User Reviews

When a movie has the working title Want A Ride, Little Girl? you know it's going to be scummy. What may surprise you is that William Shatner - who director William Gréfe met at an airport - is in the lead role.

Don't be fooled by the supernatural looking poster. No, this is a slasher with Shatner's Matt Stone as the bad guy picking up young women, freaking out Shat-style and getting rid of their bodies. He's being trailed by a detective named Karate Pete (Harold "Oddjob" Sakata), which is, pardon the pun, pretty odd. He's on the trail because Stone keeps bilking and killing old women for their money.

Jennifer Bishop (who is also in Gréfe's Mako the Jaws of Death) plays the daughter of one of these older women who suspects that the leisure suit-wearing Stone is a shyster. And oh yeah - Ruth Roman is in this!

Sakata almost died making this, as the rig that was used for his hanging death failed and he was nearly hung for real. Shatner saved his life - breaking a finger in the process - and the entire accident can be seen on the He Came from the Swamps documentary.

This movie belongs to Shatner. As a child, his character kills William Kerwin with a sword in a kind of pre-Pieces opening, then murders a puppy and gets so worked up in one scene that he supposedly farts on camera. His assortment of 70's fashions are pretty astounding and every single frame of this feels as sweaty and gross as a night in the Everglades.

I have to give this movie a "1" just because it is such a horrible movie in reality, but those who enjoy "so bad it's good" films will find a relatively obscure gem in this one.

I'm seeing that a lot of the people who commented on it here on IMDb are from the Bay Area CA and thinking that a lot of them probably saw it with me, since I've seen it all 3 times that it's been shown at the Parkway's "Annual William Shatner Tribute Night". I saw it last night for that 3rd time and I have to say this film just gets funnier the more you see it, like all great bad films.

Shatner does his "bluebeard" style character to the hilt, complete with nervous tic (chews on his pinkie like "Dr. Evil"). He is certainly the highlight of the film with his huge collars and his hideous striped bathing costume. There are many memorable scenes here where he "flips out" like when he is hanging out with his girlfriend and her daughter at the beach and a guy with balloons gets in his way, and he starts yelling and popping the balloons. All the scenes where he gets violent are really funny because of the facial and body mannerisms he goes through. He's actually pretty good as a psycho in the more sedate scenes, when the only hint of evil there is a kind of sly smile, but when he goes "off the edge" he really goes over the top.

The rest of the cast is decent, Kim Nicholas (also known from her role in "Black Sunday") is the standout with a very spirited child performance that makes you think she would have been good in a revival of "The Bad Seed". The always enjoyable Harold Sakata (famous as "the guy who throws his hat" in the James Bond film "Goldfinger") has a role and makes a lot with it.... he's the only one other than the little girl who knows that Shatner is psychotic, and he and Shatner have one of the film's most memorable scenes in their battle in a car wash.

All in all, if you are a fan of B movies, MST-3K, Ed Wood, just campy acting and camp films in general, this is a film you definitely should see. This is one of the films you will wade through dozens or hundreds of truly bad films just to see.... a great bad movie.

Must say that I am not just pleasantly surprised by how GOOD of a movie William Grefe's IMPULSE was, but I am also profoundly annoyed at all of the smarmy, self-gratifying negative bomb reviews I have encountered that have given this very satisfying little low-budget Florida made regional psycho killer shocker a bum rap. My best guess is that those who were writing these reviews didn't understand what they were seeing, or went in expecting something different than what they got. Instead of reviewing the movie they saw, they stubbornly commented on what they had expected to see, namely current A-list star William Shatner in a respectable, well-budgeted, high profile project that catered to expected formulas of entertainment.

IMPULSE does not. It does not follow any standard of film-making that I can think of. It is completely unconventional in nature, highlighted by a low budget that forced those involved -- including Shatner -- to resort to their resourcefulness, guile, and wits. The result is a tightly wound little ball of paranoia who's inherent creepiness belies the usually benign PG rating. This truly is Captain Kirk as you have never seen him before, other than maybe that episode where he gets split into good and evil halves and starts goosing his busty Yeoman. As a matter of fact, cross that performance with the episode where a psychotic former lover switches bodies & consciousness with Kirk in an effort to take over the Enterprise, and you pretty much have Shatner's disturbing, unexpectedly effective performance as a deranged, psychotic grifter who targets wealthy single women with his sometime partner, Karate Pete, hilariously played in cameo by Harold "Oddjob" Sakata, minus his steel brimmed hat from GOLDFINGER.

Sure, it's only natural for critics of low budget potboiler films to point out the "depths" that the two stars had "sunk to" when accepting these roles, and indeed William Shatner has never hesitated to cringe, grimace, and snarl with disgust when asked about IMPULSE, which was at one point re-released with the obscenely suggestive title WANT A RIDE, LITTLE GIRL? Gnarly to be sure, but that's actually a line of dialog from the film and has nothing to do with what you might think: William Shatner does NOT play a pedophile, but at one point does indeed have to match wits with another little nutcase who just happens to be an 11 year old girl. The way he delivers the line is as a taunt to a psychopath, not a pervy come-on, so forget it.

The plot itself by overlooked B movie horror writer Tony Crechales (THE ATTIC, BLOOD MANIA) is so convoluted, twisted, and tightly wound that to try and explain any of it does the sum of it's parts a disservice, since they amount to far more than their whole. This is a great example of a movie that was better than it had to be, and one that will defy the expectations of even the most seasoned & jaded viewer. Many of whom like myself probably dismissed the film because of it's PG rating, but rest assured there are a couple of genuine howler moments -- plus a lot of somewhat sleazy little touches -- that would have assured an MPAA R rating if the film COULD have been made today. And I say it couldn't, certainly not with the ridiculous preoccupation with Political Correctness and formulaic screen writing that seems to embody contemporary film-making.

Nobody would have ever thought this movie was a good idea today, probably not even in 1974, which is of no surprise seeing who made it: William Grefe, a B movie maverick best known for such delightful cinematic trash cans as THE WILD REBELS, the snake horror epic STANLEY, and MAKO: THE JAWS OF DEATH, widely regarded as perhaps the original low- budget JAWS ripoff. Grefe was notorious for working outside of the Hollywood norm of his era and produced films of striking originality and breathtakingly bad taste, and IMPULSE might actually be his masterpiece for putting William Shatner in a pair of polyester slacks and a bright red muscle shirt, buying candy for his date and her psychotic 11 year old daughter the morning after the young tyke watched him murder someone. And he knows she saw.

To appreciate garbage like this you have to appreciate that not all art is necessarily meant to be in good taste, and that as MacLuhan points out, a culture's attributes are best represented by it's second rate artists. This is a cheap, somewhat scummy drive-in oriented grade B horror movie that just happens to feature William Shatner as it's lead psychopath. To conclude that it should amount to anything more than that is to miss the point of low budget drive-in oriented trash cinema. It wasn't meant to win Oscars or have cultural impact, it was meant to sell popcorn and hot dogs and soda pop, amuse it's audience for 80 odd minutes, and be forgotten by the time you get home. What makes IMPULSE special is that some of it is quite remarkable, and anybody who sees it will have a hard time shaking it from their memory just because of who William Shatner is.

Shatner's career was in a shambles in 1974 when IMPULSE was made, and the film is often cited as the point when he scraped the bottom. He was more or less broke and living off his second wife at the time, a then dishy young babe named Marcy Lafferty, whom he pulled his weight to get a bit part as the sexy hotel clerk. Desperate for the work he took this role as a risk and obviously poured his heart & soul into his interpretation as a psychotic spree killer ... and by golly he isn't completely convincing as a mommy-obsessed homicidal lunatic. Highly recommended, and impossible to dismiss.

7/10: Beware of the cheapo DVD release, it utilized a language censored television print. Too bad.

IMPULSE is a low budget addition to the psycho-thriller genre that's a lot of fun for fans of STAR TREK legend William Shatner. Here, he plays a slick and suave playboy who just so happens to be a man who goes around bumping off rich women to get his hands on their fortunes. Of course, it all goes back to his childhood, revealed in the film's flashback opening. Shatner is at his hammiest here: gurning, charming, threatening and berserk in equal measure, it's a real love-it-or-hate-it performance. The rest of the cast isn't up to much, although it is fun seeing Harold Sakata playing against type as an ill-fated ally. The rest of the movie plays out as expected, but it's amusing enough for fans.

Goofy film about a maniac murderer (Bill Shatner).

Shatner once again proves that the only good thing he ever did was Star Trek. His relentless mugging and over-acting is curious because he's a talented performer albeit one-dimensional.... Shatner is Shatner in everything he does.

Ruth Roman is much better, though she again plays an unsympathetic character. Hollywood surely has never learned how to cast actors, and definitely has never learned how NOT to stereotype them. Kim Nicholas is fine as a troubled little girl.

Shatner fans will want to tune in, but most people know he has a limited range. If you're just another undemanding 'trekkie', than have at it.

IMPULSE is a forgotten masterpiece that William Shatner made during a low point of his career in the 1970s when he was either restricted to trashy B-movies or television guest appearances.

I am amazed at the amount of negativity displayed by other reviewers towards this film. It is obvious that they are comparing Shatner's role in this film to his typecast role as Captain James T. Kirk rather than judging both the film and Shatner's performance in their own rights.

Shatner puts in perhaps the best performance of his career (outside of his role as Captain Kirk of course) as a psychotic killer tormented by memories of his childhood when he killed a soldier with a samurai sword after the soldier attacked and attempted to rape his mother. Shatner transforms from being a seemingly charming harmless middle-aged man to a psychotic killer in a scene and then back to being charming again in the next scene. Over the years, many have criticised Shatner's acting as being ham and over-the-top just to name a few negative words. But, his performance here is simply tremendous. I can't think of an actor who could have played the part of Matt Stone better than him. The constant sucking of one of his fingers at various points in the film is just one of the ways that Shatner demonstrates Stone's unbalanced mind.

The film creates genuine suspense through the use of flashbacks and atmosphere, as well as the incredible tension that seems to persist in many scenes. In one scene, tension arises when Stone has problems trying to kill one of his victims (who happens to be played by Harold Sakata, best known as Oddjob in Goldfinger). And at the same time, the disapproving daughter (whose name is Tina) of one of Stone's love conquests is witnessing this murder taking place from the back of Stone's car! One of the other very tense scenes of the film is where Stone is chasing Tina through a cemetery after she witnesses him committing another murder later on in the film. Tension is also created throughout various other scenes in the film, particularly after the scene where Tina witnesses Stone kill the character played by Harold Sakata. Tina is faced with a situation where no one will believe her when she tells them about the murder. The tension arises from various attempts by Tina to expose Stone, particularly the scene in the car where she complains of being cold and asks Stone to close the car window (only to find that the window that was meant to be broken has surprisingly been repaired).

The film offers many opportunities for character development, in particular the character of Tina, a young girl who misses her deceased father and fears that Stone is trying to take his place in the eyes of her mother, Ann.

The variety of 1970s polyester costumes worn by Shatner seem to be one aspect that makes the film catch attention, in particular the assorted multi-coloured shirts with large collars.

Admittedly, the film does have some cheesy scenes and dialogue, but this has the effect of making the more disturbing scenes even more disturbing than they already are.

The ending is so predictable that one can predict it even half way through, but this doesn't make it any less disturbing to watch. I won't give the ending away but I think those reading this review who have never seen the film will get an idea of what I mean.

For other fans of William Shatner who would like to see him in a good film outside of his Captain Kirk role, I also recommend THE INTRUDER, a masterpiece directed by Roger Corman that Shatner made in his pre-Kirk days.

This forgotten masterpiece certainly deserves more recognition. The UK DVD is a standard release that has no extras, not even a trailer. A special edition DVD with a documentary with or commentary by Shatner certainly would be great.

I rate this film 10 out of 10 for excellent acting, photography, plot, suspense and tension.

William Shatner may have perhaps gained his fame and popularity thanks to the "Star Trek" franchise and the approximately two trillion TV shows he appeared in, but seriously how many people know that this charismatic and widely respected actor starred in a handful of ultimately bizarre, cheesy and eccentric low-budget horror/cult movies?? Shatner appeared in the gritty hospital slasher "Visiting Hours", fought large uncanny spiders in "Kingdom of the Spiders", spoke the dead language of Esperanto in "Incubus" and got sucked into a Satan-worshiping clan in "The Devil's Rain". But the film that is arguably his most bonkers accomplishment is this over-the-top clichéd attempt at psycho thriller. The film itself is already quite ludicrous, what with its mundane plot and silly dialogs, but William Shatner single-handedly upgrades "Impulse" to the highest possible level of sheer bad-movie entertainment with his extreme overacting, flamboyant wardrobe and outrageous psychotic outbursts. Shatner depicts Matthew Stone, a clumsy swindler yet professional and natural born ladies' man who roams around Florida to pick up belly dancers, hotel receptionists and lonely widows with obnoxious pre-teenage kids. During the laughably melodramatic black-and- white prologue, we witness how the young Matthew Stone killed his mother's lover with a sword because he was acting violent. The event clearly had a gigantic mental impact on Matt, because now even as an adult he sucks on his pinkie and mumbles stuff about his mommy whenever he's stressed or becoming aggressive. The trauma nevertheless didn't prevent him from growing up as a fraud who lures poor women into handing over their savings for vague but so-called profitable investments. Troubles arise when the daughter of his new gullible victim, who already strongly opposes against the relationship, witnesses Matthew commit a murder. The grotesque highlights featuring in "Impulse" are almost too numerous to list: Shatner freaking out against a fat lady with balloons at a theme park, the extended murder sequence where Shatner fruitlessly tries to hang his former partner in crime (played by the legendary Bond villain Odd Job!) and subsequently chases him through a whole car wash or Shatner jumping around like a clown when threatening his next murder victim. The person responsible for choosing the protagonist's outfits (I sure hope it wasn't William Shatner's private wardrobe) should be sentenced to jail. The music is definitely exhilarating and the main love interest, Jennifer Bishop, is a stunningly gorgeous lady. I can't help enjoying all of William Grefe's film that I've seen so far… "Sting of Death", "Mako: Jaws of Death", "Stanley" and now "Impulse". They're bad, trashy and unbelievably cheap, but also fun from start to finish!