Official Synopsis:
Claire Dennison (Willa Ford, TV's Dancing With The Stars) is a beautiful, sensuous woman, desperate to arouse her husband's desires. She devises a fantasy role-play game hoping to put the spark back into their marriage. She sets the scene and her husband takes the bait...or does he? So consumed with desire the passion enthralls her, but it's not long before Claire realizes she's playing a dangerous game of seduction with someone so familiar, yet completely unknown. Desperate to end the affair she tells the stranger the game is over, but for him it's just begun.

Our Take:
The problem with most erotic thrillers that go straight to video (or heck, even most that make it to theaters) is that they rarely manage to either thrill or be erotic. Still, as a red-blooded American male, I’ll usually give this type of movie a chance if one comes along that looks decent, just in case I might discover a hidden gem. Or if it has a female lead that’s particularly hot in it (hey, I’m only human).

There’s exactly one interesting moment in Sony’s new direct-to-video thriller Impulse, and it comes when our main character, Claire, receives a phone call from her husband. To tell you what makes it so surprising would take away from the film’s one exciting scene, so I won’t spoil it for you here. Suffice it to say that it wasn’t where I expected the film to go. That’s the best thing Impulse has going for it, actually; the second-half plot twist is not the one you absolutely are sure it’s going to be. So that alone makes it more fun than some of these types of films that we get, but not by much.

There are no special features on the Impulse DVD.

Overall, Impulse is a by-the-numbers movie that sprinkles in a little bit of sex and nudity (well, okay, a pretty decent amount; Willa Ford fans should be pleased) but doesn’t add up to anything. I’ve seen much worse, but Impulse is basically just watchable enough to make it a late-night, last pick rental.

Overall Picture:
Movie: C-
DVD: C

- Mike Spring

Editor