Impulse (1974) stars William Shatner as Matt. When he was a child (Chad Walker), his slutty mother (Vivian Lester) brought home a violent sailor (William Kerwin). Her son stuck a samurai sword through the bastard's stomach. Years later he's grown up to a seedy-suave polyester womanizer & psycho killer.

Matt makes a living seducing rich widows. When his latest sugar momma catches him cheating, she's ready to kick him out, so he strangles her, then tries to have a "let's make up" conversation as though unaware she's dead. Slowly it sinks in he needs a new sugar momma.

Karate Pete (Harold "Odd Job" Sakata), fresh out of pirson, has history with Matt, probably from prison when Matt was evidently the big man's punk bitch. Pete's intent to move in with Matt screws up a lot of plans.

His newest widow (Jennifer Bishop) has a teenage daughter, Tina (Kim Nicholas), who secretly witnessed Matt murder Pete at the carwash, a lovely brutal sequence made cooler because, hey, look what Captain Kirk did.

Tina reveals what she saw. Everyone but one person assumes she's a lying jealous child. When she manages to be witness to his next murder, too, he lays plans to murder the kid.

To save herself & her mother, Tina finds a broadsword, & prepares to commit a deed just like the one that caused Matt to grow up psychotic.

It's a strange film, with a nice nutty performance by Shatner, that master of over acting in a role that benefited from his skill. Many have said he must be embarrassed by this role or wishes he never took the role, but I think he has every right to be proud of it.

He gave one of the most amusingly wacky psychopathic characters ever committed to film. Plus he gave a no-account director his one chance at immortality. Bad movie? Yah sure. But it entertaiend the hell out of me.

copyright © by Paghat the Ratgirl