Murder-Set-Pieces

Its a rarity that I give a movie a 1, a 1 is for when a movie literally has absolutely no redeeming features at all and that's hardly a frequent event. I give a movie a 1 about as often as FOX news report something without bias. What threw me was the lack of production value, the movie looks awful despite a surprisingly high budget for a movie of this type. Three people with name value (Tony Todd, Cerina Vincent and Gunnar Hansen) star but must be doing a favour for someone as I simply cannot see how they would have been roped into this mess any other way. And when I say roped into I mean literally, reinforced diamond lasso covered in superglue level of roping! The story is thin, it all looks terrible, several scenes are hard to watch and I don't mean gore or violence I mean sexual violence and graphic torture that is done in such a way that you just feel wrong watching it. Like walking in on your parents sleeping together, you've seen "That" plenty of times but under these circumstances, with these variables and your parents in the mix it's something that will stay with you forever, haunt your dreams and possibly cause an expensive few years of therapy. Bottom line here is that Murder-Set-Pieces must have been made by a sick puppy with no knowledge of film making and who must have spent the money on catering, extras or perhaps liquefied his assets at the bar but it certainly didn't go on the film.

The plot of "Murder-Set-Pieces" is almost non-existent:a serial killer(Sven Garret)is raping and butchering hookers and strippers in Las Vegas.The film itself is more or less a remake of Nick Palumbo's earlier horror film "Nutbag".It borrows some elements from William Lustig's horror classic "Maniac" too.The cinematography is excellent and the musical score is pretty moody.Unfortunately the lead actor Sven Garret is quite awful as a murderous Neo-Nazi.His constant overacting really get on my nerves."Murder-Set-Pieces" tries so hard to be disturbing and disgusting that it almost becomes laughable.I have seen tons of extreme stuff including scat,bestiality stuff,some vomiting and underaged gonzo-style misogyny,so I wasn't particularly shocked or disturbed.Really "Murder-Set-Pieces" is nothing in comparison to "Mu Zan E" or "Psycho:The Snuff Reels".Even such serial killer staples like "Henry:Portrait of a Serial Killer" or Gerald Kargl's "Angst" are much more effective and disturbing.Of course the gore effects by Toe Tag crew are great,but lots of them still appears off-screen.Overall,"Murder-Set-Pieces" is a pretty over-hyped horror film that should only satisfy fans of gore and graphic nudity.Fans of horror films that contain an actual story will be sorely disappointed.6 out of 10 and that's being generous.

As Stick once said, "Sickest s*** you will ever see." Murder-Set-Pieces is a nasty, unrelenting film. Life is rendered meaningless. Women are whores and little girls are whores in the making. The world is going to HELL, and the photographer is living in the epicenter in Las Vegas. Nick Palumbo has created an infernal vision of horror and chaos the likes of which were only touched upon in films like Maniac and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The sexual violence reaches depths of debauchery previously only seen in Meatholes or other hardcore * films. The Divine Marquis would treat Palumbo to a banquet of flesh as he would recognize a fellow libertine in this young filmmaker. Fright Flix is certainly a company to watch in the future, because this brand of terror is unique and real.

Friday is my day for newspaper amusement, so as usual, I bought the NEW YORK POST. The front page: "New Jacko Sensation" "Wild Sex games, booze & cover-up" Yum, yum good stuff! Inside, I read their review for MURDER SET PIECES. In true NYP fashion, among their laughable conclusions: "parents...the actress, who should be jailed for letting their daughter star in this ultra-violent..." Needless to say, their hype did not really apply to reality. What I saw was a horrific view inside the mind of a madman, and a study (albeit simple) of the ways society drives and is driven by minds of this type. It is far from a brilliant film, but writer/director, Nick Palumbo, has crafted a movie that satisfies oddly enough. It left me secure (and insecure) with the idea that for some people true evil does drive their actions and the rest of us are ill-equipped to understand them, even much less so to prevent their actions. Jade Risser, to whom the NYP refers, was very good in her role. She brought the few moments of true suspense to life and the few moments of comic relief. I especially enjoyed her, almost tongue in cheek moment, of classic horror flick run up the stairs instead of down while he was chasing her. She played it with just the right amount of barely perceptible humor and camp. The NYP may have hated this as a movie, but if it were real life they would not be able to get enough of the salacious photos and juicy story. They would be very happy to cover it day in and day out until the copious amounts of blood stop flowing.

I've read the hype. I've anticipated checking it out for myself. I was even a little hopeful that the negative feedback about this flick (both here on IMDb and EVERYWHERE ELSE on the web) was just backlash. I guess I should have known. The fact of the matter is, MURDER SET-PIECES is a giant steaming pile of crap. Unimaginative crap. Boring crap. Poorly acted crap. Unbelievabley BAD crap. An acquaintance of mine had ordered the unrated/original cut off the MSP website, and knowing that the R-rated Lions Gate version was about to drop, I asked to borrow his to check out this so-called "masterpiece of horror". What a joke. I'm so glad I haven't bothered to try and buy a copy myself. Here's a few takes on this gigantic misfire: THE ACTING - horrid. The lead is a joke, a hulking boring one-dimensional lug who looks like he was dragged out of the gym - unwillingly - to mutter poor dialogue. When he slipped into German, I couldn't help but stifle laughter. THE DIALOGUE - atrocious. Come on Nick, give us SOMETHING. I'll say this, the dialogue matches the acting-- flat and poorly done. THE GORE - well you'd think that at least the film's saving grace would be the gore fx, right? WELLLLLL... sorry to say, no. In fact, there is VERY LITTLE GORE in this film. I have to think that the Lion's Gate cut version must have concentrated more on cutting-out nudity than gore. Sure, there's blood. Whoop-dee-doo. Guess what, I can go to a costume shop and get a gallon of fake blood too. So if you're anxious to see splats of blood hitting walls/floors, this movie is for you. If you actually want GORE EFFECTS, look elsewhere. The ToeTag team have done much better work in the A.Underground films (which I wasn't too keen on, but have to admit the FX were stunningly well conceived). THE NUDITY - yeah, there's a great number of nekkid ladies in this film. If you're under 15 years old and don't have an internet connection, than this movie will really pop your corn. Otherwise... *yawn*. When there's NO CONTEXT, then naked bloody ladies just don't have any affect on the viewer (especially a seasoned horror fan). It's pointless... just like this whole film. Oh, speaking of pointless... THE 9/11 FOOTAGE - tacky, tasteless and downright unnecessary. Just like this whole film. It's downright hilarious that the director thinks he's made a masterpiece here. I suggest he start watching the horror-titles he constantly throws-around and take some lessons from REAL film-makers, because he just isn't anywhere CLOSE to their league or level of talent. The only "disturbing!" thing about this film is the giant waste of money and resources this poor-excuse-for-a-horror-flick represents. Apparently the budget was approx. 2-million, and it was (as the director will quickly point-out) shot on 35mm. Big bloody deal. It still ends-up being a giant wasteful dump of a movie with no characterization, no plot, no FX, and no reason for existing. Some of the best horror-films were shot on a shoestring budget on 16mm. Go figure. Avoid this at all costs.

I was bored of MSP before I even saw it, the awful, awful hype will be remembered for way longer than the actual film. I was lucky enough to watch the DVD with a friend who'd paid his hard earned money for it and saved me the trouble of buying it myself. Well, where do I start? The acting? Oh dear. For a movie costing $2 million plus you'd think a good chunk of that could go towards hiring a decent leading man. He was dreadful, quite shocking. OK, if this was a micro-budget job I'd make allowances, but Sven was bad. The young girl played by Jade Risser was the only member of the cast with any talent, and she was 11 years old! I thought the cameos were just another cheesy cliché too. I'm trying really hard to think of something positive to say.. the toe tag effects were excellent and... that's it I'm afraid. If I hadn't endured all the pre and post hype from Mr.P. on every genre site online I would probably said this was a bit of a boring, predictable, silly film. Since Mr.P. has made a complete plum of himself and will, I imagine, continue to do, I'll add that this was a bit of a boring, predictable, silly film and a woefully over-hyped waste of 2 squillion dollars. I think Mr.P. probably is capable of making a decent film. That's if he can just shut up, make the movie and let the product do the talking.

I read reviews of this movie stating it was "bad" or "horrible." In all honesty, it was far from it. When I first turned this movie on I was only there for the gore. Nothing more, nothing less. I wasn't expecting anything utterly amazing to begin with, but came out rather surprised. The story-line isn't anything special, and the acting isn't right up there either, but that doesn't change the fact that it is one hilarious movie. If you're looking for a whole lot of nudity and gore with no real attachments, this is where you want to be. Personally, I've never seen anything like this movie. This is a movie that is completely worth renting.

Sven Garrett is The Photographer, a Nazi nut-job who is as proficient with his cut-throat razor as he is with his camera: when he's not taking pictures of naked babes, he's slitting their throats. His girlfriend, a pretty hairdresser, is none the wiser, but her younger sister Jade (Jade Risser) senses that all is not right with the Teutonic lens-man and decides to investigate... Ever since it first hit the horror scene in 2004, Nick Palumbo's Murder-Set -Pieces has been the cause of much controversy; this has been less to do with the content of the film, and more to do with endless (and rather shameless) promotion from its makers (an act commonly known as 'shilling'). M-S-P's supporters claim it to be the ultimate in gruelling, no-holds-barred gory terror, whilst its naysayers, fed-up with having the film shoved down their throats, have labelled it as worthless crap. I would say that neither is an accurate description: I've seen plenty of films that are easily as harsh (if not moreso), and loads that are less worthy of a viewing. If anything, Palumbo and pals are simply guilty of trying too hard. As M-S-P piles on the excess, in an effort to tick as many boxes in the extreme movie-making checklist as possible, it becomes increasingly more ridiculous. Nazis (check!), explicit gore (check!), child murder (check!), misogynistic psycho (check!), lesbians (check!) chainsaw mayhem (check!), rape (check!), necrophilia (check!) full frontal nudity (check!): Palumbo has obviously never heard that less can sometimes be more. But what works against the film on one level, works FOR it on another: as a serious study of psychotic behaviour, M-S-P is a complete failure, but, as a demented exercise in gloriously OTT nastiness, it is a definite success. Garret is absolutely priceless as the muscle-bound maniac who murders women because he believes them all to be worthless whores; what he lacks in acting ability, he sure makes up for in enthusiasm, and he willingly does whatever is required of him to make Palumbo's vision a reality, whether it be chewing on a limbless torso, chainsawing a woman's head, killing a little girl, or receiving head from a head (which has been removed from the rest of the body). In the cinematic psycho stakes, he's no Michael Rooker or Joe Spinell, but he certainly gives it all he's got! Aside from Garret, the majority of the remaining cast can pretty much be divided into two categories: silicone chested bimbos willing to strip for a few minutes of screen time; and familiar faces from the genre, including Tony 'Candyman' Todd, Gunnar 'Leatherface' Hansen, Ed 'The Hitchhiker' Neal, current horror hottie Cerina Vincent, and August Underground's Fred Vogel. The naked ladies are all game girls—most willing to be degraded and mutilated on-screen for the sake of 'art'—whilst the seasoned horror professionals add extra entertainment value with some fun cameos (Todd, in particular, is a hoot, as a * store clerk who messes with the wrong customer). M-S-P can also be praised for some excellent gore, courtesy of the Toe Tag team (of which Vogel is a member). The bloodletting in this film is consistently good, with vicious stabbings, juicy throat slashings, body parts aplenty, and the delightfully gruesome 'chainsaw to the head' effect. With a less than perfect script, and a patchy performance from its lead, it's easy to see why horror fans got a little twitchy when this film was compared to the likes of Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer. But for those looking for a sexy, sick, silly and sordid sleaze-fest, I think that Murder-Set-Pieces deserves a go—regardless of how you feel about its creators and their dubious promotional methods.

I will start by saying that this movie is ridiculously brutal! However there is something to be had here, for so long i've watched movies about serial killers and wondered to myself what actually goes on in there heads?? this movie goes some way to explaining it to me, the movie is really sick with lots of gore (and i mean lots), rape and racism but the brutality of it all is so realistic its almost like watching a genuine snuff film! not for the weak of heart by all means! This film has come up against some really poor reviews but if like me you are a die hard fan of the genre and like some good old gratuitous bloody violence than i highly recommend it! so watch this movie and enjoy!!!

"Murder Set-Pieces" is a return to the incomparable 70's classic horror films. Back to a time when there was no politically correctness in films. This was the era of "The Texas Chain Saw Masscare", "The Last House on the Left", "Deep Red", "The Last House on Dead End Street", "Dawn of the Dead", and "Maniac". "Murder-Set-Pieces" fits very nicely into this list. It's a brutal, uncompromising film, definitely for people with strong stomachs. The lead in the film, played by German actor Sven Garrett, is AWESOME. I believed every word, every stance, every icy stare he gave in a performance that no doubt will enter the horror hall of fame. To see this psychopath act out his nightmarish fantasies, is like watching a documentary on the Holocaust. This film is that powerful. The special effects are done so well, it plays like a snuff film come to awful life. You must give director Nick Palumbo credit. For this is the best slasher film I've seen since Dario Argento was in his prime. In fact, I believe Mr. Argento would be very proud of one of his students finally making the leap into the big time.