I saw Impulse in the theater. It's a juicy little thriller with enough tension and suspense that builds up quite satisfyingly. Jennifer (Meg Tilly), after her mother's abrupt suicide attempt, rushes to her hometown with her Residential physician boyfriend, Stuart (Tim Matheson). This town has been besieged by toxic waste lurking beneath the soil after an earthquake has disrupted the seals of the chemical silos. What we are in for is a nicely built-up thriller filled with erotic suspense, violence and government malfeasance. I liked this movie, because it's short and doesn't waste time. I was never a big Tim Matheson fan, but this is his movie and his chemistry with Meg Tilly works well. Meg Tilly is one of the few actresses I always loved watching no matter what she's in. She's often coy, aloof and appears cold. But in this role and in this movie, it works to her advantage. She has just the right amount of beauty and youthful looks to draw my attention. She is not too glamorous. Her beauty is simple and endearing. She looks innocent but is capable of defending herself with ferocity due to her inner wisdom and intelligence. She's able to convey so much emotion without even uttering a word. She is an actress of effective subtlety.
There is a series of plot developments that happen due to the toxic waste being transferred through the dairy supply. Those who ingest it will lose humanly inhibitions and resort to their primordial and darker instincts. The theme is a dark one for that it considers the abandonment of inhibitions as one that will carry malevolent human urges rather than positive and nurturing ones: Lust, anger, violence and bad intentions. There is a particularly shocking scene where Stuart slugs Jennifer's brother against the wall, killing him outright, after witnessing him stashing dirty pictures of his sister. There are some pretty intense moments that are played out convincingly like this. Impulse is not a big budget movie, nor does it need to be. At 90 minutes it goes by swiftly and will keep you enthralled.
There is a series of plot developments that happen due to the toxic waste being transferred through the dairy supply. Those who ingest it will lose humanly inhibitions and resort to their primordial and darker instincts. The theme is a dark one for that it considers the abandonment of inhibitions as one that will carry malevolent human urges rather than positive and nurturing ones: Lust, anger, violence and bad intentions. There is a particularly shocking scene where Stuart slugs Jennifer's brother against the wall, killing him outright, after witnessing him stashing dirty pictures of his sister. There are some pretty intense moments that are played out convincingly like this. Impulse is not a big budget movie, nor does it need to be. At 90 minutes it goes by swiftly and will keep you enthralled.