by Michele Pearson:
How can you write a review of a movie that doesn’t do what it says on the box? I watched the trailer for Pieces of Talent and thought that I would be watching another installment of the hardcore horror/torture genre. I was expecting graphic, gory violence and it just did not deliver. This movie does not come across as a pure horror film. It’s more like an art house flick with horrific tendencies.
Don’t get me wrong, Pieces of Talent is a beautiful film. The cinematography was wonderfully done and many of the shots are visually stunning. The soundtrack was appropriate and haunting. Even the acting was well done. David Long, playing himself (in a bizarre sense) goes from harmless hippie to deranged killer in a heartbeat. Kristi Ray plays Charlotte, a young and slightly naive struggling actress who works in a seedy strip club as a waitress to support herself and her shiftless mother. One night, she stops an overzealous bouncer from seriously injuring David and takes care of him. They quickly become friends and David tells Charlotte that he makes films. In fact, he is working on his masterpiece. She tells him that she is an actress and asks if he would consider her in a part. It’s so innocent and sweet that I thought for a moment I was watching the wrong film as it seemed more of a setup for a gritty, real world romance as opposed to horror.
Shortly thereafter, if becomes clear that David is psychotic. He is making a film alright, but it’s a collection his murders. It’s at this point that the film should have switched from pretty and sweet to hardcore horrific, if it was true to the trailer. This is where I got confused…because I don’t feel it does. Now, before you guys go all “the girl just doesn’t like torture films and doesn’t get it”, I’m not complaining about how hardcore it was but how hardcore it wasn’t. Perhaps it wasn’t the intent of the filmmaker but, again, I reference the trailer. Are there violent scenes? Yes. Is it disturbing? At times, yes. Like I’ve said, it’s a beautiful film. The light and colors and use of shadow is done deliberately and works well. I think that the main fault that the film has, aside from my feeling of deceptive marketing, is that director Joe Stauffer feels if he filmed the shot, it must be used in the film. This leads to some scenes that probably could be cut down and still have impact and further the story. There are parts that seem to drag but the end is the payoff. I just wish it had actually done what was advertised. In that aspect, I was disappointed.
I would have enjoyed the film more if it was marketed truthfully. Here’s my synopsis: A crazy filmmaker is creating a masterpiece by filming his murders. He meets and falls in love (or lust…or infatuation..) with a girl and decides to give her this beautiful gift he has created to prove himself to her. There. That is an excellent, original story in it’s own right and will find the appropriate audience. By marketing this as a brutal entry into the torture genre, the correct target audience will probably give it a pass and the ones who do watch it will leave wanting.
Michele Pearson is a contributor for DarkMedia. She covers Vampire Diaries and any other films, books, etc that come her way. She reads everything from Lonesome Dove to Game of Thrones and loves epic tv series like Doctor Who and Star Trek: TNG. Michele also loves a good horror film and was able to channel that love as a judge for Shriekfest 2012. Follow her on Twitter at @GirlInRowB and check out her blog at http://www.girlinrowb.com.
Comments are closed.