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Sven Garrett, Jade Risser, Valerie Baber, Katie Richards, Tanja Grupp ... see more see more... , Gunnar Hansen , Tony Todd , Edwin Neal , Sherrie Winings , Cerina Vincent , Renee Sloan

A psychopath cuts a bloody swath across Nevada in this gruesome horror story. The Photographer (Sven Garrett) is a nameless German fashion illustrator with an ugly past (his grandfather was a friend a... read more read more...nd associate of Adolf Hitler) and a profoundly violent nature. Working out of Las Vegas, The Photographer is a vicious serial killer who attacks men, women, and children with equal brutality. The Photographer periodically dates a woman named Charlotte (Valerie Baber), who has a younger sister named Jade (Jade Risser), but prefers to devote his spare time to mutilating Sin City's riffraff. Jade senses that there's something evil about her sister's boyfriend, and when Charlotte disappears, Jade begins playing amateur detective, unaware of just how dangerous her quarry truly is. According to the film's publicity materials, Murder-Set-Pieces features no fewer than 30 onscreen murders, and 55 gallons of stage blood were used during the shoot. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

28% liked it

2,156 ratings

Critics

36% liked it

11 critics

R, 1 hr. 23 min.

Directed by: Nick Palumbo

Release Date: December 24, 2004

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DVD Release Date: January 9, 2007

 

Stats: 247 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (247)


  • July 31, 2009
    This "movie" promotes itself for being shocking, banned in the UK, and refused for processing by three film developing studios. It's not shocking, but I for one would ban or not process this film because of how absolutely poorly made it is.

    I don't even know where to being with... read more my laundry list of complaints.

    It's edited like someone with severe memory loss and acute ADHD did it. It's written without any regard for form, story, originality, or genuine talent for horror. I only believe there was a person on set, one Nick Palumbo, who called himself a director, but didn't actually bother directing anything other than stock body parts and corn syrup. It's all intentional shock and no genuine scare. On top of that, it's not even thoughtful gore. The blood coloring is off and different in every scene; the splatters are utterly without the logic of physics and more than gratuitous. The majority of props are very weak in terms of appearing real or showing originality; the one exception is a Jack-in-the-Box of a skull which contains a miniature of the killer in it.

    And this script, more holes than swiss cheese! This killer would have been caught several times over by the end of the film; he is a sloppy killer AND he shots someone in an occupied and no doubt video-monitored adult bookstore (which by the way happens because of an utterly badly placed sudden armed robbery). The film layers on bad horror cliches like an overstuffed sub sandwhich; within two seconds of each other, the killer brandishes a chainsaw and the protagonist gets a butcher knife for defense. I'm not even going to go into how lame it is to throw around Nazi familial connections and serial killer flashbacks to a childhood of mother hatred.

    This is worth seeing to remind one to treasure the great films that are out there by showing the utter crap in comparison. Shock lovers and gore hounds, prepare for disappointment, as this garbage is not in the same league as most of the video nasty "banned" faux-snuff favorites. I cannot say too many times how much of a waste of time and red dye this film is. AVOID AVOID AVOID Only see it if you MUST fulfill a list of shock films, but then only to note how poor is in comparison to the rest of the field.
  • July 6, 2007
    Next to Nekromantik, this is the worst so-called "movie" of all time.
  • October 7, 2011
    Although the acting is atrocious, and the story doesn't flow that well, Murder-Set-Pieces is still really entertaining. I can't say it's a great movie, but I liked it a lot. The violence was awesome, and the message behind it will definitely make you think... if you can understan... read mored German. Yeah, here's the reason everybody on this page is saying the movie didn't make sense. This film is in English, but at times the photographer will speak German. And it's ONLY when he's speaking German that his actions and story are explained. I enjoyed it, because I can understand German.
    Murder-Set-Pieces is a commentary on the Nazis' trivialization of sex and childbirth, resulting in a neglected child who grew up hating his mother and all women like her. Unless you don't understand German, then it's just gory fun... with bad acting.
  • July 5, 2008
    Quite dull, actually.
  • July 28, 2007
    Unusual! Gives a straight insight on serial killers.
  • May 8, 2007
    Much hated film is actually much more watchable if viewed as a comedy. The lead psycho is hilarious if viewed as a psychotic Schwarenagger.
  • February 16, 2012
    " I'm looking for a snuff film, called The Nutbag." lol.

    Tedious, overly bloody, badly written & horribly acted, it's like a very bad 70's slasher drive-in flick. The trailer is more interesting then the movie, believe me.
  • April 2, 2010
    Most intense and Shocking Film I've seen in 15 years- BUT, Get the UNCENSORED Directors Cut!!! Watch for the films director, Nick Palumbo furure films- this young visionary of the Scary is on his way to the TOP of the Terror Totem Pole!
  • September 21, 2009
    This film was labeled "one of the most disturbing films ever made" on its own advertisements, yeah that was false advertising, this film is disturbing it is stupid and quite honestly highly unlikely. The idea of violence against women and children is incredibly disturbing. But in... read more order to disturb me it A) has to be somewhat believeable and B) I have to care about the characters. This film is just horribly made and isn't moving or captivating but just plain bad. It so wants to be what it claims to be in it's advertisements, that it fails miserably.
  • February 19, 2009
    Okay, this is a mixed review. First of all, I liked it simply because I'm an all-out horror fan. Second, I loved the cameos by Tony Todd, Gunnar Hansen, and Edwin Neal. I thought that was great. But this movie wasn't really controversial to me, and nothing we haven't seen before.... read more The litte Jade girl was the best actress in the whole movie! Overall, I liked it, but I was expecting more shock and controversy. I enjoyed it though.

Critic Reviews


Debra Birnbaum
January 7, 2005
Debra Birnbaum, New York Post

Aspires to be a highly stylized exploration of the mind of a serial killer, but it's nothing more than a gory, bloodsoaked snuff film, reveling in its own shock value as women are stabbed, strangled, ...

Ned Martel
January 6, 2005
Ned Martel, New York Times

The director Nick Palumbo is determined to shock through a fictional German-born serial killer, who makes his mission clear with every thrust of knife blade and pelvis. Full Review

Ben Kenigsberg
January 4, 2005
Ben Kenigsberg, Village Voice

The lowest form of cinematic life, a movie so utterly degenerate it makes you wish that indie filmmakers had to prove a basic standard of decency in order to buy a camera. Full Review

Dennis Harvey
December 30, 2004
Dennis Harvey, Variety

Pic's nastiness is so insistent, one-dimensional and excessive it risks self-parody. Full Review

David Nusair
January 18, 2007
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews

...amateurish and flat-out irredeemable... Full Review

Staci Layne Wilson
May 4, 2006
Staci Layne Wilson, Horror.com

Murder Set-Pieces is recommended for the fan of unvarnished exploitation grue; for those needing a little more style with the substance, dig deeper into your Argento collection. Full Review

Heidi Martinuzzi
January 11, 2005
Heidi Martinuzzi, Film Threat

Palumbo has managed to take the best pieces of horror, thriller, and truth and patch them together in a tirade of horrific and disturbing imagery. Full Review

David Sterritt
January 6, 2005
David Sterritt, Christian Science Monitor

An interesting effort to make the ultimate horror movie by imitating modern classics of the genre in a systematic way. Full Review

Scott Weinberg
December 28, 2004
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

A rather sickening marathon strung together by the flimsiest of subplots and populated exclusively by blood-soaked strippers. Full Review

May 22, 2007
Film Threat

Click to read the article Full Review

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