Impulse (1974)

Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

A different way of telling a story

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Well, most people would probably go into this film with low expectations; but I was actually hoping for something decent from Impulse, not because of anything suggesting it would be good; but simply because I often enjoy stories of murderers and savvy children; with the likes of The Stepfather, Julie Darling and Michael Winner's masterpiece Scream for Help being good examples of films like this one that I have enjoyed. Impulse certainly had the potential to sit alongside the aforementioned films on a list of enjoyable flicks of this nature; but unfortunately, something just doesn't work and most things about this film are a disappointment. The plot focuses on Matt Stone, a conman who makes a living through seducing lonely women and having them lose all their savings by way of 'investing' in his inheritance scheme. Stone is a broken man, owing to an incident involving his mother and a boyfriend of hers, which we see at the start of the film. Problems start for Stone when the irritating daughter of his latest victim begins to become suspicious of what he's doing with her mother...Impulse stars William Shatner, who, of course, is most famous for his role in the popular series Star Trek. I was never a fan of Star Trek, but I do like Shatner's work on cult films such as Kingdom of the Spiders and, more importantly, The Intruder; which mean he should be well cut out for a role like this. He actually does rather well in the lead role; giving it just the right amount of sleaze to work. The rest of the cast isn't bad either (with one or two exceptions...e.g. Oddjob), but the film falls short on numerous other areas, which masks the decent performance. The film is actually rather boring, which is quite a shock considering the plot and the fact that Shatner gets seen in a range of ridiculous outfits. It's really pretty standard fare; The Stepfather had a lot to set itself apart from just the central plot, whereas this film doesn't have much at all. It all boils down to the sort of conclusion you would expect too, like the rest of the film; there aren't many surprises. This isn't a complete disaster; it has its moments, but I cant really recommend that anyone goes out of their way to find it.

We begin our lurid tale with Shatner's character a preteen, sword-gutting some airhead bruiser that his slutty alcoholic mother brought home...flash to today(the mid-70s), and grown-up Shatner has a wardrobe of the finest wallpaper-prints and polyester leisure wear in history(you can almost SMELL the Aqua-Velva). His "thing" is swindling widowed women out of their savings and "offing" them(and occasionally going bonkers while biting on his pinky-finger). When the young daughter of one victim-to-be witnesses him grooving on his funky psycho-killer scene, a tense cat-and-mouse game begins.The unintentional hilarity of this film has become a thing of lore...and justly so. All that's saving it from absolute indignity is the strong performance from Ruth Roman(who brought professionalism to a few other gonzo sub-B films in her later career, like THE BABY, THE KILLING KIND, and DAY OF THE ANIMALS). Also, the juvenile role of little Tina is fairly well played, but her character is poorly written and occasionally quite irritating. Shatner sails out of orbit in an unforgettable blood-and-thunder performance which could make any Klaus Kinski role look restrained by comparison. This is "must see to believe" cinemania...a minor masterwork of utter disgrace that entertains for(mostly) all the wrong reasons.6/10

I came across a VHS copy of this movie by mistake several years ago, at has become one of my most treasured possessions! As far as I'm concerned, everyone should own a copy of this great film!!! Starring William Shatner as the killer and Ruth Roman of THE BABY(1974, another classic B movie!) as the rich widow this movie has everything going for it. The clothes, the slow-speed car chase through the car wash, the editing, the opening graphics, the still shots of Shatner, the acting from Shatner is so "intense", tears of laughter still stream down my cheeks each time I watch it! (I've seen it at least 50 times, and will watch it at least 100 more times, if I can help it!) I only wish it would be released on DVD!

"Impulse" is a must see for any fan of B moviedom! During a low point in his career, Shatner gives a stellar performance as Matt a psychotic killer. He begins his killing ways as a child when he sees his mother, in their home, being raped by a soldier (played by William Kerwin) and plunges a Samurai sword into him. The film then flashes forward to 1974 Florida where he kills his current lover, then comes into a small town and wins the heart of a widow, but not her disapproving young daughter. The daughter is wise to his motives after she witnesses Shatner kill Harold Sakata in a car wash, but no one will believe her until the bloody climax of the film. Think Shatner's acting was tacky in his Star Trek hey day? He goes over the top in this cheapy thriller. And yes, dig his groovy duds! Everything from polyester zig zag print shirts to striped tank top and white pimp suit complete with hat! Cheesy scenes, dialogue and plot make this drive in delight a movie to seek out. Hard to find, it is slowly making it's way to DVD. This would have made an excellent MST3K episode! Fun for all!