Review of Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006) by Dan S — 07 Jul 2007

A potentially good documentary about the slasher genre that never really sinks its teeth in. In terms of tracing the genre's history from its roots in Psycho and Peeping Tom, the film does a good job, but it doesn't look with enough authority at some of the issues that surrounded the films. Wes Craven touches on what made the films so worthwhile, but on the whole the film seems more interested in defending the genre from its critics. What it should have done is celebrate the genre, but it celebrates gore and special-effects rather than the social context of what inspired these movies. It features many excellent interviews with some of the most important people associated with these films including Sean S. Cunningham, Wes Craven, John Carpenter, and Tom Savini, but it twists historical fact to meet its own demands. This isn't surprising with a documentary but as historical accounts go, this one is only moderately reliable. For example, the film makes next to no mention of Black Christmas (although it does feature a clip) which pre-dated Halloween and inspired it immensely. The film also forgets to make any mention of A New Nightmare - a postmodern sequel to the Nightmare On Elm Street franchise - moving straight to Scream as its example of the genre rediscovered. Yes, Scream was the fire starter that brought I kNow What You Did Last Summer, Urban Legend, Cherry Falls, and the rest, but it was directed by Wes Craven who also directed A New Nightmare in the early 1990s.

For new fans of the genre, the film will shed some light on its origins and history, but the films were so much more than they are given credit for in this film.