Strange movie, part slasher, part parody, part detective story. The idea of mad killer murdering people and keeping bloody souvenirs in order to satisfy bloodlust of ancient Egyptian god is somewhat reminiscent of H.G.Lewis' Blood Feast (of course, Fuad Ramses didn't use power tools). The director borrowed a few ideas from various horror movies and tried to create crazy combination of black humor and thrills, but it is obvious that he wasn't too familiar with the genre. Mr. Tschetter mentions The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or films by H.G.Lewis as the main inspirations for Picking Up The Pieces in the commentary track of Bloodsucking Pharaohs DVD. He also talks about being shocked when he first watched The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and when he found out that such movies as Herschell's gore epics really existed. Picking Up The Pieces is a horror comedy as directed by an artist usually involved in producing Shakespearian theater plays.It is professionally shot and occasionally amusing but most jokes don't work. Blocker and Birdwell- two cops with lots of personal problems trying to catch insane murderer, are quite interesting duo- Blocker throwing up each time he glimpses blood and Birdwell provoking his buddy by mentioning Blocker's embarrassing sexual problem. Some parts of the movie are played out completely serious, other parts that could be taken from Naked Gun or Airplane!, for example the flashback scene explaining Blocker's trauma from the past, don't seem to fit in the film. The violence is quite tame,but the DVD is surprisingly cut by MPAA although killings consist of shots of murderer manipulating with power saw (or some other tool) and shots of splashing blood. Tom Savini provided one rubber corpse with the top of the cranium sawed off and one neat melting scene. During the final showdown between cops and the killer even good old chainsaw makes an appearance. Unfortunately, nobody is hacked to pieces.
16 Reviews
Into the mix(er)
kosmasp30 July 2022
No pun intended - I had no idea what I was getting myself into. And some may feel the movie had no idea what it was supposed to be either. I think it is fair to say, that the movie is as silly and cheesy as it can be. And quite bloody overall - although deleted scenes on the disc I own suggest it could have been worse/better (depending on your own taste I reckon).
The scene with the hat quite early on will be an indicator if you can bare it - do you like the humor (silly - I repeat: Silly!) or do you find it annoying as it can get? This will inform if you should continue watching. If you can dig it, there is some fun to be had along the road of course. An oddity I had no idea existed ...
The scene with the hat quite early on will be an indicator if you can bare it - do you like the humor (silly - I repeat: Silly!) or do you find it annoying as it can get? This will inform if you should continue watching. If you can dig it, there is some fun to be had along the road of course. An oddity I had no idea existed ...
Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, in Pittsburgh
JappyBoy25 February 2000
Bloodsucking Pharaohs in Pittsburgh is pretty average for the genre. It had its moments, and with Savini doing the effect, most of the moment are good. While watching the movie, though, I couldn't help but feel that there was a lot cut from this movie. Being that it was released under a big name studio, my feeling is probably right. But if you like movies with Hookers, dismemberment, one-liners, and lots of blood, then you'll like this movie. Just make sure you watch it with friends. (And surprizingly, there was no nudity in this movie.....probably all cut)
20 years later and a second viewing? Yup, it's still bad.
udar5516 October 2012
Pittsburgh cops Joe Blocker (Joe Sharkey) and Sweeney Birdwell (Jake Dengel) are in charge of finding a serial killer who is carving up prostitutes with a variety of gardening tools. It all seems so familiar for Blocker as the case echoes an Egyptian killer he almost nabbed in Las Vegas. He sends for his old Vegas partner, but gets his daughter Deedee (Susann Fletcher) instead. Why? Because it seems her dad is mysteriously missing. Another in the line of BLOOD FEAST wannabes (alongside the likes of BLOOD DINER), BPIP is something I didn't like when I first saw it on video back in 1991. So, naturally, I must revisit it 20+ years later to confirm, yup, it still sucks. The filmmakers openly compare this horror-comedy to AIRPLANE, but I'd think you'd have to include some jokes to do that. It certainly tries to be funny, but fails miserably. Example of humor: Blocker slipping on a severed ear while chasing a suspect. The recurring joke is Blocker gets ill any time he sees blood and people always say "I hear he has a sexual problem" when he is mentioned. Haha? The highlight for me was Birdwell's wife taking anti-smoking sessions, one of which ends with her being blasted by a water hose by some guys in gorilla costumes. It is a shame it didn't come together better because the production looks really nice with some great photography. Tom Savini did the gory FX, most of which ended up on the cutting room floor for the Paramount VHS release. The Lucky 13 special edition features the cut stuff in a deleted scenes supplement and it is pretty good work from the man.
It sucks!
BA_Harrison25 April 2022
A killer is stalking the prostitutes of Pittsburgh using a variety of power tools to remove body parts in preparation for an ancient Egyptian ritual to attain eternal life. On the case is Police Detective Sweeney Birdwell (Jake Dengel), his partner Joe Blocker (Joe Sharkey), who just happens to know all of the victims, and meter maid Deedee Taylor (Susann Fletcher).
Inspired by H. G. Lewis's Blood Feast and featuring special effects by Tom Savini: I was more than a little excited to see Bloodsucking Pharoahs from Pittsburgh, so was incredibly disappointed to find that it's a 'zany' horror comedy that's about as funny as a chainsaw to the perineum, and which has had nearly all of Mr. Savini's work removed by the MPAA.
Of Savini's contributions, all that is left is a woman with the top of her head sawn off and brain removed (in the foreground and out of focus), an autopsy corpse (in the background and out of focus), and a juicy face-ripping (in focus -- yay!). What should have been the film's pièce de résistance - the death of the villain in a car-crusher - is totally gore-free, most likely as a result of the censor's scissors. As for the humour, the film adopts the scattershot, quick-fire approach used by the Airplane movies, but writer/director Dean Tschetter is no Zucker (or Abrahams) and nearly all of the gags fall wide of the mark, and are often so bad that they are painful (anything to do with the chain-smoking woman with the electronic voice box).
The film seems to be most popular with residents of Pittsburgh, who can at least have some fun trying to identify parts of the city.
2.5/10, generously rounded up to 3, for what remains of the splatter.
Inspired by H. G. Lewis's Blood Feast and featuring special effects by Tom Savini: I was more than a little excited to see Bloodsucking Pharoahs from Pittsburgh, so was incredibly disappointed to find that it's a 'zany' horror comedy that's about as funny as a chainsaw to the perineum, and which has had nearly all of Mr. Savini's work removed by the MPAA.
Of Savini's contributions, all that is left is a woman with the top of her head sawn off and brain removed (in the foreground and out of focus), an autopsy corpse (in the background and out of focus), and a juicy face-ripping (in focus -- yay!). What should have been the film's pièce de résistance - the death of the villain in a car-crusher - is totally gore-free, most likely as a result of the censor's scissors. As for the humour, the film adopts the scattershot, quick-fire approach used by the Airplane movies, but writer/director Dean Tschetter is no Zucker (or Abrahams) and nearly all of the gags fall wide of the mark, and are often so bad that they are painful (anything to do with the chain-smoking woman with the electronic voice box).
The film seems to be most popular with residents of Pittsburgh, who can at least have some fun trying to identify parts of the city.
2.5/10, generously rounded up to 3, for what remains of the splatter.
As bad as having to go to Lawrenceville
BandSAboutMovies4 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
A chainsaw-wielding killer is on the loose in our hometown, collecting body parts like a Yinzer Fuad Ramses, as the clues all point to this being an Egyptian ritual of the dead.
This may be more amusing if you're from here, as the film gives you the opportunity to see plenty of the Lawrenceville neighborhood when it was just another blighted part of the end of the steel industry and not the artsy mecca that it is today.
Director Dean Tschetter was unhappy with how the film ended up, so he took an Alan Smithee credit. That makes sense, as the film is a ramshackle unfocused mess, unsure if it wants to be a broad or black comedy and barely holding itself together, kind of like if it were edited with a chainsaw.
Sweeney Birdwell (Jake Dengel) and Joe Blocker (Joe Sharkey) are the cops fumbling in the dark - I've said it so often, but defund both the giallo and slasher police - as they seek a killer leaving Egyptian messages at each crime scene. Luckily, meter maid Deedee Taylor (Susann Fletcher) has arrived from Vegas, the daughter of Blocker's last partner who went missing after a similar case, and she seems to have some clue about what's happening.
This is the kind of movie that would have you believe that there's an Egyptian district of Pittsburgh. The closest thing I can think of is that there used to be an Egyptian place in Penn Hills that had a hookah lounge that served fried chicken and you were encouraged to eat while you smoked.
Birdwell's wife smokes so much that she leaves mountains of ashes around the house, Veronica Hart shows up as the next victim, Egyptian ninjas (man, it seems like the term Egyptian is an SEO search term in this review) and Tom Savini effects which were so badly shot and presented in the film that they waste whatever artistry the Bloomfield resident brought to the film.
I wish I could tell you that this is some long-lost slasher classic, but it's not. Watch it to see the Doughboy statue on full display, but otherwise, if you live anywhere outside of the Golden Triangle, you may avoid.
This may be more amusing if you're from here, as the film gives you the opportunity to see plenty of the Lawrenceville neighborhood when it was just another blighted part of the end of the steel industry and not the artsy mecca that it is today.
Director Dean Tschetter was unhappy with how the film ended up, so he took an Alan Smithee credit. That makes sense, as the film is a ramshackle unfocused mess, unsure if it wants to be a broad or black comedy and barely holding itself together, kind of like if it were edited with a chainsaw.
Sweeney Birdwell (Jake Dengel) and Joe Blocker (Joe Sharkey) are the cops fumbling in the dark - I've said it so often, but defund both the giallo and slasher police - as they seek a killer leaving Egyptian messages at each crime scene. Luckily, meter maid Deedee Taylor (Susann Fletcher) has arrived from Vegas, the daughter of Blocker's last partner who went missing after a similar case, and she seems to have some clue about what's happening.
This is the kind of movie that would have you believe that there's an Egyptian district of Pittsburgh. The closest thing I can think of is that there used to be an Egyptian place in Penn Hills that had a hookah lounge that served fried chicken and you were encouraged to eat while you smoked.
Birdwell's wife smokes so much that she leaves mountains of ashes around the house, Veronica Hart shows up as the next victim, Egyptian ninjas (man, it seems like the term Egyptian is an SEO search term in this review) and Tom Savini effects which were so badly shot and presented in the film that they waste whatever artistry the Bloomfield resident brought to the film.
I wish I could tell you that this is some long-lost slasher classic, but it's not. Watch it to see the Doughboy statue on full display, but otherwise, if you live anywhere outside of the Golden Triangle, you may avoid.
Throw back to Z-Movie Drive in! Solid Gold!
nixons_smelly_vagina30 December 2005
I rented this movie several years ago solely because I could not pass up on a movie with this title. And believe me baby, it delivered! I am a huge fan of B-movies and this is one of the best. It had a great mix of humor and horror that isn't seen enough in this millennium. The plot was a little non-sensical but who cares? The Murders were carried out in such outrages situations as an electric (yes extension cord needed) piece of lawn care equipment, butchering a victim in a telephone booth. Rock On! The lead characters are an odd couple detective duo and the movie does a great job of poking fun at this formula. The one detective is a grizzled veteran and his partner is a weak stomached sissy. Let the carnage and puke flow! The character of the wife was also humorous. Well anyone who needs to use a voice box at any point in anything is what I would consider funny. If you are a fan of the old time Z-movie of the B-movie horror Comedy pick this movie up. You will be seriously surprised by it's quality!
DELICIOUS!
traineraz7 March 2004
Do you like B movies? REALLY like B movies? This is the one for you! If you prefer to watch REAL FILMS, don't bother. I doubt the Academy ever watched this one, and they certainly wouldn't be nominating it for any awards.
A twisted comedy/thriller (listed as horror, but thriller seems more appropriate), this flick -- I dare not call it a FILM -- was refreshing, like a spring rain. Think Naked Gun on a low, LOW budget. Serial killer, brutal murders of prostitutes (with the most enticing weapon selections), a cop who vomits at the sight of blood, AND a porn star (Jane Hamilton as dull-witted roller-skating waitress Grace) . . .
There's no point in discussing cinematography; I'm guessing film-school camera work and editing. Better than Blair Witch, not as good as Suspiria. Acting is mediocre, but at a level appropriate to the genre.
Keep your eyes open for occasional sight gags, and your ears open for the one-liners. Corny sometimes, but again, appropriate to the genre. A few good laughs, some pretty good gore (much more convincing blood than Argento uses), and a fun plot twist.
If I've learned one thing from this movie, it is: If you are a prostitute, and your trick brings a generator, run. Fast.
A twisted comedy/thriller (listed as horror, but thriller seems more appropriate), this flick -- I dare not call it a FILM -- was refreshing, like a spring rain. Think Naked Gun on a low, LOW budget. Serial killer, brutal murders of prostitutes (with the most enticing weapon selections), a cop who vomits at the sight of blood, AND a porn star (Jane Hamilton as dull-witted roller-skating waitress Grace) . . .
There's no point in discussing cinematography; I'm guessing film-school camera work and editing. Better than Blair Witch, not as good as Suspiria. Acting is mediocre, but at a level appropriate to the genre.
Keep your eyes open for occasional sight gags, and your ears open for the one-liners. Corny sometimes, but again, appropriate to the genre. A few good laughs, some pretty good gore (much more convincing blood than Argento uses), and a fun plot twist.
If I've learned one thing from this movie, it is: If you are a prostitute, and your trick brings a generator, run. Fast.
Entertaining cheese fest
slayrrr66611 March 2008
Warning: Spoilers
"Bloodsucking Pharaohs from Pittsburgh" is a fine if only adequate cheese-fest.
**SPOILERS**
Following a brutal murder, Sgt. Joe Blocker, (Joe Sharkey) is assigned to a case with his partner Sgt. Sweeney Birdwell, (Jake Dengel) due to the similarity to another case of his years ago. When it becomes apparent that the killer is even using the same means as before, wearing Egyptian paraphernalia to hide the identity and taking only a single body part from victims while leaving a note in Egyptian hieroglyphics detailing the crime, he becomes even more despondent over what's happening despite the assurances of Deedee Taylor, (Susann Fletcher) his old partner's daughter. As the deaths continue and Police Chief 'Buzz Saw' Ryan, (Don Brockett) screaming at them for results to end the rampage, they play a hunch on who the killer is and are surprised to find that it reveals the killer's ploy, using the body parts in a form of ritual to bring to life an Egyptian War Goddess for his own agenda. Now knowing what to go up against, they race to stop him before he completes his plans.
The Good News: This one here is a really fun and enjoyable cheese-fest that has a couple good moments for it. The main one is the cheese level that is portrayed here is a lot of fun. From the numerous jokes about the past to the scenes of confusion to the yelling and so much more, it makes for a lot of really fun times to be had from it's goofiness. The storyline doesn't hurt either, and there's some good times to be had from it's outlandish gore as well. This one has a really nice set of kills in here, that are just gory enough to matter for gore-hounds as well as making them so cartoon-ish and fun that there's more fun to be had from them as well. There's a decapitation with a giant ceremonial staff, having a jackhammer saw off both legs, a hacksaw slicing open a stomach, a victim found with their brains scooped out, using a vacuum cleaner to suck out the digestive tract and eyeballs, being crushed inside a giant hydraulic press and being exposed to acid, melting the skin off the face in a long, extended sequence with really messy, gory results. There's a lot of fun from these scenes and it has some really great moments with the cheesy gore on display. The detective work on the killer is also surprisingly watchable, not really excellent but well-done and certainly there for it's best moments. By not really slowing down the plot but actually keeping it moving along, as well as making it feel really interesting and not too bogged down and dull. The last real good part is the action-packed finale, which is great if only able to get over the enormous amount of information presented and having enough good parts to make it fun, exciting and really interesting. These here make the film entertaining.
The Bad News: This one here doesn't have too many flaws, but there are a few. The scenes with the wife in the smoking center would be the biggest ones. Granted, they do give off a few really good gags and provide some laughs, that's their only purpose in the film. They're shamelessly inserted into the film merely to give it some laughs and play off the cheesy nature of the film, and take up space in the running time with their cheesiness that really sticks out for no reason to be included. Aside from the comedy, having it in the film is where it loses it's energy. The other flaw is that the ending comes across as way too packed for it's own good. There's a lot of information doled out in a short space of time, which wouldn't have happened had the scenes in the smoker's center been eliminated and actual scenes to move the plot along put in it's place. That would've worked fine and fixed these two flaws. Otherwise, these here are all that hold the film down.
The Final Verdict: A rather entertaining cheese-fest, hurt mainly by very little flaws and only it's relatively high cheese-factor to lower it down. Check it out if interested in those kinds of films or if there's something in that generally appeals to the viewer, but if the cheese-fest style doesn't appeal then seek caution.
Rated R: Graphic Violence, Language and Brief Nudity
**SPOILERS**
Following a brutal murder, Sgt. Joe Blocker, (Joe Sharkey) is assigned to a case with his partner Sgt. Sweeney Birdwell, (Jake Dengel) due to the similarity to another case of his years ago. When it becomes apparent that the killer is even using the same means as before, wearing Egyptian paraphernalia to hide the identity and taking only a single body part from victims while leaving a note in Egyptian hieroglyphics detailing the crime, he becomes even more despondent over what's happening despite the assurances of Deedee Taylor, (Susann Fletcher) his old partner's daughter. As the deaths continue and Police Chief 'Buzz Saw' Ryan, (Don Brockett) screaming at them for results to end the rampage, they play a hunch on who the killer is and are surprised to find that it reveals the killer's ploy, using the body parts in a form of ritual to bring to life an Egyptian War Goddess for his own agenda. Now knowing what to go up against, they race to stop him before he completes his plans.
The Good News: This one here is a really fun and enjoyable cheese-fest that has a couple good moments for it. The main one is the cheese level that is portrayed here is a lot of fun. From the numerous jokes about the past to the scenes of confusion to the yelling and so much more, it makes for a lot of really fun times to be had from it's goofiness. The storyline doesn't hurt either, and there's some good times to be had from it's outlandish gore as well. This one has a really nice set of kills in here, that are just gory enough to matter for gore-hounds as well as making them so cartoon-ish and fun that there's more fun to be had from them as well. There's a decapitation with a giant ceremonial staff, having a jackhammer saw off both legs, a hacksaw slicing open a stomach, a victim found with their brains scooped out, using a vacuum cleaner to suck out the digestive tract and eyeballs, being crushed inside a giant hydraulic press and being exposed to acid, melting the skin off the face in a long, extended sequence with really messy, gory results. There's a lot of fun from these scenes and it has some really great moments with the cheesy gore on display. The detective work on the killer is also surprisingly watchable, not really excellent but well-done and certainly there for it's best moments. By not really slowing down the plot but actually keeping it moving along, as well as making it feel really interesting and not too bogged down and dull. The last real good part is the action-packed finale, which is great if only able to get over the enormous amount of information presented and having enough good parts to make it fun, exciting and really interesting. These here make the film entertaining.
The Bad News: This one here doesn't have too many flaws, but there are a few. The scenes with the wife in the smoking center would be the biggest ones. Granted, they do give off a few really good gags and provide some laughs, that's their only purpose in the film. They're shamelessly inserted into the film merely to give it some laughs and play off the cheesy nature of the film, and take up space in the running time with their cheesiness that really sticks out for no reason to be included. Aside from the comedy, having it in the film is where it loses it's energy. The other flaw is that the ending comes across as way too packed for it's own good. There's a lot of information doled out in a short space of time, which wouldn't have happened had the scenes in the smoker's center been eliminated and actual scenes to move the plot along put in it's place. That would've worked fine and fixed these two flaws. Otherwise, these here are all that hold the film down.
The Final Verdict: A rather entertaining cheese-fest, hurt mainly by very little flaws and only it's relatively high cheese-factor to lower it down. Check it out if interested in those kinds of films or if there's something in that generally appeals to the viewer, but if the cheese-fest style doesn't appeal then seek caution.
Rated R: Graphic Violence, Language and Brief Nudity
surprisingly not that bad!
sleepingheart225 November 2004
i bought this movie off of horror movies.com just because it was taken place in Pittsburgh. i wasn't expecting to laugh or get any entertainment from it but my girlfriend and i were very much surprised! there was some decent humor in it and there was even a twist in the story! if you're in for a cheap laugh and a cheap movie, check this one out! it was also kind of neat to try and figure out where the different scenes were shot. one scene i recognized very well and realized that it was shot in the park down the street for me.
the special effects are pretty cheesy and the story really isn't that bad. the laughs in it are almost like a Leslie Nielson film. if you're from the Pittsburgh area, check this out! get a laugh!
the special effects are pretty cheesy and the story really isn't that bad. the laughs in it are almost like a Leslie Nielson film. if you're from the Pittsburgh area, check this out! get a laugh!
Tomato salmon casserole
jjjjjjjjjjjjj-423 September 2006
Warning: Spoilers
A masterpiece from the opening scene; this film is both a hilarious parody of "buddy cop" films (LETHAL WEAPON, 48 HOURS, BAD BOYS, etc.) and a superior precursor of the present lame & un-funny comedy-horror films of the SCARY MOVIE ilk.
Beverly Penberthy steals the film as Sweeney the cop's wife, Erma Birdwell. Erma, despite her aerobic fitness, is a cigarette smoker who worries that her husband is no longer attracted to her. Attempts to stop smoking haven't worked. Her travails finally lead to an appearance by an avatar of the Egyptian God of the Dead. "The f--k it isn't, I know Anubis when I see It!"
Also wonderful is MISTER ROGERS NEIGHBORHOOD veteran Don Brockett as the raving homicidal Police Chief. And Veronica Hart, as Grace, continues to be one of the few "actresses" from porn films who can actually do a passable job acting.
Beverly Penberthy steals the film as Sweeney the cop's wife, Erma Birdwell. Erma, despite her aerobic fitness, is a cigarette smoker who worries that her husband is no longer attracted to her. Attempts to stop smoking haven't worked. Her travails finally lead to an appearance by an avatar of the Egyptian God of the Dead. "The f--k it isn't, I know Anubis when I see It!"
Also wonderful is MISTER ROGERS NEIGHBORHOOD veteran Don Brockett as the raving homicidal Police Chief. And Veronica Hart, as Grace, continues to be one of the few "actresses" from porn films who can actually do a passable job acting.
Title says it all - sheer perfection!!!
kirbyclements3 March 2021
Airplane meets Horror
wendlandj18 May 2006
This movie is just chock full of visual jokes and running gags. The fun never stops and the blood is so clearly fake, and the murders so whimsical in method, that even the most squeamish will probably have no problem with it.
The story centers around a series of gristly murders where taunting messages are left by the killer - written in hieroglyphics. When the Pittsburgh police find the first hieroglyphic note they sigh, "The Egyptian side of town". With such brilliant breaks with reality this movie is a magnificent romp through the looking glass.
Worth viewing for the stop smoking clinic sequence alone - Give it a try! Like Buckaroo Bonsai? Like Big Trouble in Little China? Don't mind low budgets? This movie is for you!
The story centers around a series of gristly murders where taunting messages are left by the killer - written in hieroglyphics. When the Pittsburgh police find the first hieroglyphic note they sigh, "The Egyptian side of town". With such brilliant breaks with reality this movie is a magnificent romp through the looking glass.
Worth viewing for the stop smoking clinic sequence alone - Give it a try! Like Buckaroo Bonsai? Like Big Trouble in Little China? Don't mind low budgets? This movie is for you!
Waste of 90 minutes of your life
rwagn25 April 2003
This film is a waste of 90 minutes of your life. Originally titled "Picking Up The Pieces". The production values are terrible, the acting is horrendous, the characters unlikeable and the story is lame. For God's sake, one of the leads is Jane Hamilton (aka porno star Veronica Hart) and does she bare any flesh? Heck no.
This film is promoted as a black comedy but the script is so unfunny that it fails this category. The gore scenes are so amatuerish that Tom Savini must have used the entire SFX budget on the one good effect (a flesh ripping scene.) Pittsburgh offers so many great locations and none are used in this film. The music is cheesy. Don't get me wrong-this movie is not one of those so-bad-it's good flix. This is a stinker thru and thru. When you're laying on your deathbed you'll wish you had this 90 minutes back.
This film is promoted as a black comedy but the script is so unfunny that it fails this category. The gore scenes are so amatuerish that Tom Savini must have used the entire SFX budget on the one good effect (a flesh ripping scene.) Pittsburgh offers so many great locations and none are used in this film. The music is cheesy. Don't get me wrong-this movie is not one of those so-bad-it's good flix. This is a stinker thru and thru. When you're laying on your deathbed you'll wish you had this 90 minutes back.
'Stalk n' slash like an Egyptian!'
Weirdling_Wolf15 February 2022
The fearlessly inventive 'Bloodsucking Pharaohs in Pittsburgh' is not merely a sensationally sanguineous show-reel for supreme splatter-sensation Tom Savini, but a top-ten, gag-heavy, terminally titillating, superlatively strange, gorgeously gore-loaded, bodaciously bloody, fleshly fabulous, eerily Egyptian 90s horror comedy, that didn't so much raise the bloodthirsty B-Movie bar, but savagely shove it down your throat!!!! Yet again, running entirely contrary to the many naysayers, 90s horror delivered some perversely piledriving, diabolically grisly, death-dealing doozies!
Gory failure to mix horror with comedy
lor_24 June 2023
My review was written in May 1991 after watching the movie on Paramount video cassette.
The cutesy title fronts for an occasionally amusing horror/comedy mishmash. Pittsburgh is the locale, and Tom Savini provides some gruesome makeup effects for diehard fans.
Direct-to-video release was produced in 1988 with the title "Picking Up the Pieces". That monike more accurately reflects a case surprisingly similar to "The Silence of the Lambs", as Pittsburgh cops are trying to apprehend a serial killer who mutilates women and keeps body parts for some strange ritual.
In a parody of a down-on-his-luck detective, Jake Dengel is the policeman with no stomach for his job. He calls in his former partner from Las Vegas who has expertise in this area, but the crony's daughter, spunky Susann Fletcher, shows up instead to assist.
Key clue of notes containing hieroglyphics, left on the corpses, leads to a cult working on eternal life via an ancient Egyptian formula. Porno veteran Jane Hamilton (a/k/a Veronica Hart) has fun as the slapstick villainess. Rest of the cast is nondescript.
Filmmaker Daan Tschetter's mix of gore and yocks strains, the equation that exaggerated blood equals black humor. Savini fans may get something out of this one but as "Silence" proved, this material is better off played straight.
The cutesy title fronts for an occasionally amusing horror/comedy mishmash. Pittsburgh is the locale, and Tom Savini provides some gruesome makeup effects for diehard fans.
Direct-to-video release was produced in 1988 with the title "Picking Up the Pieces". That monike more accurately reflects a case surprisingly similar to "The Silence of the Lambs", as Pittsburgh cops are trying to apprehend a serial killer who mutilates women and keeps body parts for some strange ritual.
In a parody of a down-on-his-luck detective, Jake Dengel is the policeman with no stomach for his job. He calls in his former partner from Las Vegas who has expertise in this area, but the crony's daughter, spunky Susann Fletcher, shows up instead to assist.
Key clue of notes containing hieroglyphics, left on the corpses, leads to a cult working on eternal life via an ancient Egyptian formula. Porno veteran Jane Hamilton (a/k/a Veronica Hart) has fun as the slapstick villainess. Rest of the cast is nondescript.
Filmmaker Daan Tschetter's mix of gore and yocks strains, the equation that exaggerated blood equals black humor. Savini fans may get something out of this one but as "Silence" proved, this material is better off played straight.
See also
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