Verdict
Summary
I wanted to like it more because the plot is interesting, and Pacula and Arana are both pretty solid in the film, but fans of slashers will be perplexed by some of the choices Bava made. Still, overall I would give this a passing grade for its mystery and its attempt to keep the genre alive.
Plot:
A killer is leaving pieces of his victims for a woman to find.
Review:
Tracy (Joanna Pacula) is dealing with a lot: About a year ago, she lost both her brother and her husband Abe, and she’s been living a quiet life with her dog, just trying to grieve in peace. When a killer (played by Francois Montagut) begins a series of brutal killings, Tracy is blindsided when the killer begins leaving her “souvenirs” of each killing … a body part from each one, left somewhere in or around her home. A detective (played by Tomas Arana) is pressured to find the killer quickly because of the media attention surrounding the case, but things get complicated when the motive begins to be revealed: Each victim was a recipient of an organ … from Tracy’s dead husband. With no clues as to whom the killer is, the detective must dig into Tracy’s husband’s past, which means uncovering a wild twist in the case that will stun everyone … including Tracy.
From Italian horror maestro Lamberto Bava, Body Puzzle is a twisty giallo that works in the plot department, but not so much in the department of the makeup effects, which is truly bizarre because the movie does have a certain amount of brutality and shock. The weird aspect of the movie is that there are moments that should be incredibly bloody and gory but instead have absolutely no gore or blood at all (there’s a swimming pool scene where a guy gets gutted while swimming, but there’s zero blood, for example), and the inconsistency of this element makes this movie a strange watch. I wanted to like it more because the plot is interesting, and Pacula and Arana are both pretty solid in the film, but fans of slashers will be perplexed by some of the choices Bava made. Still, overall I would give this a passing grade for its mystery and its attempt to keep the genre alive.
Raro Video presents Body Puzzle on Blu-ray in high definition, and the movie’s presentation is perfectly satisfactory. Special features include an audio commentary by two film historians, plus two audio options (English and Italian), plus the trailer.
