HEARTSTOPPER (1989) Interesting if not fully successful vampire yarn in which a surgeon in the American Revolution (Kevin Kindlin) is executed for drinking human blood—whether vampirism was common practice in 1776 is never explained—but reawakens in 1980s Pittsburgh. Kindlin tries to fit into modern society but resorts to his inhuman ways of killing and feeding off his victims. His body count doesn’t go unnoticed and is investigated by a cop (Tom Savini) who’s mourning the death of a child. To add insult to injury, a descendant of Kindlin (John Hall) has started to commit a series of vampire-like killings that involve necrophilia. Despite all of this mayhem, Kindlin begins a romance with a museum employee (Moon Zappa) and becomes friends with a disbelieving priest. There’s a modicum of suspense in the screenplay—which is based on the novel The Awakening by Night of the Living Dead writer John A. Russo, who also directed Heartstopper—but too much time is spent on trying to make Kindlin sympathetic to the viewer despite the fact that he never feels like a genuine character. His relationship with Zappa also reeks of falsity and leaves one wishing Russo and gang had abandoned characterization and just got on with the bloodshed—what little there is was executed by Savini, who also supplied the film’s stunts. A messy if not entirely unsatisfying low-budget production, from the makers of Midnight (1981).
PSYCHOS IN LOVE (1987) Serial killer Joe (Carmine Capobianco) is looking for love in all the wrong places. When a woman doesn’t meet his expectations (which includes a deep hatred for grapes), Joe takes a knife to them and talks to the camera about his desire to meet another psychopathic killer—which Joe does, in the form of Kate (Debi Thibeault), a bloodthirsty manicurist who also loathes grapes. Joe and Kate fall in love, move in together, and enjoy an open relationship until Joe’s late nights of dismemberment make Kate jealous and the two begin to indulge in a monogamous murder spree. When the thrill of killing loses its appeal, the couple settles down into marital bliss by renting slasher movies (“Jason is my favorite!”), until a cannibalistic madman enters their territory and they must secure their psycho-killer dominance. A low rent, low brow, genuinely funny, personality-infused splatter rom-com (splatcom?) made in the vein of Woody Allen and Monty Python.
THE UNNAMABLE (1988) Students from Lovecraft country, good old Miskatonic University, investigate claims of a caterwauling monstrosity by spending the night in a farmhouse where the creature was supposedly locked away 100 years ago. The movie’s slim plot and dull characters are compensated by a high level of bloody makeup effects, most of which are handled quite well. The Unnamable rips out a man’s heart in the prologue, and later decapitates a fraternity brother whose head is found by a couple having sex. Another student’s throat is shredded by the monster’s claws, while his friend’s head is repeatedly bashed into the floor until it’s a bloodied mess. Sporting horns, deformed wings, and hoofed feet, the monster itself is genuinely creepy, and the product of R. Christopher Biggs, a Hollywood veteran who’s worked on everything from A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 to Star Trek VI. But, as with many other low-quality monster movies, The Unnamable is an example of a good creature stuck in a listless film. A sequel was released in 1992.
