Anyone who doubts how influential John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN was to the countless slasher films that followed soon thereafter should take a look at 1980's HE KNOWS YOU'RE ALONE. Perhaps more than any other slasher film, HE KNOWS YOU'RE ALONE tries to be a carbon copy of the 1978 slasher classic. The plot of HE KNOWS YOU'RE ALONE revolves around a psychopath who is murdering young brides-to-be. The killer soon focuses on bride-to-be Amy Jensen (Caitlin O'Heaney), who is conflicted over whether to go through with her marriage or get back together with her old flame Marvin (Don Scardino).
No matter how hard it tries to be, this film is no HALLOWEEN. The plot is full of holes and inconsistencies. Why does the killer target Amy Jensen? Why aren't most of the killer's victims brides-to-be? Those are a few of the many questions that are never answered in the film. Like HALLOWEEN, the film contains little graphic gore, but director Armand Mastroianni is no John Carpenter when it comes to building up suspense. And who can forget the film's score: it is such a carbon copy of Carpenter's from HALLOWEEN that I'm surprised no legal action was taken by Carpenter against the makers of the film.
Nevertheless, HE KNOWS YOU'RE ALONE is not as bad as many HALLOWEEN clones. The acting is acceptable for this type of film, and the chemistry between O'Heaney and Scardino in the lead roles is quite good. There are also a few good, original scenes, most notably the opening scene set in a movie theater which was blatantly plagiarized in SCREAM 2. The film also "boasts" the feature film debut of Tom Hanks.
Overall, HE KNOWS YOU'RE ALONE is watchable, but nothing worth going out of your way to see.
** out of ****
No matter how hard it tries to be, this film is no HALLOWEEN. The plot is full of holes and inconsistencies. Why does the killer target Amy Jensen? Why aren't most of the killer's victims brides-to-be? Those are a few of the many questions that are never answered in the film. Like HALLOWEEN, the film contains little graphic gore, but director Armand Mastroianni is no John Carpenter when it comes to building up suspense. And who can forget the film's score: it is such a carbon copy of Carpenter's from HALLOWEEN that I'm surprised no legal action was taken by Carpenter against the makers of the film.
Nevertheless, HE KNOWS YOU'RE ALONE is not as bad as many HALLOWEEN clones. The acting is acceptable for this type of film, and the chemistry between O'Heaney and Scardino in the lead roles is quite good. There are also a few good, original scenes, most notably the opening scene set in a movie theater which was blatantly plagiarized in SCREAM 2. The film also "boasts" the feature film debut of Tom Hanks.
Overall, HE KNOWS YOU'RE ALONE is watchable, but nothing worth going out of your way to see.
** out of ****