‘The transplant was a success. Then the donor came to take it back.’
Body Parts is a 1991 American horror thriller film directed by Eric Red (scripter of The Hitcher; Near Dark; director of 100 Feet and Bad Moon) from a screenplay co-written with Norman Snider (Dead Ringers). It was adapted from a 1965 novel, Choice Cuts, by French authors Thomas Narcejac and Pierre Boileau. The Paramount film was produced by Frank Mancuso Jr. (sequels to Friday the 13th; Species films).
Main cast:
Jeff Fahey (Atomic Shark; Beneath; Psycho III), Lindsay Duncan (Frankenstein, 2007), Kim Delaney (Nightmares & Dreamscapes; The Devil’s Child; Hunter’s Blood) Brad Dourif (Chucky series; Malignant; Spontaneous Combustion) and Zakes Mokae (Vampire in Brooklyn); Dust Devil; The Serpent and the Rainbow).
Opening plot:
Bill Chrushank (Jeff Fahey) is a psychologist working with convicted killers at a prison in addition to teaching classes at a university. Ray, a convict who murdered his cellmate recently, tells Bill he can’t do anything to “fix” him. At home, Bill wonders to his wife (Kim Delaney) if this is true.
The next day, while driving to work, Bill gets in a horrific car accident where he loses his arm. At the hospital, Dr. Agatha Webb (Lindsay Duncan) convinces Bill’s wife to sign off on an experimental transplant surgery to give him a new arm from a donor they have waiting. Heavily drugged, Bill is wheeled into the operating room where he groggily notes several armed cops in hospital scrubs. The cops leave as soon as Dr. Webb removes the unknown donor’s head from his body at a nearby operating table. Bill awakens from the surgery and struggles to rehabilitate his new arm, which is covered in gruesome scars.
After some initial awkwardness between his wife with the new arm, he pleasures her with it and they make love. Just when it seems things are back to normal, Bill starts seeing flashes of horrible acts of murder (as if he is committing them). Next, he loses control of his new arm and cuts his face while shaving…
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Reviews:
“From the eerie, overly dramatic score to the beautifully executed over-the-top action sequences to the gruesome gore, Body Parts is a horror film that never lets its ambition get in the way of enjoyment, leaving you with a film that’s pure entertainment and thrills. Sure, there are subtle themes about inherent evil and more than a few Frankenstein references, but in the end, this is a film that presents a beautifully executed high-concept.” Peter Shirey, JoBlo
“What could have been a reasonably interesting thriller literally goes to pieces in last third, until the brain seems the most salient part missing … the narrative hurriedly kicks into a slasher mode, replete with car chases, dismemberment and unintentional, if rather vulgar, hilarity.” Variety
“The direction has an edgy authority, and there’s one terrifying scene where the psychologist, who gets himself fingerprinted in order to discover where his limb originated, stares in horror as the police rap sheet prints out a nauseating litany of murders. But the movie is too cold and clammy and humorless.” Peter Rainer, Los Angeles Times
“Eric Red honours the story’s heritage while updating it and adding all the ingredients befitting a horror or an action movie of the time …The only misstep is an absolutely ridiculous car chase where two people are handcuffed together while sitting in different cars!” Mark Hodgson, Black Hole Reviews
“Director Eric Red, screenwriter of The Hitcher, gives a grungy new spin to a familiar genre theme in this tacky but vigorous mad doctor movie.” Time Out London
” …one helluva thriller … Give an arm and leg to see this one.” John Stanley, Creature Features
Cast and characters:
- Jeff Fahey as Bill Chrushank
- Brad Dourif as Remo Lacey
- Kim Delaney as Karen Chrushank
- Zakes Mokae as Detective Sawchuck
- Lindsay Duncan as Dr. Agatha Webb
- Paul Ben-Victor as Ray Kolberg
- Peter Murnik as Mark Draper
- John Walsh as Charley Fletcher
- Nathaniel Moreau as Bill Jr.
- Peter MacNeill as Drunk
- Arlene Duncan as Nurse
- Hal Eisen as TV Reporter
- Lindsay G. Merrithew as Roger
- Andy Humphrey as Ricky
- Sarah Campbell as Samantha
- James Kidnie as Detective Jackson
