I guess you could say that this 1989 crime/mystery/thriller may have been okay when it was first released but having just watched it some 28 years later the film looks pretty tired and the story line is awful thin.

Middle aged and divorced Detective Sergeant Joe DaVonzo played by Chad Everett who is the former TV star of the seven (7) year running drama show "Medical Center" was not exactly as appealing as lets say Clint Eastwood's performance as Detective Harry Callahan and I guess that is why there was no sequel to The Jigsaw Murders.

We observe that the middle aged and divorced Detective Sergeant Joe DaVonzo has a drinking problem and he also is an estranged father to a 20 something rebellious daughter named Kathy DaVonzo played by the attractive Michelle Johnson who may just happen to be an intended next target of the serial killer Detective Sergeant Joe DaVonzo is searching for if she does not start listening to her "drunken daddy" as Kathy describes her detective daddy's social position.

Of course Detective Sergeant Joe DaVonzo has a reliable partner and a good friend named Detective Elliot Greenfield played by Michael Sabatino who I thought would have been entrusted with a bigger role in the film but I guess the film's producer and director preferred to frame their picture around their TV star Chad Everett, and not necessarily allow Michael Sabatino to play Robin to Chad Everett's (somewhat drunken) Batman-like character.

All in all this film was an okay time waster but do not expect any surprises throughout the film and especially I for one did not consider The Jigsaw Murders to be in the film genre of a thriller.

I give it a 6 out of 10 rating for at least giving the story line a best effort attempt, but the film quality was dated and the actors themselves including a few cameo appearances by Yaphet Kotto as the quirky coroner Doctor Fillmore could not raise the film's bar for me any higher than a 6 out of 10 rating.

Cop thriller The Jigsaw Murders follows Los Angeles Detective Sergeant Joe DaVonzo (Chad Everett) and Detective Elliot Greenfield (Michael Sabatino) as they try to bring to justice psycho photographer Ace Mosley (Eli Rich), who is teasing the police by leaving severed limbs all over the city. Greenfield is trying to wrap up the case before his impending nuptials, while DaVonzo is ***cliché alert!** struggling with alcoholism and a troublesome daughter (Michelle Johnson) whose career as an erotic model makes her a potential victim of the killer.

Director Jag Mundhra's previous film, Hack-o-Lantern, was a technically shoddy affair, but entertaining nonetheless; The Jigsaw Murders, on the other hand, is a touch more professional, but actually proves a lot less enjoyable. It's banal, unexciting, tedious, and trite, with unmemorable performances from all involved (even Yaphet Kotto as quirky coroner Doctor Fillmore fails to impress). Those looking for graphic violence will be disappointed by the film's few unconvincing body parts, while those hoping for a smattering of sleaze will find the T&A most unsatisfying, with buxom babe Johnson only going so far as to wear a skimpy swimsuit and a leotard (those who want to see more of the actress should watch Blame It On Rio, in which she bares everything).

4.5/10, rounded down to 4 for Rich's dreadful performance as Mosley.

Just an average low budget crime film set in L. A. The cops are on the trail of a serial killer who makes a point of targeting young fashion models. The chief detective on the case has a daughter in the industry who might just be the next target so the case has a personal angle for him. It plays out familiarly enough for the most part, focused perhaps on nudity and titillation over the suspense it should be generating instead, but it does the job and the ending is mildly diverting.