Rest in Pieces

Back in the 70's José Ramón Larraz was the director of some highly acclaimed exploitation masterpieces like "Vampyres", "Symptons" and "The Coming of Sin", but the respect and acknowledgment he obtained over the years abruptly came to an end during the 80's, when his name got linked to reputedly cheesy and insignificant film such as "Edge of the Axe" and this "Rest in Pieces". It's quite a shame Larraz' career died such a quiet death, especially because those two last movies are actually much underrated. "Edge of the Axe" was a grim slasher with a nasty shock ending and particularly this "Rest in Pieces" is an astonishingly pleasant surprise. Admittedly the title sounds silly (albeit enticing) and the still images on the back of the old VHS cover look extremely cheesy (and very 80's), but it's a truly imaginatively scripted movie with a constant macabre atmosphere, unexpected twists, creepy characters and countless of genuinely uncanny jump moments. Add to all that some awesomely gory massacres, gratuitous nudity and a wondrous sense of black humor, and you've got yourself an authentic horror gem of which I can't possibly comprehend why it's so scandalously unappreciated. Being the sole inheritors of a wealthy aunt who committed suicide live on video, a greedy young couple moves into her estate called "Eight Manors" and promptly begin to search for the hidden family fortune. There are, however, six more and highly suspicious behaving tenants on the estate are working against them. It doesn't take too long until Helen begins to spot the eerie images of her nastily grinning aunt everywhere around the estate and she slowly goes insane. The script of "Rest in Pieces" obviously doesn't make too much sense and totally lacks coherence, but who cares when there's zombies, ghosts and mad-raving lunatics!?! I realize I'm probably being too generous here, but this is a seriously amusing film and it's about time someone writes something positive about it.

And oh, what a waste of time. Weak plot, unscary 'scary' moments, and very little in the way of gore. The collection of characters was the main thing "Rest in Pieces" had going for it: the blind man, the preacher, the doctor, the slutty maid, and so on. But what exactly was going on here? Are these people the thinking, talking, otherwise normal version of the living dead, similar to the much better (and earlier) film "Dead & Buried"? Why do they slaughter the string quartet? Is the doctor a mad scientist who has brought these people back from the dead, just like the old coroner from "Dead & Buried"? Were we supposed to be frightened or laugh at the repeated appearances of the aunt's ghost? Do the resurrected need hypnotism to 'get adjusted' to their new form of existence, just like they do in "Dead & Buried"? I think I'm starting to see a pattern here. ..

There are more stupid parts – the preacher with his switchblade and the cars in the garage come to mind. In general this movie was just bad. Now that I think about it, the only reason I wanted to see it was the description on the box made it sound a lot like "Dead Alive" (neighbors...undead...kill, kill, kill). I'm sorry I suckered myself into renting this based on that. Don't bother with this one. Watch instead that other horror movie made a few years before this one that was also about people being brought back from the dead to lead almost-normal lives - oh, what was that one called. . .

That's my only contribution to the board of this very strange movie.

"Rest in Pieces" follows a young woman and her husband who move to the Pennsylvania estate she inherits from her eccentric grandmother who recently committed suicide (on camera!). Pretty soon, it becomes clear that things are not quite normal, as her dead aunt's coterie of bizarre neighbors/friends seem to be sticking around the sprawling property, for reasons unknown.

This later entry in Jose Larraz's filmography is not one of his best, but it does have a number of features that, as is the case with many of his films, make it extremely unique. This flick has goofy written all over it, from the oddball bumbling characters, to the abysmal performance by the lead actress, who blurts out some of the most hilarious (and horrible) line deliveries you will ever hear.

While "Rest in Pieces" does not offer much in the way of scares, it more than makes up for it with numerous head-scratching moments, borne of a screenplay that is muddled and largely incoherent. Was the great aunt in a death cult? Are they all ghosts? It's hard telling. That being said, goofiness aside, there are a few truly eerie sequences in which the deceased aunt (played by Dorothy Malone) appears as a ghostly figure to her niece. These moments are quite spooky, and offset some of the film's more ridiculous elements.

All in all, "Rest in Pieces" is a pretty middling film, and probably one of the weakest in Larraz's filmography--I feel that his other films from this era, particularly as "Edge of the Axe" and "Deadly Manor", both have more redeemable qualities than this does. That being said, "Rest in Pieces" has just enough in the way of absurdity to appeal to '80s schlock fans who are looking for a brainless 90-minute romp. 5/10.

A woman inherits an estate from her dead aunt who orchestrates her suicide via video tape and, immediately after moving in, she and her husband experience strange haunting-esque activity and odd stalkers.

What Rest in Pieces has going for it is a fairly unpredictable script that just so happens to be told in a pedestrian and unexciting way. It also doesn't help that the leading lady doesn't provide much in the way of excitement or rational human responses throughout. Her line readings sound like they were dubbed by a robot, but the script's oddly paced twists and turns still take the viewer by surprise occasionally and the random bursts of violence and gore do shock after the mostly restrained and by the numbers first half hour.