Spare Parts has an interesting premise but never quite works with skin-level character development and a thin plot and even thinner antagonists.
Spare Parts
(2020)
Genre(s): Horror
RLJ Entertainment| NR – 91 min. – $34.98 | June 1, 2021
Date Published: 06/14/2021 | Author: The Movieman
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RLJ Films provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 2¼/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: In a godforsaken bar in the middle of nowhere, an all-girl band – Ms. 45 (MICHELLE ARGYRIS, EMILY ALATALO, KIRIANA STANTON, CHELSEA MUIRHEAD) – rips the stage apart with their punk spirit. But their performance impresses an enthusiastic fan who lures the girls into a trap, sedates them, and starts… customizing them. Slowly they begin to gain consciousness and, in total shock, realize their arms have all been replaced with axes and chainsaws to fight gladiator-style in a junkyard arena owned by a sadistic “emperor” (JULIAN RICHINGS), forcing them into the battle of their lives with one prize in mind – their freedom. Quick Hit Review: I get what the filmmakers were going for with Spare Parts, a Grindhouse-esque horror-thriller and on the surface, and based on the fun poster artwork, it had the ingredients. First, there’s nothing terribly noteworthy about the production design. I understand with these low budget films, you take what you can and in this case, they found a junkyard in the middle-of-nowhere (as it turns out, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, population ~160k) and some hole-in-the-wall bar to shoot the opening. However, there’s no real style, no grime or any texture. Hell, they couldn’t even bother set this in some dystopian future. In addition, the “villains”, a religious cult of some sort with a vague reason for these battles, that being to spill blood onto the dirt or some nonsense. I would give these parts a pass if the actual battles, or these girls’ opponents were very memorable, but they weren’t. Plus, the ladies themselves don’t make much of an impact and any attempt at emotions felt empty and vapid, not entirely sure that’s on the director or the actresses. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3/5 |
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This release comes with a reflective and embossed slip cover. Audio Commentary by Director Andrew Thomas Hunt & Actresses Michelle Argris and Emily Alatalo Interview with the Cast (11:31) — Cast members Michelle Argyris, Emily Alatalo and Jason Rouse discuss the project in a very light-hearted and fun manner. Behind the Scenes (12:06) — Fly-on-the-wall footage for the gore effects at the Butcher Shop FX Studio. Spare Parts: In the Shop (5:05) — More footage from the Butcher Shop FX Studio, this mostly on the prosthetics and make-up. CineFest Sudbury Q&A (16:03) is a Zoom session with Director Andrew Thomas Hunt and Actress Emily Alatalo. Fight Training Videos (12:07) is a look at the fight choreography. Behind-the-Scenes Photo Gallery |
VIDEO – 3¾/5 |
| RLJ releases Spare Parts onto Blu-ray presented with a 2.35 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 1080p high-definition transfer. This isn’t the best looking HD picture I’ve come across as a fair portion is dark and detail is moderate at best. There are some flashes of color that gives this some life. |
AUDIO – 3½/5 |
| The included DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is a bit underwhelming. Dialogue levels were fine but the more action-heavy sequences, primarily the fights, were pretty soft and the rear channels only mildly registered and not a whole lot going on with the LFE channel, so depth is a bit iffy. |
OVERALL – 2½/5 |
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Overall, Spare Parts has an interesting premise but never quite works with skin-level character development and a thin plot and even thinner antagonists. Not sure this is worthy of a rental but there are worse ways to spend 90-minutes. |