Secret Pulsion

I attended my one and only Star Trek convention in Chicago, in 1974. The whole cast was there except William Shatner. Could it have been that he had to fly down to Florida to make Impulse? Might I have done something, even at age 13, to stop him?

This is as funny and terrible as everyone says and more so.

Shatner is often unfairly teased; but in this case, he brought it on himself. Seeming to view the character as infantile, Shatner lumbers through a series of reactions as garish as his wardrobe. Could he have needed the money? Was Bill Grefe just too much fun to hang out with? Grefe claims he talked Shatner into making the film upon a chance Airport meeting.

Surprisingly the rest of the cast is pretty good(!). Ruth Roman acts like She is holding court at an upscale dinner theater. Jennifer Bishop maintains her dignity despite being victimized by Grefe's signature shot; a close up of the rump. Yet it is Kim Nichols as the explosive Tina who walks off with the film.

You cannot die having not seen "Impulse."

I recently attended "Shatfest" hosted by Oakland, CA's Parkway Theater (http://www.picturepubpizza.com/), an annual tribute to William Shatner. It was a freeking riot. The Parkway is set up like a lounge with couches and tables instead of the usual theater setup. They have a kitchen with a full menu, and serve beer and wine. Anyway, while we were waiting for our food to be served, they showed a black-and-white episode of "The Man from UNCLE" that featured both Shatner and Leonard Nimoy a year before they did "Star Trek". Next, they silently ran a segment of a Star Trek episode while belly dancers danced on the stage in front of the screen. The segment they chose featured an "alien" gal dancing in front to Kirk and Mr. Spock, and it blended perfectly with the live show. Surreal!!! Next they had a Shatner trivia quiz awarding prizes that included a picture of Captain Kirk signed by Shatner. This was followed by a video of Shatner performing Elton John's "Rocket Man", a level of "rank" seldom achieved by mere mortals. But the piece-de-resistance was the screening of "Impulse". Now I pride myself as being an aficionado of horrible, rank films, so I can confidently report that this is the BEST horrible, terrible, rank movie I've ever experienced. "Robot Monsters", "CC and Company", "Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell" are A-Card movies compared to this one. The Shatner ham has never glistened and dripped like this before or since. Adding to the fun is Harold Sakata ("Odd Job" from "Goldfinger") playing an itinerant karate instructor looking for a big score. The entire audience was in continuous hysterics for an hour and a half. Actually, that's not true. A gal at my table who'd immigrated from China five years ago took the movie literally, and was totally bewildered by the reaction of the audience. I tried to explain it to her, but.......how can you explain nonsense like this? Which of course added to the fun. Anyway, a memorable movie!!

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

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.

William Shatner is most famous for his television work (and his ill-advised singing career), but he has actually done his best work in movies. In his pre-"Star Trek" days he starred as a klansman/provocateur in "Intruder", one of Roger Corman's most interesting films (and the only one to lose money). He was also in "Incubus", the first (and last) film done entirely in the "international" language of Esperanto. In "The Devil's Rain" he faced off against a cult of obsessed weirdos (and, no, it wasn't set at a Star Trek convention). Then there is this film, perhaps, his masterpiece where he plays a psycho in a polyester leisure suit who marries vulnerable women and knocks them off--kind of a 70's version of "The Stepfather".

Naturally, the only person who suspects him is the young daughter of his latest would-be victim, thus the misleading alternate title "Do You Want a Ride, Little Girl?" "Impulse" is not a great title either since it's one shared by about ten other movies. If this movie had a decent title, it probably would have been more successful and it would probably be released on DVD today, because it is really a hoot. Is it a great movie? No, but neither is "Star Trek" and at least no one takes it seriously. You don't see thousands of people dressing up in leisure suits and gold chains and attending conventions devoted to it. Nor has anyone made "Impulse--the Next Generation" or half a dozen other sequels and spin-offs. The movie also perfectly fits Shatner's overly dramatic acting style. It really is the part he was born to play. I wouldn't recommend it to your more serious "Star Trek" fans who don't really grasp the sublime campiness of Shatner, but for everybody else...