HE KNOWS YOU'RE ALONE

Caitlin O'Heaney and Don Scardino

HE KNOWS YOU'RE ALONE (1980). Director: Armand Mastroianni.  

Amy Jensen (Caitlin O'Heaney) is about to get married to a man named Phil, but her ex-boyfriend, Marvin (Don Scardino of Cruising), keeps hanging around and insisting she should marry him. Amy is clearly torn between two men but she has worse problems: a maniac (Tom Rolfing) has been stalking and killing new brides and others and Amy is the next on his list. Meanwhile Detective Gamble (Lewis Arlt), whose fiancee was the first victim, does his best to catch up with the killer before he can murder anyone else. 

Tom Rolfing and O'Heaney

He Knows You're Alone has serious script problems, to put it mildly, and seems as if it were very hastily cobbled together. As there's no attempt to hide the identity of the killer, I can tell you that you never really learn anything about him or his motives (although it's hinted at in the dumb epilogue). Most of the characters, including the cop on a mission of vengeance, are one-dimensional as well. The lead actress, Caitlin O'Heaney, is terribly obvious, emoting as if she were acting on a stage instead of in front of a camera. One scene, when Amy discovers her roommate's severed head in the aquarium, is unintentionally comical because her attempt to have a numb, shocked reaction doesn't work at all. Don Scardino is better as Marvin, although his character is quite irritating. 

Lewis Arlt as the detective

There are a couple of interesting moments: the first murder occurs in a theater as the bride-to-be sits watching -- you guessed it -- a slasher film. (This idea was later used in Scream 2.) The stabbing-by-shears of a poor tailer who works on Amy's wedding dress has some energy to it, if nothing else. Tom Hanks shows up as a jogger who has a date with one of Amy's friends, and James Rebhorn is a married professor who is having an affair with another of Amy's gal pals -- why the maniac picks on these two is never explained. Don't expect a final twist because there isn't one. It would have been fun if Hanks had turned out to be the killer, but apparently his death scene was never filmed because he was deemed too likable! Armand Mastroianni also directed The Killing Hour.

Verdict: And a terrible hokey score doesn't help. **.  

THE KILLING HOUR

Norman Parker and Perry King

THE KILLING HOUR (aka The Clairvoyant/1982). Director: Armand Mastroianni. 

The corpse of a handcuffed prostitute is found in the Hudson river, and then a series of men, also handcuffed, are murdered in various ways. Detective Larry Weeks (Norman Parker) and his causal friend, TV journalist Paul "Mac" McCormack (Perry King), both try to unveil the killer using different methods. Each man gets involved professionally and romantically with an artist and psychic named Verna (Elizabeth Kemp), who has visions of the murders which she transposes into artwork. But once the killer finds out about this ability, will she become a target?

Elizabeth Kemp with Perry King

Although The Killing Hour can be slow-paced, it does have an interesting storyline and works up some suspense towards the end. One could argue, however, that the revelation of the killer's identity makes this person's actions a little inexplicable. Parker and King both give very good performances -- the detective is also an aspiring stand-up comic and there are scenes at New York's Comic Strip nightclub  (which is still open today). Kemp and other cast members, including Kenneth McMillan as a grumpy chief detective, give okay performances. The murder sequences are bloodless and tasteful (almost too much so), and one especially diabolical trap has a man handcuffed by the ankle to a ladder in a swimming pool, causing him to drown. 

Verdict: Passable suspense thriller with some good performances. **3/4.