In Rhonny's tradition of movies on the cheap, I chose Netflix and their very cheap 8.99/month package. One movie at a time, no fuss, no muss. Through this magical portal, I can view the current or-my preference-the obscure in horror and with that I introduce a new segment on dbh entitled "It Came From Netflix".
First up is 1980's He Knows Your Alone...
Released during what I feel to be the second golden age of post-World War II horror, He Knows Your Alone came along in the wake of Halloween, Friday the 13th, and other cheaply made slasher films,putting teenaged butts in the buckets and giving ammo to parents and other concerned citizens.
The movie itself is fairly simple:a young bride is murdered by the man she rejected for her soon-to-be groom, a police detective(who somehow figures into the story later). Several years later, the killer returns, sending more brides-to-be the way of platform shoes and Tab cola(though the latter would return in the late-90's for some unknown reason).
Naturally, the detective believes the killer of his beloved is the perp and the hunt is on. As Sherlock goes on the prowl, the killer has his sights set on young Amy and her two bosom buddies. In the meantime, Amy's own ex-fiancee,Marvin,returns to win her back. Speaking of bosom buddies, this film marks the debut of one Tom Hanks in an all-too-brief role.
The problems are abundant in this film. The suspense is far from tension-filling, there is little blood, and most of the acting is below par at best. If you're going to make a bloodless horror film, you'd better crank up the psychological aspects of the killer, the protagonist, or both. Otherwise, you get films like this. I mean why did he chase Amy? It's never explained in the film. Tom Hanks does well with what has been given acting-wise, but other than him, it's wooden dialogue o'plenty.
Sadly, He Knows You're Alone tried cashing in on the early-80's horror craze and fails, not badly, but just enough to remain in obscurity. 5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment