★ 6 / 10
**_Shatner as a “puppy dog left in the
Wuchak
**_Shatner as a “puppy dog left in the middle of the road”_** A troubled man in his early 40s (William Shatner) meets a lovely widow in Tampa (Jennifer…
**_Shatner as a “puppy dog left in the middle of the road”_**
A troubled man in his early 40s (William Shatner) meets a lovely widow in Tampa (Jennifer Bishop), but her young daughter becomes increasingly suspicious of him.
Shot in August, 1972, but not released until 1974, “Impulse” is a psychological drama with bits of romance and crime thrills. The murders are along the lines of any Columbo TV movie, but don’t expect a detective investigation. The focus is on the disturbed protagonist (or is it antagonist?) with the filmmaking being subdued, like “Haunts,” which came out a couple of years later. Some would call the storytelling bland or dull while critics might complain about Shatner’s slightly hammy acting here and there. The slasher “Nightmare” from 1981 was obviously influenced by it, but this ain’t no conventional slasher.
Despite the somewhat glum proceedings, the early 70’s milieu is entertaining with colorful outfits akin to The Brady Bunch. Meanwhile the flick scores well on the feminine front with winsome Jennifer Bishop as Ann, Marcy Lafferty as the brunette hotel clerk, and a couple of notable peripherals. Marcy and Shatner married the year after shooting and were a couple for over 23 years. You’ll see her in bit parts throughout the 70s/early 80s, including some Shatner productions, like “Kingdom of the Spiders” and “Star Trek: The Motion Picture.”
The movie was filmed in 15 days with Shatner only working 10 of ’em. The notable car wash sequence was done in a single night wherein Asian heavy Harold Sakata (Pete) almost got hanged for real when the supporting rig broke.
Sure, this is a low-budget flick from the 70s but, like “Haunts” and “Nightmare,” it leaves you thinking about people who were psychologically damaged in their youth, which unsurprisingly leads to negative repercussions down the line.
It runs 1 hour, 27 minutes, and was shot in Tampa, Florida.
GRADE: B-
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★ 5 / 10
The Enemy Within
ferbs54
In the past, the two William Shatner movies that I've trotted out to demonstrate what an effective actor he can be are "The Intruder" ('62), in which he plays…
In the past, the two William Shatner movies that I've trotted out to demonstrate what an effective actor he can be are "The Intruder" ('62), in which he plays a white supremacist, and "Incubus" ('66), the only film ever made in Esperanto. Hoping for another Shatner "I" film to add to this arsenal, I threw "Impulse" ('74) into the ol' DVD player, but I'm afraid I've gone to the well once too often, as this picture finds everyone's favorite spacetrucker in full blowhard mode, overemoting with a vengeance and giving full rein to the trademarked "Shatnerian" acting tics. Here, Shat plays Matt Stone, who we first meet as a young boy in the act of killing his mother's lover, a la Norman Bates. Flash forward 30 years, and Matt has grown into a handsome, smooth-talking con artist with an unfortunate tendency to murder his lady friends in a frothing rage. In this film, a mature but still attractive Ruth Roman, as well as a mother-and-daughter household, come into Matt's/Shat's sphere of influence. In the picture's action highlight, an old acquaintance of Stone's, played by a pipe-smoking, badly dubbed Harold "Oddjob" Sakata, has a mano a mano with our seedy psycho inside a deserted car wash. I know this all sounds pretty cool to read about, but trust me, the film is often dull and something of a labor to sit through. Only those with a deep and abiding love of Shatner in full "E Plebnista" histrionic mode (and indeed, his Matt Stone will often remind many of the evil Capt. Kirk from the old "Enemy Within" episode, right down to the scratches on his face!) should sign on here. I must admit that Bill is always fun to watch, even when sporting some truly awful '70s fashions, as he does here (dig that red trousers and tank top combo!), at the same time owning that this film is a hopelessly muddled affair. I'm giving it 5 stars because Shatner is so fascinating for me to look at when he overdoes it, but those with zero tolerance for his thesping charms will have a tough time here. To quote one of his old commercials, "Promise."
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★ 5 / 10
JohnSeal
Impulse is neither as bad nor as cheesy as other reviewers believe it to be. It's true that William Shatner wears some of the ugliest clothing of all time, but…
Impulse is neither as bad nor as cheesy as other reviewers believe it to be. It's true that William Shatner wears some of the ugliest clothing of all time, but it's also true that his acting is--wait for it--actually pretty good, and not particularly over-the-top. The development of his character's psychosis is well presented in the black and white pre-credits sequence (which features H.G. Lewis regular William Kerwin), and nicely (if obviously) echoed during the film's conclusion. Shatner manages to convey his own fear and disgust with himself even while he continues to kill. The rest of the cast--including Ruth Roman--don't embarrass themselves either.
What faults the film does have are primarily the responsibility of low budget Florida director William Grefe, who consistently fails to display much talent or imagination with poorly established scenes and unimaginative set ups. Lewis Perle's score is naggingly aggressive and lets the film down at every turn. Overall, Impulse is an enjoyable low budget thriller that would be better regarded if people didn't like to obsess about the acting proclivities of a certain Captain James T. Kirk--an actor who has proven, in films ranging from 1961's The Intruder to 1999's Free Enterprise, that he actually can act.
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