This is more or less a 90's film version of the famous and often retold tale "The Hands of Orloc". Normally that would worry me, as I'm generally speaking not a big fan of the 90's when it comes to horror and I don't really like seeing classic horror stories ruined by this decade, but for some reason I had a fairly good feeling about this one. Perhaps because co-writer/director Eric Red proved already that he knows a thing or two about creating suspense and atmosphere with his previous achievements "The Hitcher" and "Near Dark". Or maybe because the only truly great version of the tale was "Mad Love" starring Peter Lorre and that movie is already over 70 years of age. "Body Parts" is a reasonably good thriller with a handful of memorable suspense-laden moments and gooey Grand Guignol effects; particularly near the end. The film starts at out somewhat as a serious toned medical drama, but gradually escalates into an outrageous mad scientist horror flick. When family man and criminology shrink Bill Crushank gets involved in a dramatic car accident, his wife Karen has very little time to decide whether or not Dr. Agatha Webb is allowed to try her groundbreaking method of transplanting a donor arm on Bill. The operation is a success and Bill can slowly pick up his career and family life again, until suddenly the donor arm begins to develop a sinister behavior on its own. Bill discovers he got the arm from an executed serial killer and fears that he inherited his murderous tendencies with it. Nobody believes Bill, not even the other patients who received donor parts from the same serial killer, at least not under some murders occur. The first half hour is talkative; the middle section is mainly tense and mysterious (with as a highlight a unique and adrenalin-rushing car chase) and the climax is grotesque and gory with a few very delirious twists. Eric Red's direction is surefooted enough and, although Jeff Fahey definitely isn't bad in the lead role, the show is obviously stolen by an overacting Brad Dourif. 90's B-movie queen Kim Delaney is underused as Fahey's devoted wife. Masterful score by Loek Dikker.
Review of Body Parts
