He Knows You're Alone (1980)

User Rating:

3.9/10   

Director:

Armand Mastroianni

Writer:

Scott Parker (writer)

Release Date:

12 September 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Every girl is frightened the night before her wedding, but this time... there's good reason!

Plot:

A young bride-to-be is being stalked upon by a serial killer. She gets help from a former lover, but will they manage to escape?

Plot Keywords:

Bride | Serial Killer | Police Investigation | Nipples | Jogging

Cast

Don Scardino	...	Marvin
Caitlin O'Heaney	...	Amy Jensen
Elizabeth Kemp	...	Nancy
Tom Rolfing	...	Ray Carlton (the killer)
Lewis Arlt	...	Det. Len Gamble
Patsy Pease	...	Joyce
James Rebhorn	...	Prof. Carl Mason
Tom Hanks	...	Elliot
Dana Barron	...	Diane
Joseph Leon	...	Ralph (the tailor)
Paul Gleason	...	Det. Frank Daley
James Carroll	...	Phil
Brian Byers	...	Bernie
Curt Hostetter	...	Tommy
Robin Lamont	...	Ruthie

Also Known As:

Blood Wedding

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 (cut) (1981) | Australia:R | Norway:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | Iceland:(Banned) | Iceland:16 (cut)

Filming Locations:

Fox Theatre, Hylan Blvd., Staten Island, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

According to writer Scott Parker, Tom Rolfing was cast as the killer because Armand Mastroianni liked the 'intense' look of Rolfing's eyes.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Amy and Nancy are sitting on the couch talking and drinking wine, Nancy pours wine into Amy's glass almost filling it. The amount of wine in the glass then varies between shots.

Quotes:

Detective Len Gamble: What do you have?
Detective Thompson: A tailor, murdered with a pair of scissors.
Detective Len Gamble: Does anyone else work here?
Detective Thompson: The dead guy's wife.
Detective Len Gamble: Find her, she may be able to help.
Detective Thompson: And what are you going to be doing?
Detective Len Gamble: Sleeping, I've had a long drive!
Detective Thompson: You're a big help!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dead Teenager Movie (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

I'LL NEVER TIE YOU DOWN

Moderately entertaining but nothing spectacular

"He Knows You're Alone" is a more-than-acceptable slasher of the time period.

**SPOILERS**

Following a brutal killing, Det. Len Gamble, (Lewis Arlt) begins an investigation into the incidents, and finds that the killer could be Ray Carlton, (Tom Rolfing) who he has been pursuing for years. As she prepares for her wedding, Amy Jensen, (Caitlin O'Heaney) and her friends Nancy, (Elizabeth Kemp) and Joyce, (Patsy Pease) start the final preparations of the ceremony, only to run into her old boyfriend Marvin, (Don Scardino) along the way. As they start to rekindle their romance, a repeat of the serial killer's rampage puts them back on the trail of his work, and it leads them right into the couple's renewal. Forced into protecting her, they face off against the madman in a huge battle inside an abandoned mortuary.

The Good News: This one here has a couple good parts to it. One thing it gets right is that there's a really impressive finale to this that works wonders. It goes from a well-executed if slightly too short chase sequence into a full-throttle ride through a mortuary that has several impressive features about it. From the non-stop action it delivers to the really creepy and cavernous location where it takes place. It's fun, exciting and has a lot of different ideas to use, making it's purpose really enjoyable. There's also a few good scenes in here that really come off as impressive and make it memorable. Using the suspense and fantastic amount of spots that can be useful in building up an effective and useful sequence. There's also the fact that there's a couple of other good scenes in here spread throughout to give it a little extra more to it. From the beginning, which is quite creepy and really creative to the cheesy fun to be had inside the fun-house, which has a couple of actually cheesy and creepy moments while on the ride as the flashes to the solitary face in the darkness get a little unnerving. The other good part to this one is the really fun sequence where a decapitated head is found inside a fish-tank, providing a really great freak-out. These here provide the film's good moments.

The Bad News: This one here doesn't have a whole lot of flaws, but there are a few in here. One is the really disjointed plotting in this one. There's a couple of times where the film is really all over the place with where it's heading, and it manages to make the film feel really slow and disorganized. From the different ways that it manages to throw off the main story with a lot of different, meandering subplots that serve as nothing but eat up time, making this one far longer than it should be. From the walk through the park to the focus on the friend's family to all the time dealing with the wedding and all those different scenes really makes the film travel through it's paces a lot longer than it really should. These scenes here play out for too much of the film's running time and are really just a nuisance, since there's some good stuff in here that gets pushed to the side through the inability of the film to actually get to them because it's too busy with the other parts that won't work about it. There's also the fact that it doesn't feel all to original or creative, and feels like a rip-off, despite being around from the beginning. It's got all the tired clichés, and while it may have rather started them, it still comes off as feeling like a follower rather than what it really is. These here are the film's flaws.

The Final Verdict: With a fair few flaws and some really good parts to it, this one here is a really enjoyable slasher that gets some enjoyment out of it. Give it a shot if in the mood for a second-tier slasher or are a hardcore slasher fanatic, while those who aren't big fans should heed caution with this one for it's flaws.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Nudity and Graphic Language