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It Came From Shudder | Pieces

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5 years ago

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Since the introduction of the horror/thriller-centric streaming service Shudder in 2016, viewers have had the opportunity to stumble across films that could typically only be found tucked away in the corner of their local video store (if they still have one).

The service has made easily accessible the genre films that would be overlooked when slotted on the same screen as the latest Marvel effort on Netflix. Pieces is one such film that has been kept in a spotlight due to Shudder’s efforts, and thankfully so, as it cartoonishly blends smut, mystery, and a disregard for logic to keep you smiling through the chaos.

The film wastes no time in revealing its exploitation leanings, as it opens with young Timmy putting together a jigsaw puzzle of a nude woman. When his mother walks in and chastises him for playing with “filth” he appropriately responds by murdering and then decapitating her with a hacksaw. Cut to 40 years later and it appears that Timmy is back on the prowl, this time offing young women on a Boston college campus. It’s up to the local police to identify the killer before the body count climbs.

The narrative is fairly routine for slashers of the time, but the execution is what makes the film such an enjoyable ride. Pieces takes from the Italian giallo style and carries an aura of mystery with its proceedings. The cops are presented with a ragtag roster of suspects including campus hearthrob Kendall (Ian Sera), Anatomy professor Arthur Brown (Jack Taylor) and groundskeeper Willard (Paul Smith). The latter of which encapsulates the absurd joy of the film.

It’s clear writers Dick Randall and Roberto Loyola wanted Willard to be the film’s red herring, but something gets lost along the way and Smith plays Willard as a full-on caricature complete with bug-eyed stares. At one point he stumbles onto a crime scene and decides to touch the murder weapon before attempting to assault and flee from three officers.

The laughable creative decisions continue from there with a late-night campus stroll that ends with a kung-fu surprise that’s explained away as the result of “bad chop suey,” and a speaker-shattering line read from Lynda Day George’s distraught Mary. Those are just a few examples, but Pieces has more than enough out-of-left-field plot turns and line reads to fill its sub-90 minute runtime.

Putting the comedic aside for a moment, the film still delivers on its central concept and earns its place in Shudder’s catalog. When allowed to breathe, the film’s mystery is able to bring an unnerving air to a scene. Director Juan Piquer Simón’s location decisions, he often chooses tight spaces like a bathroom or elevator, do a great job of furthering this feeling of no escape. It’s also not afraid to repaint the walls with red and provide some stomach-turning albeit memorable visuals; and expect disembowelment or two.

Pieces has one of the most apt taglines I’ve ever seen, proudly declaring “It’s exactly what you think it is!” This bold acceptance of what the crew has created fosters a sense of endearment that undoubtedly aided its cult status. Pieces is undeniably Pieces up until the very end. Inexplicable, exploitative, entertainment.

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Paramount+ Reveals Official Main Title Sequence for the Upcoming Series TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

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10 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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During the TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES panel earlier today at San Diego Comic Con, Paramount+ revealed the official main title sequence for the series. The sequence is composed by EMMY® nominee, Matt Mahaffey, known for his work on Sanjay and Craig, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie and much more. 

From the studios of the Mutant Mayhem film, the all-new Paramount+ original series TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES explores the adventures of everyone’s favorite pizza-loving heroes as they emerge from the sewers onto the streets of NYC. Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey are faced with new threats and team up with old allies to survive both teenage life and villains lurking in the shadows of the Big Apple. The series is produced by Nickelodeon Animation and Point Grey Pictures.

TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES is executive produced by Chris Yost (The Mandalorian, Thor: Ragnarok) and Alan Wan (Blue Eye Samurai, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2012 Series]). Production is overseen for Nickelodeon by Claudia Spinelli, Senior Vice President, TV Series Animation, Nickelodeon, and Nikki Price, Director of Development and Executive in Charge of Production.

In addition to the upcoming new series, stream all things Turtles on Paramount+.

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Comic-Con 2024: Those About to Die Activation

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12 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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DISNEY+ CASTS DANIEL DIEMER AS FAN-FAVORITE ‘TYSON’IN SEASON TWO OF “PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS”

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13 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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 in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, Rick Riordan and Disney+ revealed that Daniel Diemer (“Under the Bridge”) will star as fan-favorite cyclops “Tyson” in the epic adventure series “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.” Diemer joins Walker Scobell (Percy Jackson), Leah Sava Jeffries (Annabeth Chase) and Aryan Simhadri (Grover Underwood) as a series regular. The Disney+ Original series from Disney Branded Television and 20th Television will start filming its second season next week in Vancouver.

Season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is based on the second installment of Disney Hyperion’s best-selling book series titled “The Sea of Monsters” by award-winning author Rick Riordan. In the new season, Percy Jackson returns to Camp Half-Blood one year later to find his world turned upside down. His friendship with Annabeth is changing, he learns he has a cyclops for a brother, Grover has gone missing, and camp is under siege from the forces of Kronos. Percy’s journey to set things right will take him off the map and into the deadly Sea of Monsters, where a secret fate awaits the son of Poseidon.

Diemer stars as Tyson – a young Cyclops who grew up all alone on the streets, and finds it difficult to survive in the human world.  Shy and awkward, with a heart almost as big as he is, Tyson soon discovers that Poseidon is his father, which means Percy Jackson is his half-brother… and that Tyson may have finally found a home. 

Diemer recently starred in the Hulu limited series “Under the Bridge” based off the critically acclaimed book of the same name and a tragic true story of a missing teen girl in Vancouver in 1997. He will next star in the indie “Thug” opposite Liam Neeson and Ron Perlman for director Hans Petter Moland. Daniel was recently seen as the lead in the indie “Supercell” opposite Alec Baldwin and Skeet Ulrich and the lead in the film “Little Brother” opposite Phil Ettinger and JK Simmons. Daniel can also be seen in the Netflix series “The Midnight Club” and recently starred as the male lead in the breakout hit Netflix feature “The Half Of It” from producer Anthony Bregman and director Alice Wu. He is a graduate of Victoria Academy of Dramatic Arts in Vancouver.

Created by Rick Riordan and Jonathan E. Steinberg, season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is executive produced by Steinberg and Dan Shotz alongside Rick Riordan, Rebecca Riordan, Craig Silverstein, The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Bert Salke, The Gotham Group’s Jeremy Bell and D.J. Goldberg, James Bobin, Jim Rowe, Albert Kim, Jason Ensler and Sarah Watson.

The first season of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is available on Disney+

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