The Jigsaw Murders (1989)
** (out of 4)
Detective DaVonzo (Chad Everett) is years past his prime and is suffering from an alcohol problem but he's put on the case of a woman whose body parts are being discovered throughout the city. He and his partner begin to investigate the case and it doesn't take long for them to zoom in on a local photographer.
THE JIGSAW MURDERS is one of those thrillers that probably got a limited theatrical release but the majority of the people saw it on video or perhaps late night cable. I say that because the film is pretty much a low-budget thriller that follows all the rules in the book in regards to how films like this play out. You've got the drunk cop. You've got him on his last case. There's a young partner. The cop's daughter just happens to be in the business that the killer is stalking.
In fact, I'd argue that a lot of this film seems to have been influenced by 10 TO MIDNIGHT but sadly this isn't nearly as great. The biggest problem with this movie is that it really doesn't try to do anything fresh or original and we're pretty much left with a film that doesn't have any thrills and in most ways is pretty forgettable. It's really too bad that there wasn't something more going on here but the film remains mildly entertaining if you've got nothing better to do.
I will say that I enjoyed the performance by Everett and thought he at least kept the film moving. Michelle Johnson plays the daughter and is at least easy to look at. Michael Sabatino and Yaphet Kotto are also good. With that being said, people really don't watch these types of movies for their performances. The film lacks any violence, there are only a couple death scenes and there's nothing sleazy either. THE JIGSAW MURDERS is a mild entertainment but that's it.
