Murder Set Pieces
Review by Peter Syslo

Every once in a while a film comes along that really has an impact on you; I mean it sticks with you the day after you watch it and you want to watch it again the next night. This was MURDER SET PIECES: The Director’s Cut (2004). I’ve heard a lot of people talking about this film and about Nick Palumbo and first, I need to speak to all of the “controversy”: It seems that some people are pleased with this film and it seems that some people are angered by it. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I just don’t understand how people form their opinions, sometimes. If you don’t like a film, fine that’s cool – people should agree to disagree. But, if you trash something just for the sake of trashing it or if you are basing your like or dislike on another person’s opinions then that is a problem. I know I am a critic, but what I write is just information – I don’t want people to base what they like upon what I say; I j ust provide some guidelines or suggestions for viewing. Be an intelligent person and make a choice for yourself - exercise your free will!

Sorry about the speech, I just needed to get that off of my chest. Now, let’s talk about MURDER SET PIECES. The film is written, produced, and directed by Nick Palumbo. It stars Sven Garrett, Gunnar Hansen, Ed Neal, Cerina Vincent, Jade Risser, and Tony Todd. The movie features visual effects by Toe Tag Pictures (AUGUST UNDERGROUND) and features music by The Bronx Casket Company, Necrophagia, Zombi, and The Giallos Flame. The whole film, basically, is more of a character study than a linear, plot-driven piece; it centers on The Photographer (that is what he is called), who stalks, tortures, and brutally rapes/kills women in Las Vegas . It is reminiscent of AMERICAN PSYCHO by the way that it takes a few weeks out of the life of this killer and lets you ride shotgun, witnessing his violent and deranged behavior, first hand. The film shows things like The Photographer getting naked with two girls, slitting the one’s throat, and choking the other one into submission so he could keep her to torture and kill.

There are scenes like that, interspersed with “flashbacks” to The Photographer’s youth and to the World Trade Center disaster on 9/11. You really get into his head and see the “warped” sense that he has, about life in general - his grandfather was a Nazi (he is German) and he views the Nazis as the “good guys” in WWII. He apparently is the son of a prostitute and either witnessed her being killed or took part in the killing, as a child – I am not exactly clear on that, but at any rate, he witnessed extreme violence towards women at a young age (you see him cutting the dress off of a doll).

It is clear that war, violence, and 9/11 had a huge impact on The Photographer and he almost views himself as a “warrior” for the greater good – he states, in one scene, that women are part of the problem of this “evil” generation. In another scene, he kills two robbers in a video store (one is Fred Vogel) and as the spiteful store manager (Tony Todd) commends him, The Photographer states, “In my mind’s eye I light fires in your cities” and shoots the manager. In all of this turmoil, the only person that The Photographer seems to have a real relationship with is a young girl, Jade (Jade Risser), who is the sister of a girl he is “dating”. Jade is the only one that he lets into his true world and conversely, Jade is the only one who seems truly interested in getting to know who he really is – mainly for the safety of her older sister (she suspects he is trouble, from the beginning). It is clear that The Photographer suffers from mental instability and you actually see that he has difficulty controlling his murderous impulses – they wash over him, his nose starts to bleed, and he looks like he is going to pass out.

Let me talk about The Photographer’s lair. It is a torture chamber, hidden in his pristine/sterile home, which includes everything from fanged dentures for him to gnaw on flesh, to a vat of bones floating in blood. He has various hooks, chairs, and weapons to carry out his torture/murders and he has many photographs of his victims. This lair is just horrifying and this is mainly where he brings most of his victims to carry out unspeakable acts. You see some very graphic, full-frontal female nudity mixed with pretty graphic scenes of torture/killing: he bloodily rapes a few women until they are dead, he nails a girl’s arms to a chair, and the capper to all of this is when he takes a chainsaw to a girl’s head – you see the saw cutting into the girl’s head and lopping the top of it off – done with expertise by the Toe Tag crew (it is r eally something to see).

Now let me talk about some of the scenes classified as, “I can’t believe they went there”: The Photographer stalks and stabs a young girl (I’d say around 10 years old), who is a friend of Jade – you see him holding her, the knife is plunged into her chest, and she bleeds to death. In another scene, he is chasing Jade, after she discovers his torture chamber, and he put numerous razor slashes across her back, before she escapes. In yet another scene, you see murdered young girls lying in alley ways and dumpsters – they were girls that he previously stalked and photographed. In probably the most disturbing scene, he kills a mother (I think his wife/the mother of his child – he obviously leads many levels of a life) and afterwards he walks over to a crying baby, places his razor on the crib, and picks up the child with his bloody hands – you then see the blood-covered baby run out and go over to his murdered mother, crying hysterically – this may have been the point for me where it went a little too far. So, prepare for some gruesome/edgy subject matter, not too mention the sheer brutal violence towards women – female viewers be forewarned, this is very rough material.

However, apart from the edginess, MURDER SET PIECES is really an incredible film. It works on so many levels and it definitely has a lasting effect on you. The effects are great, the camera work creates a menacing and scary atmosphere, the props are great (cool car), the acting and cameos are good – Jade Risser being the standout, and last but not least the music is simply awesome. Let me spend a minute on the music – it is one of those perfect combinations of film and music, both enhancing each other. I haven’t seen that combination in recent years, except for HIGH TENSION, and in the 1990s, in CANDYMAN and BOOGIE NIGHTS. The musical cues are dead on and they really give a rhythm to the whole film, ala Carpenter’s work. Also, the music gives you the feel that you are watching 1970s exploitation/porn – it just really floored me.

Final thoughts: I think that this is going to be an influential film, for years to come. It is one of the best that I have seen in years; it is certainly worth all of the hype. Nick Palumbo is a “dangerous” director and I want to see what he does next – also I want to see his previous film, NUTBAG. Oh, before I forget, I strongly urge you to seek out the director’s cut, if you have the means; don’t base your opinion on the rental/mainstream version – it is cut to shreds and a lot of the essence of the film is gone. But, if you want a peek at the future of horror, as in AUGUST UNDERGROUND’S PENANCE, give it a try – it is rough and it does push the envelope, but it is great filmmaking and it is a fresh and interesting experience.