Has anyone seen this film? It's bonkers. Like a Stephen King book, with a small town turned crazy by a pollution spill, and everyone starts acting psychotic. Tim Matheson, Meg Tilly, Hume Cronyn & a really young Bill Paxton head up the cast. I probably would have tuned out except I wanted to see how more bonkers it got and the Paul Chihara score was great. It had me hooked from the opening bittersweet/tragic Americana Main Titles and by the end it was full on Pino Donaggio style scary strings dramatics. It's an ABC Motion Pictures release that had Buena Vista distribution at the end of the credits. I'd love BSX to include this score on a future volume of their current series of his music.
The whole film is available to watch on YouTube, with Spanish subtitles, under the title Impulso Infernal. It's MGM in their version on show. Check out that lovely main title music. I'm sure someone with more fingers than me can link or embed it
In the 1984 horror thriller IMPULSE, after a small earthquake in a quiet town, local citizens start to have bizarre, violent, and self-destructive behavior. This brings "Jennifer Russell" (Meg Tilly), accompanied by her boyfriend, "Stuart" (Tim Matheson), back to her hometown. There she sees her father (John Karlen) and her younger brother "Eddie" (Bill Paxton), who still lives on the family farm and assists with the business. Graham Baker directed the film. Paul Chihara's score has not had a release.
I need to rewatch this - all I remember is the red bridge in the film is RIGHT around the corner from my place. A truck falls off this bridge or something...I dunno, been decades.
Yep Sean, a car does indeed drive off the red bridge. I imagine the town where it was filmed is probably nearby you too? It's called Sutcliffe in the film, but that's likely been invented for the film.
I couldn't be bothered watching the full film, Kev, but I did sit through the Main Titles. Very nice Americana as you say. I always liked Paul Chihara. He did those odd little key changes in the middle of a theme, like going unexpectedly from major to minor. I've often related his music in my head with that of Michael Small. Sort of conventional-unconventional, and with twists that change something superficially comforting into a completely different sense of unnerving creepiness.
Yup, I watched the film in the theater on it's initial release and thought it at the time pretty interesting but I thought nothing of the score itself. But what it was and its low budget, it was pretty effective.
