"Pieces of Darkness" consists of three stories which involve disturbed Vietnam vet,undead soldiers,two butchers and conflict between them and finally pact between starving actor and the Devil which ends in zombie rampage.One hell of an amateurish horror flick with some of the most boring stories ever put on film.The acting is abysmally bad,the music score is straight from bad 80's porno and there are some glaring continuity errors.The only reason to actually check "Pieces of Darkness" out is its impossible rarity.The film was never released on DVD and its VHS release is very tough to find.So if you are rabid collector of 80's shot-on-video horror give this one a look.Still you have been warned.3 crappy stories out of 10.
5 Reviews
little-seen horror anthology deserves to be little-seen
FieCrier9 November 2010
Warning: Spoilers
In this horror anthology, a dead soldier introduces the first story "The Bootmaker." All but two soldiers in a platoon in Vietnam are killed. One thanks his "lucky tattoo" (which we never get a good look at). Years later, they look exactly the same, and the tattooed guy's wife is cheating on him with his buddy, now a bootmaker. The bootmaker has flashbacks and nightmares of the other soldiers telling him to kill his friend. The end is pretty predictable, but botched in that the tattoo can't be seen.
"The tombkeeper" introduces the second segment, "Choice Cuts" in which two brothers run a butcher shop. One is a racist, sexist bully while the other is kind-hearted and begins a relationship with a customer. Some nudity in this segment. The end is again pretty predictable.
The last segment has no introduction. An actor bombs an audition, but receives a message that he has been requested by name for another audition. A devilish-looking man gives him a script to read, and as he reads it there are flashbacks to episodes from his life when he performed the same evil deeds in the script. Predictable ending here too. At least some zombies show up.
This may be older than 1989, I'm guessing. The 1989 Legacy Home Video originally retailed for $59.95! Yikes. It can be picked up for less than a dollar used on Amazon, if you must see it. It's not very good, but it's not the worst horror movie I've ever seen.
"The tombkeeper" introduces the second segment, "Choice Cuts" in which two brothers run a butcher shop. One is a racist, sexist bully while the other is kind-hearted and begins a relationship with a customer. Some nudity in this segment. The end is again pretty predictable.
The last segment has no introduction. An actor bombs an audition, but receives a message that he has been requested by name for another audition. A devilish-looking man gives him a script to read, and as he reads it there are flashbacks to episodes from his life when he performed the same evil deeds in the script. Predictable ending here too. At least some zombies show up.
This may be older than 1989, I'm guessing. The 1989 Legacy Home Video originally retailed for $59.95! Yikes. It can be picked up for less than a dollar used on Amazon, if you must see it. It's not very good, but it's not the worst horror movie I've ever seen.
Slightly amusing only because it is so bloody awful
Zbigniew_Krycsiwiki4 May 2012
Occasionally, *slightly* amusing (only because it is so bloody awful) anthology, probably assembled in a matter of days, and on a budget of about $500.
The video box is a marginally cool looking sight, two red palm prints and a pair of fear-filled eyes, all against a plain black background, which gives the box, anyway, a slightly 1970s Euro feel. That is all completely irrelevant to the film, mind you, but at least the box looks cool. Curiously, the video box claims the film's run time is 90 minutes, when it really runs more like 73 minutes long. Even more curious is that the box also states that the film is "A macabre medley of sci fi terror", despite the fact that there is nothing even remotely sci fi involved with any of the proceedings.
All three stories deal with betrayal in some fashion.
An already-dead combat soldier introduces a story of nightmarish trauma from a slaughter in Vietnam in the overlong first story, "The Bootmaker", as fog machines work double-time. The second story, "Choice Cuts", was unwatchably boring. Only some decent looking female nudity kept me awake during this segment. Pieces of Darkness benefits by putting its least awful segment at the very end: "That's Showbiz" has an awful actor playing an awful actor blowing an audition, yet somehow getting a callback, from Satan, played by a fairly creepy looking black guy, none other than producer/ editor/ co-director J. J. Johnson Jr. III.
Ever so slightly amusing, in an awful, late-night cable television sort of way, it might be worth a look for fans of zero-budget, Z-grade fare. That is, if you can locate it, and can tolerate its grainy picture quality, occasionally so washed-out that it is difficult to figure out what is going on. Sometimes, the actors' clothes match the background, and coupled with the poor video quality, that makes them look like translucent spectres hovering before the camera.
I give this a 2 out of 10, just for a couple of unintended laughs. Congratulations are also in order to anyone who can figure out what the hell the title has to do with the stories presented in the film.
The video box is a marginally cool looking sight, two red palm prints and a pair of fear-filled eyes, all against a plain black background, which gives the box, anyway, a slightly 1970s Euro feel. That is all completely irrelevant to the film, mind you, but at least the box looks cool. Curiously, the video box claims the film's run time is 90 minutes, when it really runs more like 73 minutes long. Even more curious is that the box also states that the film is "A macabre medley of sci fi terror", despite the fact that there is nothing even remotely sci fi involved with any of the proceedings.
All three stories deal with betrayal in some fashion.
An already-dead combat soldier introduces a story of nightmarish trauma from a slaughter in Vietnam in the overlong first story, "The Bootmaker", as fog machines work double-time. The second story, "Choice Cuts", was unwatchably boring. Only some decent looking female nudity kept me awake during this segment. Pieces of Darkness benefits by putting its least awful segment at the very end: "That's Showbiz" has an awful actor playing an awful actor blowing an audition, yet somehow getting a callback, from Satan, played by a fairly creepy looking black guy, none other than producer/ editor/ co-director J. J. Johnson Jr. III.
Ever so slightly amusing, in an awful, late-night cable television sort of way, it might be worth a look for fans of zero-budget, Z-grade fare. That is, if you can locate it, and can tolerate its grainy picture quality, occasionally so washed-out that it is difficult to figure out what is going on. Sometimes, the actors' clothes match the background, and coupled with the poor video quality, that makes them look like translucent spectres hovering before the camera.
I give this a 2 out of 10, just for a couple of unintended laughs. Congratulations are also in order to anyone who can figure out what the hell the title has to do with the stories presented in the film.
1.0 rating for many reasons
udar5516 October 2010
I needed a break from the shot-on-video garbage I had been taking in, so I grabbed this Tennessee lensed anthology flick. I put it in and - BAM - shot-on-video. Oh well. Three stories here with the first two produced by the same folks and the third seemingly tacked on to make it feature length (76 minutes). "The Bootmaker" is about a Vietnam vet having an affair with his buddy's wife. He decides the best course of action is to off his buddy in a "hunting accident" and, inexplicably, make boots out of his skin (with the unique tattoos giving him away). "Choice Cuts" is about two brothers, Herb and Hymie, who run a butcher shop in the ghetto. Can you guess which one is the nerdy one? Anyway, Hymie finally gets it on with a girl and it drives his brother Herb into rage. "That's Showbiz" has a terrible actor (for the story and in real life) go to read for a mysterious producer and he finds the script mirrors his misdeeds in life. This one is totally worthless unless you want to see late 80s Tennessee captured on video. It has a solid 1.0 rating on the IMDb, which makes me laugh for some reason.
Unknown for a reason
bfan835 March 2009
Warning: Spoilers
PIECES OF DARKNESS is a really wretched, low-budget regional anthology lensed in Knoville, and Oak Ridge, Tennessee in 1989 that instantly disappeared into obscurity, for good reason.
PIECES OF DARKNESS spins three boring, and uninteresting "tales of terror." Story 1: THE BOOTMAKER - From the chaotic, bloody battlefields of Vietnam to the quiet calm of a small, Southern town...Lucky tattoos and a tormented soul fuel the neighborhood boot-maker to spin a wicked web strung with adultery, deceit, and mutilation.
Story 2: CHOICE CUTS - A butcher shop is the backdrop for this tale of first love, intimidation, and lust. These elements are mixed together with a dash of jealously and a pinch of lunacy resulting in a frightening culinary creation.
Story 3: THAT'S SHOWBIZ - All the world may be a stage, but to be a player a price must be paid. A devilish deal is cut by a starstruck young man, only to be terminated in its inevitably manner. A chilling look backstage to treachery.
Every story is poorly SOV (shot-on-video) with below sub-par acting, and poor special effects. Every story seem to drag on for what seemed for hours. Thankfully, this ultra rare "horror" film is unknown for all the right reasons. It's just beyond terrible. If you ever happen upon a copy (good luck) avoid it at all costs!
PIECES OF DARKNESS spins three boring, and uninteresting "tales of terror." Story 1: THE BOOTMAKER - From the chaotic, bloody battlefields of Vietnam to the quiet calm of a small, Southern town...Lucky tattoos and a tormented soul fuel the neighborhood boot-maker to spin a wicked web strung with adultery, deceit, and mutilation.
Story 2: CHOICE CUTS - A butcher shop is the backdrop for this tale of first love, intimidation, and lust. These elements are mixed together with a dash of jealously and a pinch of lunacy resulting in a frightening culinary creation.
Story 3: THAT'S SHOWBIZ - All the world may be a stage, but to be a player a price must be paid. A devilish deal is cut by a starstruck young man, only to be terminated in its inevitably manner. A chilling look backstage to treachery.
Every story is poorly SOV (shot-on-video) with below sub-par acting, and poor special effects. Every story seem to drag on for what seemed for hours. Thankfully, this ultra rare "horror" film is unknown for all the right reasons. It's just beyond terrible. If you ever happen upon a copy (good luck) avoid it at all costs!
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