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Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006)

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11 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Good but flawed, 13 August 2007

Author: Superunknovvn from Austria, Vienna

The positive things about "Going To Pieces" are that it tries hard to include as many Slasher flicks as possible and deliver pieces of trivia for each of them. There are interviews with some influential directors of the genre (John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Sean Cunningham,...), actors, make-up guru Tom Savini and some "horror-experts".

For starters, this movie is a good introduction to the genre. Real fans will not find a lot of new information here. We all know about the influence of "Halloween", we've heard the story of how Freddy Krueger has been created, we know how Wes Craven revived the genre with "Scream". Sure, it's unfair to criticize that all this is being told again in a documentary like this. After all the story wouldn't be complete without this information, but in the end one can't learn too much from "Going To Pieces".

It would have been a real treat to learn the history of gore in movies, to learn about the influences for American slasher in detail. Instead we are only told about Italian horror in what seems like 2 minutes and then there's no further mention of it. "Halloween" is made out to be the first slasher movie, when even "Black Christmas" came before it in America. "Friday The 13th" is given more credit than it really deserves as an original movie. Make no mistake, I'm not trying to imply that those movies aren't very important to the genre, but it would have been a fresh approach to take a closer look at their origins.

Another thing to consider is that before "Going To Pieces" you should either make sure that you know all of the movies mentioned in the documentary or accept the fact that some great twist endings will be spoiled for you, some of which are the only reason to watch these flicks in the first place ("Sleepaway Camp", "Happy Birthday To Me").

In the end "Going To Pieces" will get you excited about watching old slasher flicks again (probably until you rent something like "Pieces" and realize the film is not half as exciting as it's made out to be in hindsight), but there are books out there that are a lot more informative than this documentary.

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13 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
Slasher 101, 14 November 2006

Author: Hal-900 from WA, USA

Terrific little documentary, made exclusively for Cable TV which traces the evolution of the slasher subgenre. It is informative and entertaining. In the documentary, you will see most of the directors associated with these kinds of films talk about how they really feel about this much-maligned movie subgenre. You will also see endless clips of the most popular and interesting slashers film of the 1970s, 1980s and beyond (anything from "When a Stranger Calls," "Prom Night" and "Pieces," to "The Silence of the Lambs" and "Scream"). The program addresses the claims that this type of movie is inherently misogynist and amoral. For example, the film shows parts of an old 'Siskel & Ebert' program that was dedicated to belittle the slasher subgenre; this is another example of the rampant elitism in film criticism. Not long ago, neo-con puppet Bill O'Reilly said that only sick people would want to see movies like "Saw" and "Hills Have Eyes," and his comments reminded me that there are still people out-there who simply do not get it. What I like about this documentary is that it does not preach but explains why slashers appeal to a vast majority of horror aficionados. The documentary does omit a few important titles, but overall, this is an effective dissection (no pun intended) of a type of film. Highly recommended to horror fans.

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7 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
I like it!, 30 March 2007

Author: Scott LeBrun from Winnipeg, Canada

Previously available in a book version, this entertaining and interesting documentary delivers just what it promises: an exploration of the world of slasher cinema - how it started, how it stayed popular, and what may have led to its decline.

There are assorted clips from both popular and more obscure films, as well as interviews with some of the usual suspects (Carpenter, Craven, Cunningham) in addition to other genre directors like Paul Lynch ("Prom Night"), Amy Holden Jones ("The Slumber Party Massacre"), Fred Walton ("When a Stranger Calls" '79, "April Fool's Day"), Herb Freed ("Graduation Day"), and Armand Mastroianni ("He Knows You're Alone"). Effects notables such as Stan Winston and Greg Nicotero also make appearances, with special mention made of Tom Savini and his contribution to the genre.

Various topics covered include the harsh critical reaction to these films, the details of the early entries that would become conventional in many subsequent efforts, the emerging trend of displaying graphic violence instead of just implying it, the silly trend of building a slasher around almost every conceivable holiday, and so on.

Although some of the interviewees aren't saying anything that we may know already or have thought about ourselves, it is rather impressive to see so much of this material in one sitting; if you are a fan of these films, seeing this film will be a no-brainer, although I can't guarantee for sure just how satisfied you will be by the conclusion. (This hour and a half kind of flies by and it might leave one wanting more.) Pretty good overall, though.

7/10

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8 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Interesting, Smart Review of 80s Slasher films ..., 9 November 2006

Author: vram22 from United States

This is a pretty good treatment of the thinking that went on behind the scenes of movies like "Prom Night", "Friday the 13th", "Nightmare on Elm Street", "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", and others. The great thing is that the cool stories and insights are told by the key players involved (directors, producers, special effects artists). You get to hear not only their thoughts on the psychology involved, but also about the marketing struggles they had to deal with.

Essentially, this is a documentary which interweaves present-day interviews with film clips from classic 80's horror flicks to give you a behind the scenes look at a genre during its peak period of interest. If you're a horror fan, you'll probably like watching this.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Slasher History, 31 March 2007

Author: Count_Elvis from the castle of freaks, Tryansalabamia

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

The slasher film has got to be the Rodney Dangerfield of horror movies. As to be expected critics hate them, but so do many horror fans. In general (there are exception to this of course) slashers don't have the social commentary of a George A Romero zombie film, they don't have the mood of a Universal Classic and they don't have the artistic flare of a giallo. But beyond all that they are fun, entertaining films that can put me in a good mood and I'm not even a big fan of slashers.

Finally the most popular and most maligned sub genre has its own documentary, and I think "Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film" delivers. All the major films are covered, "Halloween", "Friday the 13th", "A Nightmare on Elm Street", "My Bloody Valentine", "Prom Night" are all here as well as some more underground films such as "The Prowler", "Pieces" and "Happy Birthday to Me". The transfer for all the films looks very good as well, something which I was very impressed with. I thought that the history of the films was laid out very well (even though sometimes the chronology goes back and forth). There is time given to many of the films that laid the foundation of the slasher such as "Psycho", "Peeping Tom" and "Bay of Blood". They touched on the cutting of "My Bloody Valentine" (although not nearly enough) as well as the controversy surrounding "Silent Night, Deadly Night" including showing footage of the protest. They even had a clip from a 1984 interview with one of the mother who lead the protest (and succeeded in making it a cult hit). They also showed footage of some one Siskel and Ebert's attacks on the genre something which I found very interesting. I was however disappointed that they did not show the clip of them reveling the ending of "Friday the 13th" (thus breaking a film critic code) and when they read the credits of "Silent Night, Deadly Night" saying "shame, shame, shame" after each one. I felt this should have been in the movie to show that the attacks on the genre went beyond simple bad reviews (which the horror genre has always dealt with) and into being unprofessional.

This is not a perfect documentary though. Its biggest mistake was not discussing what an influence "Black Christmas" had on the genre. A clip is shown but it is not even mentioned, let lone how it came out before "Halloween". I was disappointed to see a few other movies not included as well such as "Child's Play" and "Candyman" Oh yeah, make sure you're not a slasher newbie, many endings including "Friday the 13th", "Prom Night", "My Bloody Valentine", "The Prowler", "Halloween", "Sleepaway Camp", "April Fool's Day and "Happy Birthday to Me" are reviled.

Although it's not perfect "Going to Pieces is a must for any slasher fan. Just make sure you know a little bit about the genre before you go in or don't mind having spoilers.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Not bad, could have gone a little more in depth., 4 November 2007

Author: Het81 from Ohio, Unites States

I am a huge horror movie and slasher fan and I was shocked to see this on my Starz On Demand list. It is pretty good, but I think they try to cover a little too much ground in its short running time to really go into one subject too much. I have seen a lot of the movies that are discussed and it also introduced me to a few that I wasn't familiar with that I can now try to watch. It is good for an introductory course on slasher films and I seriously could have watched another hour's worth of material, but I understand why they had to trim to a shorter time. It does one of my least favorite things in documentaries though, when the subtitles would come up showing a person's name and what film they worked on, the font was very small and it was only on the screen for a second, so I had to keep rewinding to see the name's of people that I didn't recognize (which admittedly wasn't a lot, but still.) If you are a fan of the genre, this is a good little documentary to get you acquainted with some classic movies and maybe introduce a few new titles to track down.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the best horror documentaries EVER!, 17 October 2007

Author: Captain_Splatter_666 from Planet Caravan

I've been looking forward to this for a VERY long time. I caught it quite by accident when I was browsing through the channels to see what was coming on. (Lots of horror movies on TV in October!) I was almost worried that I was too hyped up about it. So I flipped off the lights, grabbed a bowl of popcorn, and hoped to be blown away.

I got exactly what I hoped for! "Going To Pieces" is an intriguing, insightful, and interesting piece about horror films of the past thirty years. With interviews with John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Rob Zombie, Sean S. Cunningham, and many more, this documentary is a must see for all slasher fanatics.

For many of you, this documentary won't tell you much that you don't already know. Still, it is very fun to sit back and watch the interviews with so many admirable horror icons, with the best slasher clips mixed in between. (Clips from Halloween, Friday The 13h, Prom Night, Nightmare On Elm Street, Alice Sweet Alice, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Burning, and many more – How can you go wrong?) The subtitle "Rise And Fall Of The Slasher Film" is actually a bit off. The documentary does talk about many of the new age horror films (Rob Zombie flicks, Eli Roth flicks, some of the modern day remakes) and gives them the credit they deserve for saving the genre. But of course the majority of the movie is spent talking about the classics; the ones that started it all.

Yes, my friends, this documentary is guaranteed to please all you sickie slash fans out there. See it soon!

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Very Good, 26 February 2008
Author: MichaelElliott1 from Louisville, KY

Going to Pieces (2006)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

A look at the rise and fall of slasher films is one of the best documentaries I've seen on the subject due in large part to the fact that we actually get to see clips from the various movies that are being discussed. Most of the times these documentaries can't show clips due to rights issues but thankfully all of the glorious clips are here. We also get interviews with the big guys like Wes Craven, John Carpenter, Sean Cunningham, Rob Zombie and various other smaller guys who contributed to the big part of the genre back in the early 80s. I also loved the clips from Siskel and Ebert where the two say horror films only appeal to guys who want to kill women themselves.

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
What a newbie thinks., 22 October 2007

Author: lastliberal from Florida

I was raised on Dracula and Frankenstein, and was living in Europe during the rise and fall of the slasher film. I have not seen most of the films mentioned in this film.

However, I was pleased at the presentation and now have a sense of history as to how the slashers came into being, the influences of Italian directors like Bava and Argento, the importance of the makeup and special effects guys, and the guttural significance of slasher films.

It was extremely interesting to see the directors and producers and actors and how they felt about the work they had done and were doing. I was also excited to see people like George Clooney, Jamie Lee Curtis, Cary Elwes, Robert Englund, Sid Haig, Heather Langenkamp, Dina Meyer, Bill Moseley, and many more in clips from their performances.

Of course, I am always happy to see Christa Campbell.

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
good documentary with some missing connections, 17 September 2007

Author: dromasca from Herzlya, Israel

'Going to Pieces' is a good and quite complete review of the history of the slasher movie genre. It succeeds to show quite well the origins of the genre in the American horror movies, and then provides quite an extensive review of the development and pick of popularity it reached in the 80s, its decline and its renaissance in the late 90s. Bringing to screen interviews with many of the major creators of some of the more popular films, fans, as well as critics of the genre makes the viewing interesting.

Yet I could not escape the feeling that the authors focused to much on making an entertaining film rather than making a more serious analysis and examining more extensively the context of the slasher movies in the evolution of cinema. The almost exclusive American focus is one flaw, only the influence of the Italian movies of the 70s is mentioned, but what about the classical German films, or what about the contemporary Far East movies? Today the genre is more popular in Japan and Korea than any other place on the planet and some major movies came out from there in the last few years. Connections with related genres like zombies movies and even horror science fiction could have been more explored as well. As it stands 'Going to Pieces' risks to become one of the objects of interest in the genre it deals with, a film targeting mainly the same captive audience who watches these movies anyway.

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