DVD Of The Week: Going To Pieces (2007)

If only this documentary had come out ten years ago, when I was working on my university dissertation about horror films (the infamously titled 'Is That A Chainsaw In Your Pocket ... or Are You Just Pleased To See Me?', which has gained a new lease of life since Paul mentioned it in his classic Best Man speech at our wedding last month). I might have got a first, rather than a two-one!

Going To Pieces is a gore-packed, thrill ride through the history of the slasher flick, looking at the three main waves of films that we have so far been "treated" to: namely the original slashers that came after Psycho and really started with Halloween and Friday The 13th; then the next wave which began with Nightmare of Elm Street; and finally the bigger budget, slicker horrors that followed the success of Silence of The Lambs and then Scream.

This is basically a progression from indestructible men in masks to inescapable supernatural terrors to post-modern movie vehicles for pretty TV stars looking to break into 'real movies'.

It isn't a comprehensive study; the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre is conspicuous by its absence, as is director Tobe Hopper in the line-up of luminaries who appear on screen to pontificate about horror and this particular sub-genre.

However, the documentary makers have still interviewed a wide spectrum of writers, directors and effects specialists - including the ever-interesting Tom Savini (talking about his days as a Vietnam war photographer), Wes Craven, John Carpenter and the surprisingly erudite and humble Rob Zombie (I still don't rate his films too highly, but he seems like a really sound chap).

The 88-minute documantary touches on some of the basic tropes of the slasher film, in particular "the final girl" (a core element of my dissertation) and the counter-point of sexual promiscuity and violent death, as well as the financial bounties generated by the genre, the increasing sophistication of the audience and the ludicrously OTT reactions of some critics and parental groups (to films they shouldn't have been allowing their kids to watch in the first place!)