Body Parts (1991) d. Eric Red (USA) (88 min)
Bill Chrushank (Jeff Fahey) is a criminal psychologist who loses his arm and nearly his life in a grisly car accident. Dr. Agatha Webb (Lindsay Duncan) proposes an experimental medical procedure, successfully grafting a new limb on its place. Following a strenuous period of rehabilitation, things seem to be back to normal… until Bill’s new arm starts to exhibit a will of its own, striking out against Bill’s wife Karen (Kim Delaney) and children, while Bill begins to experience horrifying dreams of murder and bloodshed. Are these symptoms all in his mind or are they linked to the limb itself, residual traces of its former owner’s troubled life?
Writer/director Red, who had made a name for himself as the writer of The Hitcher (1986) and Near Dark (1987, co-written with Kathryn Bigelow), serves up this adaptation of the novel by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac, itself a riff on The Hands of Orlac (1924), wherein a transplanted body part takes over its new owner’s life. In this case, the arm in question turns out to have been plucked from a homicidal maniac, one who has also contributed his other limbs to other donors: a visual artist (Brad Dourif) has the other arm and a young blue-collar worker (Peter Murnik) has inherited both legs. And wouldn’t you know it, all three are experiencing violent and bizarre visions and behavior.
While the central premise is not entirely original, Red (Bad Moon) and his collaborators dive into the proceedings with gusto, with Fahey (Psycho III), Duncan (The Reflecting Skin), Dourif (Exorcist III), and Delaney (Hunter's Blood) leading the way with their not-quite-over-the-top performances and Raymond Mackintosh’s expert makeup team providing myriad splattery and gooey gross-out effects. Also worthy of note is the stunt team which delivers not only a fantastic sequence with Fahey’s new arm handcuffed to the driver of another car as the two vehicles navigate city streets at high speed, but also the devastating crash that causes the amputation in the first place.
A perfect example of the kind of beer and popcorn flick enjoyed on late-night cable back in the day, Body Parts will never go down in history as an unsung classic, but it definitely goes down easy!
BONUS FEATURES:
NEW Audio commentary with director Eric Red
NEW “I Dare You To Read The Script” with Eric Red (52 min)
NEW “Something Unstoppable” with actor Paul Ben-Victor (14 min)
NEW “Molded for Cinema” with actor Peter Murnik (17 min)
NEW “That One Hurt” with editor Anthony Redman (23 min)
Deleted gore footage (with optional commentary with director Eric Red) (10 min)
Theatrical Trailer
TV Spots
Still Gallery
Body Parts will be available on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory on January 28 and is available for pre-order HERE:
https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/body-parts?product_id=7278
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