Fatal Pulse

My review was written in March 1988 after watching the movie on Celebrity video cassette.

"Fatal Pulse" is a direct-to-video slasher film that is a throwback to the days before women protested against the genre. Pretty sorority girls are killed in bloody fashion and the campus killer's identity is very predictable.

Murders are tied to a locale, a fraternity house owned by Joe Phelan (a dead ringer for his real-life brother Martin Sheen). Hero Ken Roberts ridiculously uses his girlfriend Michelle McCormick as bait to flush out the killer. Ineffectual cop on the case is played by porn star Herschel Savage, here credited as Harvey Cowen.

Softcore sex tease alternates with spilling of blood, while the windup, that the killer was suffering from a fatal illness and used hallucinogens (that turned him into a maniac) to combat it, comes off as silly. For the umpteenth time, a false ending is tacked on. Acting is way below average.

Someone is killing nubile sorority girls. At first suspicion falls on the creepy live-in landlord of the sorority house (how many college sorority houses have creepy GUYS living in them--and how can I get a job like that?). Then everyone begins to suspect the boyfriend of the heroine, who was with one of the girl's right before she was killed. The final revelation is pretty ridiculous and veers into the realm of science fiction.

This film is preposterous. The dialogue is ludicrous. The acting is abysmal. The murders are laughable. The only remarkable thing about is the way it manages to aggressively undress all the female cast-members (except the lead, who, of course, is by far the best looking). The female victims are even all naked or topless WHEN they are murdered (except for one girl who has just changed her shirt a few minutes earlier, but is technically dressed at the time). When I first saw this in the early 90's I found it pretty sleazy and offensive, but after watching a lot Italian sleaze and Eurotrash films in recent years, I think I've become to desensitized to stuff like this, and was mainly impressed with the fact that only one of the girls here has obviously fake silicone breasts.

This is one slasher movie that could genuinely be labeled "misogynist" though, and not just because of the gratuitous female nudity. Some of the murder scenes are kind of prolonged. One girl is electrocuted--topless, of course--for several boob-bouncing minutes. Another is tied up and smothered with plaster, which the killer takes time to smear all over her bare breasts for some reason before plastering her face. What really bothered me though was not what the killer did to the females, but what he failed to do to do to two insufferably annoying male characters: "Brad", a New Jersey-accented "punk" tough guy played by an actor who left no scenery unchewed whenever he was on screen, and "Captain Marvin" a dimwitted guy who dresses as a superhero and watches re-runs of "Green Acres" and "Petticoat Junction" (remember these are supposed to be COLLEGE students). I really have to wonder about a movie that strips, murders, and sometimes mildly tortures numerous anonymous bimbos (some of whom never even appear in the film before their death scene), but yet fails to put these two male cretins out of everyone's misery.

I've seen plenty of stupid and utterly worthless slasher flicks,but "Fatal Pulse" manages to be the worst of them all(still I need to see "Blood Lake" and "The Last Slumber Party").It's extremely routine and offers zero surprises.The plot is simple:a black-gloved killer is knocking off sorority sisters...The acting is awful,the gore is non-existent and the killings are lame(the victims are strangled,electrocuted,etc.)However one killing totally cracked me up:unlucky sorority girl has her throat slashed with a record.There is also plenty of nudity to satisfy some teenagers.Avoid this crap like the plague.3 out of 10.Give it a look only if you are a masochist or a rabid collector of low-budget slasher movies.

A late 80's slasher with a depraved psycho who seems fixated on the women of one particular sorority house.

Mainly remembered for the infamous kill via record, this one has never had a good reputation. No doubt, there's some stupid stuff here. For starters, the sorority bimbos are dumb enough to keep staying in the same house despite the fact that they're obviously in danger. Joe Estevez has a ridiculous role as the resident red herring, a Vietnam vet who owns the house and enjoys spying on the girls as they undress. He also has one of the more amusing flashback scenes you're likely to witness. The main character is a bland douchebag who whines for the majority of the film. His rival looks like someone who stepped out of the 50's. The cops are idiots who don't even appear to be paying much attention to the investigation.

With all that said, "Fatal Pulse" is fun to watch if you're a lover of cheese. This is a bad movie, no doubt, but I had a good time with it. Certainly more so than I did with overrated slasher trash like "Halloween II" or "Prom Night". There's an ample amount of nudity on display, too. For no apparent reason, the killer strips the women before each murder. The explanation behind the killings is certainly different, though the identity of the culprit comes as no surprise.

Oh, and no review would be complete without mentioning the lead's obnoxious friend who acts like a complete moron and is even accompanied by his own signature sound effect whenever he enters a scene. At one point, he dresses up like a superhero to fend off a mob. Yep, this is a weird one.

I won't go much into this film, as I have seen it a couple of times and do like it. It's not half bad. If you've seen Splatter University, and remember it, you'll make out the killer here. Someone is setting up a privileged college student, grounded sort, a brain, with good all American locks and a recently hot, but now dead girlfriend, a victim in a new chain of others, being slashed on campus. Of course we've seen this same type of scenario and atmosphere many times before, but Fatal Pulse, is somewhat entertaining, due to some of the out there characters, one of which, Alex's roommate, who refuses to grow up, caught in the dope and pot smoking, layabout world, who loves cursing, and Green Acres, which to me caused oddity, but he was a hoot, and sort of brightened up the slightly dull and blunt flick. The other oddity was the appearance of Jeff's best buddy with the punk haircut and nose piercing, where led me to really question, how these could of been friends, and he is quick to accuse Alex of being the murderous hand. Joe Estevez, playing a gardener of childhood mentality I liked too, may'be if a tad hammy. They are what breath life into this flick, and honestly, Fatal Pulse is not a half bad flick to wile away the time, and does work quite good as a thriller. It was one of those late 80'S that much faded out into obscurity, if only able to rent at a few video shops. If you see it, it does warrant a view, or really you can go home, just call it a night.