Stylish but barely mediocre overall

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

A masterpiece from the opening scene; this film is both a hilarious parody of "buddy cop" films (LETHAL WEAPON, 48 HOURS, BAD BOYS, etc.) and a superior precursor of the present lame & un-funny comedy-horror films of the SCARY MOVIE ilk.Beverly Penberthy steals the film as Sweeney the cop's wife, Erma Birdwell. Erma, despite her aerobic fitness, is a cigarette smoker who worries that her husband is no longer attracted to her. Attempts to stop smoking haven't worked. Her travails finally lead to an appearance by an avatar of the Egyptian God of the Dead. "The f--k it isn't, I know Anubis when I see It!"Also wonderful is MISTER ROGERS NEIGHBORHOOD veteran Don Brockett as the raving homicidal Police Chief. And Veronica Hart, as Grace, continues to be one of the few "actresses" from porn films who can actually do a passable job acting.

Strange movie, part slasher, part parody, part detective story. The idea of mad killer murdering people and keeping bloody souvenirs in order to satisfy bloodlust of ancient Egyptian god is somewhat reminiscent of H.G.Lewis' Blood Feast (of course, Fuad Ramses didn't use power tools). The director borrowed a few ideas from various horror movies and tried to create crazy combination of black humor and thrills, but it is obvious that he wasn't too familiar with the genre. Mr. Tschetter mentions The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or films by H.G.Lewis as the main inspirations for Picking Up The Pieces in the commentary track of Bloodsucking Pharaohs DVD. He also talks about being shocked when he first watched The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and when he found out that such movies as Herschell's gore epics really existed. Picking Up The Pieces is a horror comedy as directed by an artist usually involved in producing Shakespearian theater plays.It is professionally shot and occasionally amusing but most jokes don't work. Blocker and Birdwell- two cops with lots of personal problems trying to catch insane murderer, are quite interesting duo- Blocker throwing up each time he glimpses blood and Birdwell provoking his buddy by mentioning Blocker's embarrassing sexual problem. Some parts of the movie are played out completely serious, other parts that could be taken from Naked Gun or Airplane!, for example the flashback scene explaining Blocker's trauma from the past, don't seem to fit in the film. The violence is quite tame,but the DVD is surprisingly cut by MPAA although killings consist of shots of murderer manipulating with power saw (or some other tool) and shots of splashing blood. Tom Savini provided one rubber corpse with the top of the cranium sawed off and one neat melting scene. During the final showdown between cops and the killer even good old chainsaw makes an appearance. Unfortunately, nobody is hacked to pieces.

Do you like B movies? REALLY like B movies? This is the one for you! If you prefer to watch REAL FILMS, don't bother. I doubt the Academy ever watched this one, and they certainly wouldn't be nominating it for any awards.A twisted comedy/thriller (listed as horror, but thriller seems more appropriate), this flick -- I dare not call it a FILM -- was refreshing, like a spring rain. Think Naked Gun on a low, LOW budget. Serial killer, brutal murders of prostitutes (with the most enticing weapon selections), a cop who vomits at the sight of blood, AND a porn star (Jane Hamilton as dull-witted roller-skating waitress Grace) . . .There's no point in discussing cinematography; I'm guessing film-school camera work and editing. Better than Blair Witch, not as good as Suspiria. Acting is mediocre, but at a level appropriate to the genre.Keep your eyes open for occasional sight gags, and your ears open for the one-liners. Corny sometimes, but again, appropriate to the genre. A few good laughs, some pretty good gore (much more convincing blood than Argento uses), and a fun plot twist.If I've learned one thing from this movie, it is: If you are a prostitute, and your trick brings a generator, run. Fast.

Bloodsucking Pharaohs in Pittsburgh is pretty average for the genre. It had its moments, and with Savini doing the effect, most of the moment are good. While watching the movie, though, I couldn't help but feel that there was a lot cut from this movie. Being that it was released under a big name studio, my feeling is probably right. But if you like movies with Hookers, dismemberment, one-liners, and lots of blood, then you'll like this movie. Just make sure you watch it with friends. (And surprizingly, there was no nudity in this movie.....probably all cut)