The theme of the homicidal appendage has been explored before in fiction, whether it be
Thomas Burke’s written tale ‘The Hands of Mr. Ottermole’, or the cinematic ‘The Hands
of Orlack’. The idea of rouge body parts draws on classic Freudian hang-ups concerning
bodily decay and contamination, and of course, the revulsion of
the physically alien. Having root in such deep-seated human phobias is one of
the reasons this theme keeps cropping up in the human narrative tradition, despite the
fact that when you stop and think about it, it’s pretty damn goofy.
Which brings us to the equally goofy little flick Body Parts. The film
is well made, the camerawork is good, the production values are suitable,
and despite some laughable over or under acting in a couple of scenes,
the performances are adequate for the most part. But for some reason, the film
just feels completely flat. It’s like a horror movie that someone left open on
the counter overnight. It’s not bad, there’s just something missing. That is,
during the first two acts. If you choose to watch this film, please savor the
feeling of hollow workmanlike competence present in the beginning, for the third
act is 100% incredi-fekin-ri-diddly-iculous.
Spoiler Warning!
Up until the end, the film had been a simple “my hand is trying to kill
people” tale. Same old same old. I’m not giving these people credit for trying
something original. It’s pretty damn obvious that they realized they had written
themselves into a corner, and had to figure out a way to both extend and resolve
such a shallow half-plot. So the original killer comes around and starts pulling
everyone's limbs off, so that the doctor who did the transplants in the first
place can sew them back on. Seems she’s been keeping him alive the whole time
for this little experiment. Why would she become a purposeful accomplice to
murder in order to perform a superfluous experiment after she had already
accomplished the goal of her life’s work (a feasible way to replace the limbs of
amputees), and risk both losing her license and quite possible being executed
herself? Good question! ………
It’s not often that such an asinine plot development can sink an otherwise
well-made production. If it had just petered out, I still would have given it a
4.0 at least. It’s as if the good ship ‘Body Parts’ took careful aim, and blew
a gaping hole through it’s own hull.
The result is an utterly meaningless little picture, which like it’s villain,
gives the impression of being stitched together from the fetid hunks of half a
dozen other dead screenplays.