Customer Reviews

Murder Set Pieces

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

I wasted $20 buying this Lion's Gate DVD from Amazon. Don't make the same mistake. This DVD is the severely mangled, MPAA-sanitized version with 22mins of footage cut out to achieve the required R-rating. There is no earthly reason to buy this R-rated version. Murder, Set, Pieces is not Shakespeare; it is not some great artistic masterpiece; it is a nasty, brutal slasher/gore flick. You are going to watch this for the nastiness and the gore, not for some deep psychological insight. It does deliver the goods but only in the unrated Director's Cut, not in this lame R-rated version which has every element of gore and nastiness painstakingly snipped out. In the end I had to fork out another $29 to order the original Uncut Director's Cut (Fright Flix Productions) from Xploited Cinema. For some unfathomable reason Amazon does not stock the Director's Cut.

Both versions present the film in its original 1.85:1 widescreen. Sadly both version are NON-anamorphic (not enhanced for widescreen TV). The sound quality is very good but there was a problem with the DD 5.1 mix on my Lion's Gate DVD. The audio seemed to skip repeatedly, with glitches and flubs especially prominent during the dialogue sequences. In the end I had to resort to the alternate Dolby Stereo track which was fine by contrast. No problems with the Fright Flix audio. Both versions feature a full-length commentary by Nick Palumbo and actor Sven Garrett, moderated by "Ultra Violent" managing editor, Art Ettinger. However the Director's Cut also comes with a separate video Introduction by Writer/Producer/Director Nick Palumbo. The Director's Cut also includes a Deleted Scenes segment which is absent from Lion's Gate's R-rated release.

Note: The 5-star reviews on this site refer to the uncut version. The MPAA-mangled Lion's Gate version belongs in the garbage bin.

only buy the unrated... would you buy porn with no sex.... why buy one of the most violent films... cut????

There is a UN-RATED version of this title available. If you want the real thing dont buy the R rated. Search other online shops for the other version.

I've read all the user reviews and it would really be nice if they would point out which version they watched cause it sure as hell was'nt the R version.I can't feel but shear disapointment after watching this version of the film.because it becomes quickly apparent that it was literally hacked to pieces.leaving what I assume is just enough to qualify as a movie.I would almost bet that you'll see more disturbing images and subject matter in saw 3 then this.
so hey dont worry watch on cause there's nothing controversial left in the R version unless your easily offended by subject matter or shots of the burning trade towers.cause as far as explicit violence goes it's not here.

this version sucks.. there really isnt much to get out of it, the effects are well done when you actually see them. most stuff is off screen and feels extremely watered down. the killer usually just uses a shaving razor which is much better done in Sweeny Todd and House of 1,000 Corpses. the use of a chainsaw is done much better in countless movies, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake and TCM: The Beginning to name a couple. the whole "following a serial killer" thing is done immensely better in Henry:Portrait of a Serial Killer".

... and people say Hostel is watered down..

decent camera work and a pretty good soundtrack are the only redeeming qualities this movie has. other than that its just.. lame.

All the other reviewers are correct: if you've ever wanted to see the justly-hyped, infamous MURDER-SET-PIECES for yourself, the one DVD to get is the original (now sadly OOP) Fright Flix Director's Cut Version, NOT...I repeat NOT...the severely censored Lionsgate version. In its origial form, MSP is truly one of the most graphic, brutal, creepy, disturbing, yet incredibly effective horror movies ever made - at least in the slasher genre. MSP makes "Maniac" look like "Happy Feet!" It's not art, but it's not a hack job either. For what it's worth, you can't fault director Nick Palumbo for delivering the goods: you will cover your eyes and cringe as he depicts some of the most bloody, intense sexual violence/torture sequences ever inflicted on an audience - rape, yup, decapitation, yup, cannibalism, yup, chainsaw to the head, yup, multiple stabbings, yup, shootings, child murder, yup, nail-through-the-arm, yup, should I go on? NONE of this, alas, can be found in the Disney-fied Lionsgate DVD - what is the point of proclaiming on the DVD cover "the most graphic horror movie ever made" and then proceeding to hack out all the "offensive" content? Better to check other websites or ebay to find a copy. I'd like to see what Palumbo...er...um...whips up next?!

This is one of the most over-hyped and deceptively marketed pieces of unredeemable dreck ever. The talentless "director" knew that he could never make a quality film, so he set out to make a "controversial" film, evidently so that he could get free press from all the protests against his film. When a film is this small, ratings can be skewed by a handful of people creating fake accounts and giving it 5 stars, which is reportedly what happened with this disaster. The director made claims that 3 photolabs refused to develop the film because it was too graphic, yet I can't understand how they could know what was on the negative until AFTER they developed it. Sounds like an outrageous claim to pique one's curiosity. The dvd case is covered with warnings of "shocking, disturbing, controversial, most graphic film ever..." which is a real crime on this chopped up Lionsgate version as it is false advertising in this context. I've seen more shocking episodes of Gilligans Island. What I don't see on the cover are accolades to the skill and craftsmanship which went into this film, because there wasn't any. The sound cuts out in spots due to a bad mic connection during filming and most of the dialog had to be looped in post and doesn't match up very well. The "actors" are mostly strippers, prostitutes and porn stars, some literally pulled off the street the day before shooting. Since there is no plot and the script sucks, acting wasn't really required. Just scream and die covered in blood. Oh, and get naked first.

This was just an utterly pointless movie with a poser nazi wannabe who was supposed to be the Grandson of some top Hitler aide as the serial killer. The plot is: **SPOILER ALERT** Killer eats, works out to nazi propaganda film, drives around, picks up girl, has sex and kills her, goes to sleep, has nightmares, gets up, eats, works out to nazi propaganda, walks around, picks up girl, kills girl...repeat if necessary. The shameless director included footage of the Twin Towers in flame because his cinematographer happened to be in NY on Sept. 11 and got 7 min. of "THE ONLY 35mm FOOTAGE IN EXISTANCE." One more embarassing claim to fame. He tried to justify it in the directors commentary by saying the killer felt it represented how society was falling apart. Right, a guy who butchers 30 women and little girls thinks society is messed up. I've got the only 8mm footage in existance of my 7th birthday if he wants it for his next masterpiece.

The guy who made this garbage set piece, acts like a spoiled 3 yr. old trying to get attention by acting out. It is nothing but gratuitous crap meant to shock and offend, rather than entertain, the acting is horrible, the script is worse, and other than the blood splattered dungeon, the set dressing is non-existant. I can't imagine how the uncut version would hold any interest to anyone other than a sweaty sociopathic perv living in his mommies basement, and this cut up version will be of no interest to him or anybody else. What a waste of $2 million.

Please, please do not buy this version of the movie! I was so disappointed with this "R" rated version. I won't bore you with a repeat of all the other reviews, but they are spot on. I would give this zero stars if I could, pass this one by.

This version of the movie is the slaughtered, highly edited version. I rented it from the video store believing I was getting the real, original version and ended up with this. This movie is cut down so much that it is turned into a cheap looking 80's style cheese horror flick. The real version is the UNRATED DIRECTORS CUT. This is not the original Palumbo release...it's Lion's Gates massacre of the original version....be warned there is a reason that there are so many used versions of this DVD for 1.00 or less....

For whoever is reading this, PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE THIS VERSION! There is a version called "directors cut" (which is actually what was intended, Maple Pictures decided to cut out every scene that made the movie controversial to begin with). The edit of this particular film is actually quite ridiculous, because you could probably watch this version of the movie at a dinner party it's so heavily cut.

Anyway, I know this should be a review, but this is not what Nick Palumbo intended so I cannot justifiably review it as such.