important, pretentious types get to make fools of themselves. Director Amy Jones seems to think that her film The Slumber Party Massacre is some kind of feminist statement. Earth to Amy: films like Slumber Party are made to make a quick buck by providing teen moviegoers with cheap thrills. Nothing wrong with that, but let's not get up on our high horses! It's refreshing, then, to hear actor Betsy Palmer (Jason's mom in the first Friday the 13th ) acknowledge, with a twinkle in her eye, how fun those cheap thrills can sometimes be – Palmer compares it to the thrill of making love!! (OK, maybe that's a bit of a stretch as well!!) Love them or hate them, slasher films retain a strong fan base. People deserve to see and enjoy what appeals to them. Going to Pieces is a well done documentation of this specific and popular type of film. Shooting many of the interviews in a graveyard was an amusing and entertaining touch. As this is being written, word has gone out that director Bob Clark (1974's Black Christmas ) has just died in a Malibu car crash that also took the life of his son. This adds a special poignancy to the Going to Pieces disc. Along with the Stefano interview, there's a lengthy chat with Clark included with the extras. RIP. by David Alexander Nahmod |
Death of a thousand cuts
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