Impulse

I wasn't expecting much from this when it came on TV and was half-watching while doing computer stuff but it pretty soon drew me in. The characters and their interactions were much more realistic than I expected and the acting was really good. Last night I watched World War Z a big budget 'zombie' film from 2013 starring Brad Pitt and it was really poor - Impulse is a far more mature and involving treatment of a broadly similar theme.

The idea of a town going slowly mad is not an original one, but it's cleverly handled in this disturbing little film, which eschews gruesome horror in favour of an accumulation of telling detail. Well worth viewing.

OK, first of all, ignore the last person' review. They admit to falling asleep through it so it's no wonder they didn't understand what was going on!!! As thriller/horrors go, this film ain't too bad, it is certainly very watchable. Right from the opening scenes you get a general idea exactly what is going to be the cause of all the craziness that follows, and come the end you are proved right with everything being made clear.

I enjoyed this movie, it was quite eerie at times and as old films go it was passable. Great to watch late at night! I give it a generous 7 out of 10.

Part of me doesn't know how to rate this, because I saw it years and years ago, but it's one of those films which left a vivid impression on me. "Impulse" is the story of a town who due to an unknown chemical in the milk supply(the townspeople never know) begin to lose all impulse control.

What follows are increasingly disturbing scenes, which flow into each other, blankly, as a sheriff opens fire on young delinquents, a mother watches nonchalantly as her children light one of her friends on fire, doctors turn off life support, and sexual laws and norms completely breakdown. It's a bleak film, where impulses like curiosity, the desire to save others, are spare, and sex and violence all but absolute by the films apocalyptic end, involving a government cleansing with a crop duster. One of those odd sci-fi films you watch late at night and confuse for a dream till see the box in the video one day. Be interesting to take a second look.

This is a kind of a mixed review. First, I'll get to the stuff that I liked about "Impulse". The movie doesn't try to do too much right away, instead attempting to slowly build a sense of terror. The protagonists are less stupid than what you usually get in a movie like this, figuring that something is wrong fairly early on. The actions of the sick townspeople are believable and creepy. And some of the photography is really good, giving the viewer some striking images.

Now, the bad stuff. The movie is ultimately TOO slow for its own good. If things were speeded up a little bit, the movie would have had an acceptable pace. While some of the photography is good, much of the movie has a flat made-for-TV feel (not surprising, since this was made by the ABC television network.) The revelation of what's causing the mayhem is not done by detective work, but more feels like the screenwriters were getting near the end and felt they had to reveal it right there and then. The ending is also unsatisfying, leaving several big questions unanswered.