Fatal Pulse

Sorority House Massacre clone about some sorority girls falling prey to a killer. Two teens, one being the main suspect, team up to find out who is behind all the killings. Featuring more violence and nudity then usual, but that can't cover up the fact that this is just plain out awful. Not even good in a bad way and with no camp value what so ever.

Rated R; Extreme Violence, Nudity, Sexual Situations, and Profanity.

Someone is killing nubile sorority girls. At first suspicion falls on the creepy live-in landlord of the sorority house (how many college sorority houses have creepy GUYS living in them--and how can I get a job like that?). Then everyone begins to suspect the boyfriend of the heroine, who was with one of the girl's right before she was killed. The final revelation is pretty ridiculous and veers into the realm of science fiction.

This film is preposterous. The dialogue is ludicrous. The acting is abysmal. The murders are laughable. The only remarkable thing about is the way it manages to aggressively undress all the female cast-members (except the lead, who, of course, is by far the best looking). The female victims are even all naked or topless WHEN they are murdered (except for one girl who has just changed her shirt a few minutes earlier, but is technically dressed at the time). When I first saw this in the early 90's I found it pretty sleazy and offensive, but after watching a lot Italian sleaze and Eurotrash films in recent years, I think I've become to desensitized to stuff like this, and was mainly impressed with the fact that only one of the girls here has obviously fake silicone breasts.

This is one slasher movie that could genuinely be labeled "misogynist" though, and not just because of the gratuitous female nudity. Some of the murder scenes are kind of prolonged. One girl is electrocuted--topless, of course--for several boob-bouncing minutes. Another is tied up and smothered with plaster, which the killer takes time to smear all over her bare breasts for some reason before plastering her face. What really bothered me though was not what the killer did to the females, but what he failed to do to do to two insufferably annoying male characters: "Brad", a New Jersey-accented "punk" tough guy played by an actor who left no scenery unchewed whenever he was on screen, and "Captain Marvin" a dimwitted guy who dresses as a superhero and watches re-runs of "Green Acres" and "Petticoat Junction" (remember these are supposed to be COLLEGE students). I really have to wonder about a movie that strips, murders, and sometimes mildly tortures numerous anonymous bimbos (some of whom never even appear in the film before their death scene), but yet fails to put these two male cretins out of everyone's misery.

My review was written in March 1988 after watching the movie on Celebrity video cassette.

"Fatal Pulse" is a direct-to-video slasher film that is a throwback to the days before women protested against the genre. Pretty sorority girls are killed in bloody fashion and the campus killer's identity is very predictable.

Murders are tied to a locale, a fraternity house owned by Joe Phelan (a dead ringer for his real-life brother Martin Sheen). Hero Ken Roberts ridiculously uses his girlfriend Michelle McCormick as bait to flush out the killer. Ineffectual cop on the case is played by porn star Herschel Savage, here credited as Harvey Cowen.

Softcore sex tease alternates with spilling of blood, while the windup, that the killer was suffering from a fatal illness and used hallucinogens (that turned him into a maniac) to combat it, comes off as silly. For the umpteenth time, a false ending is tacked on. Acting is way below average.

this is hands down one of the worst movies i have ever seen. its such a simple crappy movie, yet i had no idea what was going on. the video was crap, the audio was crap, the nude scenes were crap, even the revealment of the killer was crap.

i find it hard to believe that anyone rated this as a 3 or above.

Just minutes after her boyfriend Jeff has left the scene following an argument, scorching hot sorority girl Stephanie (played by a woman called Kitty, whose next career step was, rather unsurprisingly, in porn) is raped and killed by a gloved maniac (in retrospect, answering the door to a total stranger in nothing but bra, knickers and stockings probably wasn't the greatest idea). Being the last person to see Stephanie alive, Jeff is the prime suspect, and becomes the target of a wild mob after several other sorority house-mates are also brutally murdered…

With a routine, logic-free plot and almost zero gore, Fatal Pulse risks being an instantly forgettable slasher, but director Anthony J. Christopher has an ace up his sleeve that makes this one a little more memorable than it really has any right to be: whereas most films of this ilk feature one or two babes willing to flash their tits in order to tick the nudity box, Fatal Pulse goes bonkers with the boobies, with not one of its pretty blonde sorority sisters being butchered until they have bared their breasts.

Stephanie gets her bra pulled off by the killer before being strangled with a stocking. Carol (Skylar Nicholas) has her throat cut with a vinyl record, but not before she's shown us her itty bitties. Sheila (Maureen O'Hanlon) gives her chest a good wash in the bath before being drowned by the leather-gloved maniac. A skateboard babe has her vest torn off to reveal her ample chest, shortly before being tossed out of window. A girl is strapped topless to a metal frame and electrocuted, and another victim is stripped to her panties and smothered in plaster of Paris. Only lovely Lisa (Michelle McCormick), Jeff's ex-girlfriend, doesn't show us the goods, even though SHE has the only sex scene (what gives?!?!).

In addition to all of the jubblies, slasher fans may also get a kick from the horrible synth/rock soundtrack, the numerous sinister suspects (who include creepy Professor Caldwell, Jeff's one-time best friend turned bitter love rival Brad, and Joe Estevez as Vietnam veteran Ernie, whose PTSD flashbacks only involve sound effects because it's cheaper than showing actual war footage), and an irritating stoner called Mark whose every appearance is inexplicably accompanied by a silly 'Poing!' noise.