Just finished watching Vinegar Syndrome's new Blu-ray of this rare horror film. Here are a few notes:
The person who introduces the movie reveals it was originally a hardcore porno film, and briefly played dates that way. It was then re-edited into one or more R-rated versions and re-released. The version Vinegar Syndrome has released still has some bits of footage that teeter almost into hardcore, including an intimate encounter between two actresses, and some male and female full frontal nudity. The film also has some gore effects, in a voodoo ceremony, and in the scenes where the crazed killer attacks his victims.
Some of the music cues in the film are from John Lamb's MERMAIDS OF TIBURON (e.g., the eerie mermaids theme) which turns out to be not too surprising, as the music for HEARTBEAT was composed by Richard LaSalle, who also scored MERMAIDS.
Some of the action scenes (speedboat chase) are well-done, and some of the acting is extremely amateurish--and memorable. There are several scenes with amazingly quotable dialogue along the lines of Ed Wood and Plan 9. Whoever wrote the screenplay was really on a roll at times.
The Vinegar Syndrome version does not include any of the vampire footage of the crazed killer. So there are no scenes where he's sporting fangs, as seen in stills and lobby cards.
The person who introduces the movie reveals it was originally a hardcore porno film, and briefly played dates that way. It was then re-edited into one or more R-rated versions and re-released. The version Vinegar Syndrome has released still has some bits of footage that teeter almost into hardcore, including an intimate encounter between two actresses, and some male and female full frontal nudity. The film also has some gore effects, in a voodoo ceremony, and in the scenes where the crazed killer attacks his victims.
Some of the music cues in the film are from John Lamb's MERMAIDS OF TIBURON (e.g., the eerie mermaids theme) which turns out to be not too surprising, as the music for HEARTBEAT was composed by Richard LaSalle, who also scored MERMAIDS.
Some of the action scenes (speedboat chase) are well-done, and some of the acting is extremely amateurish--and memorable. There are several scenes with amazingly quotable dialogue along the lines of Ed Wood and Plan 9. Whoever wrote the screenplay was really on a roll at times.
The Vinegar Syndrome version does not include any of the vampire footage of the crazed killer. So there are no scenes where he's sporting fangs, as seen in stills and lobby cards.