Spare Parts

In yet another case of 'great idea, shame about the execution' this drama/thriller about secret organ dealers kidnapping unsuspecting people to harvest their body parts might've been much better with a more cohesive plot, much less filler (like, for instance, a five minute run through New York for some reason) and well-developed characters.

Oh, and the dubbing is TERRIBLE. Sheesh. 4/10

I saw this for the first time recently n got pleasantly surprised.

It is a good thriller marred by its length.

It has some flaws but since its a low budget made for tv stuff, certain things can b ignored.

The scene where the lead actress runs here n there, boards a train n then stares at the hospital n sits in a corner was uncalled for.

It cud have been a good road trip thriller but the pacing killed it.

Nevertheless, it has a lil bit of suspense n the characters are believable.

The lead actress Jutta Speidel looks like a cross between Sissy Spacek n Aj Applegate.

Her nudity is one of the best part.

This movie is centered on Roswell, New Mexico. Most folks know about Roswell including some folks in Germany.

A married couple make their way to Roswell for a honeymoon. The wife is a bit wiser than her husband and finds a dry creek waterway to elude capture.

Abductions is what this 1979 movie is about. Abductions and Roswell! The German actors speak in good American accents excepting the female who plays a foreigner.

She flags down a trucker who quickly fears her because of her wacky news yet she does the convincing!

From Roswell this movie goes to New York City where the foreigner continues her mistrust of people claiming to be the law.

If you have a DVD of this movie and use your computer to play it, you might encounter freezes and skips. That could be because this movie is a foreign movie.

To try and correct the play problem, right click on start then click device manager. Click DVD/CD-ROM drives.

A box will appear with tabs. Click DVD region. A list of nation's follow. You'll want to click Germany. If that doesn't correct the problem, it means you'll have to play the DVD on a DVR or DVD player. This movie is a German movie. Remember that Roswell is at issue! They give you hints at what might be going in there!

I was drawn to watch this movie in part because it was a foreign production filmed and set in America, and that promised that the movie would have a unique angle. The portrayal of America is surprisingly balanced - there is a deep and deadly conspiracy in the story, but the movie does give us plenty of innocent and helpful American characters at the same time. Unfortunately, this interesting balance is about the only good thing I can say about the movie. Certainly I can't blame the filmmakers for the atrocious dubbing, but they are guilty of other things. At 105 minutes, the movie is way too long (and slow) for its own good. Along this tedious journey are some real unbelievable plot elements like the fact the protagonists don't consider contacting the police until very late into the story. The movie is also directed with no sense of style, with no tension or any great feelings coming from the movie at any moment - it always feel flat. It's capped off with one of the worst opening/closing credits songs I have ever heard in a motion picture. There is the occasional hint of a decent (though not original) thriller here, but as a whole it simply does not work.

Drive-in 50-pack is where I got this film, under the name "Spare Parts". I didn't think I would like it but the movie actually pulled me in - got me interested fairly fast and held it to the end of the film - I was surprised.

It's a weird film! A couple gets married, goes on honeymoon, stays at the honeymoon motel, here comes the ambulance then complete strangeness of the film begins. The more of the film you watch, the stranger it gets.

The movie will have you asking questions: Why didn't she go to the police right from the start? Why did truck driver Bill help her (he never answered her nor the viewer's question)? Why did the truck drivers help her? When the police did get involved, why didn't she tell them there ARE other witnesses - the truck drivers? What happened to the ambulance drivers at the end of the film - were they caught?

Dr.Jackson is creepy - even when she decides to turn herself into the police and helps the girl she's just plain creepy!

This is not a great film but it is an interesting one. It takes some twists and turns that are unexpected - it's not a slasher film like I thought it was going to be. It's not perfect - it's got it's flaws - but it is worth watching for a 1970s made for TV horror-thriller.

6/10