Rest in Pieces

Director - Jose Roman Larraz (Deadly Manor, The National Mummy)

Starring - Scott Thompson Baker (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Wings), Lorin Jean Vail (Arizona Heat, The Love Boat), and Dorothy Malone (Basic Instinct, The Man Who Wouldn't Die)

Release Date - 1987

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Don't close your eyes...the neighbors are restless"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     One of my favorite things about Vinegar Syndrome is how they focus on films that never had real physical releases outside of VHS.  While Evil Dead is on it's 10th re-release some of these other films are damn near impossible to get.  Vinegar Syndrome is a saving grace for a lot of us movie collectors looking for obscure horror and exploitation flicks.  A few months back Vin Syn announced the release of 1987's Rest in Pieces from Jose Roman Larraz who brought the genre Deadly Manor and Edge of the Axe.  I was very curious about this one and couldn't wait to check this one out.

      The film follows a young married couple who receives word that the wife's aunt has recently passed away and left her estate and fortune to them.  The mansion is on a property with several other homes that have tenants in them that don't pay rent.  They had an agreement with her aunt prior to her death.  They find this a bit suspicious but soon other strange things begin to happen and before long they discover who the neighbors really are and what they are doing there.  

      I was really digging the artwork for this one.  The original poster looked fun and put me in mind of when I would rent horror flicks at my local video store.  I also love the new artwork for the film.  I miss when horror movies used these beautiful painted posters.  The movie is a fun watch but I don't see myself revisiting this one anytime soon.  The acting in this one is surpringly well done.  I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the wide array of personalities that the film delivered.  The cast really gets into their characters and delivered some fun, and sometimes cheesy, performances that I really enjoyed.  The story for this one has a lot of things I enjoyed and some I didn't.  Without giving away too much of the story I will say I really enjoyed who the characters were and their backstories once we discover who they were.  I really liked that and how I was not expecting that once it was revealed.  It's definitely not something you see coming.  I also enjoyed the story of the hidden money and the group that kills people.  That was another fun little addition to the story.  However, I was not a fan of the whiny niece who they tried to trick into killing herself.  We have seen so many films where the lead was pushed to the limits of madness and kills herself.  This movie should have never attempted that angle because they did not properly approach it or build upon it.  Honestly, it's just wasted scenes. Finally, the film has plenty of bloody moments but the kills are pretty flat.  The kills makes use of blood but they are pretty unoriginal and stale with minimal practical effects.  I was expecting far more from a film called Rest in Pieces with such amazing artwork.  Overall, Rest in Pieces will not be making anyone's top ten list at the end of the month.  However, it was still a very entertaining watch.  The blu looks great.  The video and audio looks amazing.  This is another superb release from Vin Syn and collectors will want this one for their collections.