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Pieces of Talent
USA 2014
produced by Dustin Lewis, Joe Stauffer, Mario Marchioni, Jennifer Spencer, Ronald Stauffer, Rebecca Stauffer
directed by Joe Stauffer
starring David Long, Kristi Ray, Barbara Weetman, Taylor Kowalski, Jon Stafford, Nate Panning, Shane Callahan, Simon Crist, John Marchioni, Joy Merrow, Simon O'Rourke, Donna Stamm
written by Dustin Lewis, Joe Stauffer, songs by Crissie McCree, Klassified, Stephen Sellers, Satelite Lungs, Goodnight Curses, Sleepy Horses, special makeup effects by Tony Rosen, Nick Derosa
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Charlotte (Kristi Ray), a success-free aspiring actress, just hates her
life: Her alcoholic mother (Barbara Weetman) who's living with her is
driving her insane, she deplores her job as a waitress in a restaurant,
and she doesn't know how much more turn downs at auditions she'll be able
to handle ... and then she meets David (David Long), or rather saves him
from the bouncer of the strip club, who's in the process of beating the
living daylights out of David. She nurses David back to health, and even
before he tells her he's a filmmaker, there is a connection right there,
as if they were soulmates or something. David knows all the right things
to say, too, and he seems sincere as he never promises her anything but
builds up her confidence and gives her hope. The one thing he does promise
her is to cast her in his next project, and since he never tries to get
into her panties but takes her out on romantic dates and the like, she
tends to believe him - and he will make good of his promise, too ... There
is another side to David though, a side Charlotte has no idea of: Several
years ago, he was tricked by a group of producers and filmmakers, and
since he secretly hates all movie-folks - so he abducts actors, producers
and filmmakers to torture and eventually kill them, using ever more
sophisticated devices ... to be immortalized on his ever-growing private
collection of snuff videos. Next on his list, Charlotte's mum, once a
wannabe actress herself, and then ... Pieces of Talent
is a creepy little film that successfully neglects the good old slasher
formula while still delivering the goods, and first and foremost, it's
down to the killer himself, who's really the most sincere and even
likeable guy ... who's of course batshit crazy (even if it's often hard to
feel sympathy for the scumbags he kills, and intentionally so). Add to
that a series of really accomplished torture machines and murder
scenarios, violent mood swings to keep the audience on the edge of their
seats, and the occasional tongue-in-cheek moment, and you've got yourself
a pretty unusual but entertaining little genre movie. ... and
if this has at all peaked your interest, feel free to get Pieces of
Talent here: http://piecesoftalent.com/store/
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