Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Graphic
- lurid
- grotesque
- campy
- midnight horror marathon
- cult movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly regarded the film as poorly written and illogical exploitation, while later genre commentators embraced its extreme gore, nudity, and unintentional absurdity as cult pleasures.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The killer repeatedly dismembers victims with a chainsaw, while the film foregrounds close-up flesh-cutting effects.
Lt. Bracken, Mary Riggs, and Kendall investigate murders and stolen body parts across a university campus.
The film emphasizes gratuitous nudity, extreme carnage, and goofy, sensationalist genre presentation.
The killer steals body pieces from murdered students for an unknown purpose, making bodily fragmentation central to the plot.
Films like Pieces, and why
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
shared slasher structure, serial-killer mystery, and graphic exploitation violence
Friday the 13th
shared campus-adjacent teen slasher formula, stalker suspense, and gruesome set pieces
Psycho
shared psychological slasher foundation, killer mystery, and disturbing body mutilation
The New York Ripper
shared European splatter sensibility, lurid gore, and mystery-driven killer narrative
Movie Details
- Director
- Juan Piquer Simón
- Release Date
- 1982-08-23
- Runtime
- 85 min
- Rating
- 5.9 / 10 (292)
Cast
- Christopher George
- Lynda Day George
- Frank Braña
- Edmund Purdom
- Ian Sera
- Paul L. Smith
- Jack Taylor
- Gérard Tichy
- May Heatherly
- Leticia Marfil
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV, Philo, AMC+ Amazon Channel, Shudder, Night Flight Plus, Shudder Amazon Channel, Screambox Amazon Channel, Shudder Apple TV channel, Bloodstream, Artiflix, Cineverse Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video
- Buy
- Amazon Video
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Pieces about?
- A lurid university slasher turns a serial-killer investigation into a chainsaw-powered carnival of gore, nudity, and absurd mystery.
- What is Pieces like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Pieces as brisk, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Pieces violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Pieces as graphic.
- What did critics think of Pieces?
- Critics broadly regarded the film as poorly written and illogical exploitation, while later genre commentators embraced its extreme gore, nudity, and unintentional absurdity as cult pleasures.
- Which films are like Pieces?
- Films with a similar feel include The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Friday the 13th, Psycho, and The New York Ripper.
- How long is Pieces?
- Pieces runs 85 minutes.
- Where can I watch Pieces?
- In United States, Pieces streams on fuboTV, Philo, AMC+ Amazon Channel, Shudder, Night Flight Plus, Shudder Amazon Channel, Screambox Amazon Channel, Shudder Apple TV channel, Bloodstream, Artiflix, Cineverse Amazon Channel.
