As direct to video horror flicks go, there have been much worse. Hell there has been worse in the theatres. So if after reading the DVD box description or seeing that cover and you're expecting something greater that this, whatever. Playing against type for a change, Englund plays the minor role of the Sheriff who has a grudge against the "Heartstopping" psychopath stalking the hospital in the picture. The biblical spouting psycho is pretty amusing in a total cornball sort of way and there is the barest minimum of tension developed throughout. Englund's good for the record but the movie is simply what it is: A cheesy horror film.
33 Reviews
Sienfeld's Stienbrenner sings the opening theme
juliankennedy235 November 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Heartstopper: 4 out of 10: After twenty minutes this movie really had me psyched. A true Eighties throwback it begins with two characters, a Death row inmate who has trouble being electrocuted (Shocker) and a good looking suicidal shy girl who is called whore by a bunch of teenage cheerleader vixens (Carrie). They meet in an ambulance and the Death row guys tattoo transfers to the suicidal girl. And we all know what happens next don't we.
The girl goes back to high school and takes revenge on the vixen sluts and her mother and everyone else and there is violence and nudity and sexy high school girls kicking ass. (Okay let me calm down for a moment) And had the movie actually done that I would have been happy. Instead it remakes Halloween 2. Yup an abandoned hospital, (The staff is about 5 people) and the serial killer comes back to life using his patented heart through the chest maneuver (hence the name) which looks silly the first time and gets progressively sillier as the movie goes along.
In the Jamie Lee Curtis role we have Meredith Henderson who is surprisingly bland for a suicidal girl being chased by a serial killer. The killer is played not by title actor Robert Englund (Who is an Amish Sheriff and leaves the movie fairly early) but James Binkly whose serial killer won't shut up.
In fact dialogue is a real problem in this film. Nobody talks like real people. All the conversation is either a witty rejoinder or a plot point or god forbid horrible self-conscious foreshadowing. Needless to say nobody has been crying out for a Halloween 2 (or Visiting Hours) remake.
And while the sets are unconvincing and understaffed and the script and story derivative and pedestrian this is hardly the worst direct to video horror movie I've seen. Its biggest fault seems to be it does nothing I haven't seen done better dozens of times before.
The girl goes back to high school and takes revenge on the vixen sluts and her mother and everyone else and there is violence and nudity and sexy high school girls kicking ass. (Okay let me calm down for a moment) And had the movie actually done that I would have been happy. Instead it remakes Halloween 2. Yup an abandoned hospital, (The staff is about 5 people) and the serial killer comes back to life using his patented heart through the chest maneuver (hence the name) which looks silly the first time and gets progressively sillier as the movie goes along.
In the Jamie Lee Curtis role we have Meredith Henderson who is surprisingly bland for a suicidal girl being chased by a serial killer. The killer is played not by title actor Robert Englund (Who is an Amish Sheriff and leaves the movie fairly early) but James Binkly whose serial killer won't shut up.
In fact dialogue is a real problem in this film. Nobody talks like real people. All the conversation is either a witty rejoinder or a plot point or god forbid horrible self-conscious foreshadowing. Needless to say nobody has been crying out for a Halloween 2 (or Visiting Hours) remake.
And while the sets are unconvincing and understaffed and the script and story derivative and pedestrian this is hardly the worst direct to video horror movie I've seen. Its biggest fault seems to be it does nothing I haven't seen done better dozens of times before.
Lacking, Though I Guess It Could Have Been Worse
gavin694210 May 2007
A girl stands in the middle of the road, gets hit, and ends up sharing an ambulance with a serial killer who allegedly died in the electric chair. Well, he didn't die. And he is looking for the girl (Sara Wexler), which is coincidentally fairly easy, being in the same hospital.
Some of this movie is pretty good. The electric chair scene is alright, the coroner scenes are pretty good. And I especially have to give a hand to Robert Englund. I was afraid he would show up for five minutes and then disappear, or give a lackluster performance to get a paycheck (like Jeffrey Combs and Lance Henriksen seem to be doing lately). But Englund gives a great performance, and plays a hero brilliantly and with more passion than I've seen from him since "Slashed Dreams". Thank you, Mr. Englund.
The plot is shaky. A killer who survives the chair... well, I want to reference "Shocker", but should I? (If the director has a Shockeresque killer and casts Robert Englund, does he have a Wes Craven fetish?) Anyway, it's something hard to pull off because there are already many immortal slashers out there. Further ,the plot is just weird -- the string of coincidences around the Sara Wexler character... I don't know. Hard to believe.
And what's with the ripping out of the hearts? Okay, I get it -- he's a "heart stopper". But he puts his hand through a chest -- bones and all -- and pulls the heart out without blood and with neatly sawed off arteries. Weak, very weak. Maybe I can believe this in "Temple of Doom", but not here.
So yeah. I might be a little harsh. After all ,this isn't pure rubbish like "Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis" or any number of other films I could name. But I felt I was short-changed as a viewer. You set me up for what could be a great supernatural slasher flick and then really drop the ball at the key moments. Thanks a lot. I make no recommendations for this film to anyone.
Some of this movie is pretty good. The electric chair scene is alright, the coroner scenes are pretty good. And I especially have to give a hand to Robert Englund. I was afraid he would show up for five minutes and then disappear, or give a lackluster performance to get a paycheck (like Jeffrey Combs and Lance Henriksen seem to be doing lately). But Englund gives a great performance, and plays a hero brilliantly and with more passion than I've seen from him since "Slashed Dreams". Thank you, Mr. Englund.
The plot is shaky. A killer who survives the chair... well, I want to reference "Shocker", but should I? (If the director has a Shockeresque killer and casts Robert Englund, does he have a Wes Craven fetish?) Anyway, it's something hard to pull off because there are already many immortal slashers out there. Further ,the plot is just weird -- the string of coincidences around the Sara Wexler character... I don't know. Hard to believe.
And what's with the ripping out of the hearts? Okay, I get it -- he's a "heart stopper". But he puts his hand through a chest -- bones and all -- and pulls the heart out without blood and with neatly sawed off arteries. Weak, very weak. Maybe I can believe this in "Temple of Doom", but not here.
So yeah. I might be a little harsh. After all ,this isn't pure rubbish like "Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis" or any number of other films I could name. But I felt I was short-changed as a viewer. You set me up for what could be a great supernatural slasher flick and then really drop the ball at the key moments. Thanks a lot. I make no recommendations for this film to anyone.
Good gore, and thats about it!!!!!
jurassicmarc27 December 2006
Robert Englund - Good Over the top gore - good And thats about it you'll probably only have seen this if your a horror fan and if you are i'd wait till its on TV the two above mentioned is a bout all the positive to be said for this lame rerun of Shocker. Outcast female lead, terribly unscary killer, clunky dialogue and about the worst ending you could imagine....tornado please!!!!
Nothing interesting happens in the first quarter of the movie then gorehounds get a good solid 10 minutes of splatter and gore then the story powers on to its conclusion with about as much intelligence as a lobotomised sheep and a plot thats about as interesting as watching your fingernails grow.
All in all a pointless experience.
Nothing interesting happens in the first quarter of the movie then gorehounds get a good solid 10 minutes of splatter and gore then the story powers on to its conclusion with about as much intelligence as a lobotomised sheep and a plot thats about as interesting as watching your fingernails grow.
All in all a pointless experience.
Boring piece of drivel
dmuel14 November 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I'm a sucker for gross-out splatter flicks, or over-the-top horror of any kind, so I end up watching a lot movies I later wish I hadn't wasted the time on. Such a movie is Heartstopper. An over-the-hill Robert Englund heads the rest of the no-name cast, playing a sheriff who watches a serial killer fry in the chair. Englund sends him to a hospital morgue where the killer, possessed of some kinda demonic power, comes back to life with an urge to rip out hearts. Englund is killed by minute 30 or so in the film, but he only has about 10 minutes face time with the viewer. I guess he made his money and left. There is absolutely no plot, no drama and no thrills in this flick, not to mention zero acting, and we are subjected to a series of about 6 or 7 heart ripping scenes for about 85 minutes. If this is enough to make you want to watch this movie, have at it.
OK b movie
wrlang4 November 2006
Heartstopper wasn't to bad for a low budget B slasher movie. Took a large number of queues from Halloween with events taking place in a hospital. The film is about a killer who is hit by lightening while getting sitting in the electric chair and becomes an unstoppable killer after he's taken to the morgue in the hospital. The acting was pretty good and the effects were a little on the silly side, but it held together. Some religious connotations as the killer seemed to be living a life of eternal torture and was taking souls. Lots of gore and blood as plenty of people get their hearts ripped out as food for the killer. About an average B slasher movie. Nothing terrific, but nothing really bad.
awful just awful
movieman_kev8 May 2011
Slutty suicidal Sara (Meredith Henderson) is 'saved' by Sheriff Burger (horror film mainstay Robert Englund) after she gets hit by a car, dislocating her shoulder She taken to a local hospital where the body of a notorious serial killer who likes to rip hearts out of his victims' bodies, is being held whom obviously comes back to life or their wouldn't be a movie (not that I would've minded such a scenario mind you). But ANYways, Sara teams up with an equally unlikable fellow classmate with a chip on his shoulder and is prone to play the race card to escape the 'heart stoppers' undead clutches.
This is a very generic teen slasher film that has absolutely nothing new to bring to the table, the gore is not that good and the acting even worse. At the end of the day though I was less angry with the people who made this bottom-of-the-barrel sludge & more mad at myself for wasting my time watching it.
This is a very generic teen slasher film that has absolutely nothing new to bring to the table, the gore is not that good and the acting even worse. At the end of the day though I was less angry with the people who made this bottom-of-the-barrel sludge & more mad at myself for wasting my time watching it.
Watch Shocker instead
Stevieboy66610 October 2018
A serial killer, who likes to rip out his victim's pumping hearts, is executed in the 'chair and his corpse is taken to a run down hospital for an autopsy. Somehow, inexplicably, he rises from the dead to continue his spree of carnage within the hospital.
What grabbed my attention was the gory artwork featuring horror legend Robert Englund on the DVD cover. However he is not one of the main characters and past experience has taught me that he has appeared in many poor movies, this being one. The guy that plays the bald headed maniac is simply not scary and some of his lines are cringe worthy. Didn't care too much for the teenage girl and boy that take him on either. The ending was pretty ridiculous. Some reasonably good gore but nothing else to recommend Heartstopper.
Claustrophobic settings, good gore effects but somehow lacks the tension.
Fella_shibby15 January 2022
I first saw this in 2006 on a dvd which I own.
Revisited it recently.
The movie has ample gore n the effects are good but it has tons of stupid n wtf moments.
The first thing which will come to mind is the movie Shocker n the second movie Visiting Hours.
In Visiting Hours, the serial killer is a mortal human being who is very persistent. In this movie too, the supernatural killer is shown as a persistent fella.
In Shocker, the killer returns aft the electric chair execution n here too, the killer returns aft his electric chair execution.
Also Child's Play comes to mind, regarding the transfer of soul.
If one reads about this movie via Wikipedia n clicks on the External Links to approach IMDb, the page takes u to another movie's page with the same name, Heartstopper 1989, a vampire flick directed by John Russo and starring gore guru Tom Savini.
Revisited it recently.
The movie has ample gore n the effects are good but it has tons of stupid n wtf moments.
The first thing which will come to mind is the movie Shocker n the second movie Visiting Hours.
In Visiting Hours, the serial killer is a mortal human being who is very persistent. In this movie too, the supernatural killer is shown as a persistent fella.
In Shocker, the killer returns aft the electric chair execution n here too, the killer returns aft his electric chair execution.
Also Child's Play comes to mind, regarding the transfer of soul.
If one reads about this movie via Wikipedia n clicks on the External Links to approach IMDb, the page takes u to another movie's page with the same name, Heartstopper 1989, a vampire flick directed by John Russo and starring gore guru Tom Savini.
This is the movie of an unexperienced director
BloodyEyeBall9 February 2009
Warning: Spoilers
This was seriously a bad movie. I didn't get the whole story....I don't even think it made any, any sense, especially with the tornado at the end. Acting was bad, story was bad, gore was bad, just PLAIN BAD. It's another of those movies you dislike for not being what you truly expected, and it's because of these movies that people think that the horror genre is trash. I gave it a 3/10, because it was at least a little bit entertaining and it had a few funny moments. Overall, the cast was good looking, but the continuity of the movie sucked! If you have an afternoon to loose, watch this movie and I will guarantee you will regret it!
A good'n'gory little straight-to-video horror shocker
Woodyanders2 November 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Vicious serial killer Chambers (a genuinely scary and intense portrayal of pure demonic evil by actor/stuntman James Binkley) gets executed on the electric chair, but ain't down for the count just yet. Chambers comes back to ferocious and murderous life in a rundown hospital that's on the verge of closing. He naturally embarks on the expected gruesome killing spree, joyfully slaughtering both staff and patients alike while gaining additional strength by ripping the hearts out of his victims. Chambers specifically goes after Sara Wexler (a strong and sympathetic performance by the very attractive and appealing brunette Meredith Henderson), a spunky, but troubled and depressed suicidal young lass he shares a special psychic bound with. Pretty soon only Sara, smartaleck teen Walter (the likable Nathaniel Stephenson) and feisty Nurse Grafton (the solid Laura De Carteret) are left to fend off the seemingly unstoppable supernatural maniac.
Capably directed by make-up effects maestro Bob Keen, with slick, shadowy photography by David Mitchell, a constant snappy pace, an effectively spooky'n'shuddery score by Eric Cadesky and Nick Dyer, several grisly shock set pieces (the sequence where Chambers blithely butchers an emergency room full of screaming and terrified folks is especially potent and unnerving), a suitably creepy claustrophobic atmosphere, and sound acting from a sturdy cast (beloved genre icon Robert Englund in particular does well in a refreshing change-of-pace good guy part as a friendly, folksy sheriff), "Heartstopper" delivers a reasonable amount of thrills and tension as its grim and gripping story unfolds. With his big, bald head, deep, growly voice, powerful muscular build, and calmly malevolent demeanor, Chambers makes for a genuinely fearsome and imposing homicidal fiend. A good'n'gory little horror item that doesn't break any new or original ground, but still does the trick in a perfectly enjoyable and straightforward manner just the same.
Capably directed by make-up effects maestro Bob Keen, with slick, shadowy photography by David Mitchell, a constant snappy pace, an effectively spooky'n'shuddery score by Eric Cadesky and Nick Dyer, several grisly shock set pieces (the sequence where Chambers blithely butchers an emergency room full of screaming and terrified folks is especially potent and unnerving), a suitably creepy claustrophobic atmosphere, and sound acting from a sturdy cast (beloved genre icon Robert Englund in particular does well in a refreshing change-of-pace good guy part as a friendly, folksy sheriff), "Heartstopper" delivers a reasonable amount of thrills and tension as its grim and gripping story unfolds. With his big, bald head, deep, growly voice, powerful muscular build, and calmly malevolent demeanor, Chambers makes for a genuinely fearsome and imposing homicidal fiend. A good'n'gory little horror item that doesn't break any new or original ground, but still does the trick in a perfectly enjoyable and straightforward manner just the same.
Predictable, but Gore and Entertaining
claudio_carvalho26 June 2008
In a stormy night, the evil serial-killer Jonathan Chambers (James Binkley) is executed in the electric chair. The arrogant coroner Doctor Hitchens (Michael Cram) brings the corpse in an ambulance to a hospital for the autopsy escorted by the County Sheriff Berger (Robert Englund) that arrested Chambers. Meanwhile the outcast high-school student Sara Wexler (Meredith Henderson) tries to commit suicide on the road and is hit by the Sheriff Berger's car. While bringing Sara in the same ambulance that is transporting the body of Chambers to the hospital, the teenager sees the dead coming back to life. In the hospital, Sara shares the room with the stabbed teenager Walter (Nathan Stenphenson) that coincidentally is her schoolmate, and she asks him to help her to leave the hospital. She tells what she saw, but Walter in principle believe Sara is nuts. However, when he sees blood on the corridor, he helps Sara to escape from their room. However, they find that all exits are locked and they are trapped in the hospital while the psychopath is slaughtering the patients and staff looking for Sara.
"Heartstopper" is flawed and predictable, but is not a bad low-budget horror movie. The gore story has the usual clichés of the genre, but I have found it entertaining in the end. The greatest attraction is certainly Robert Englund that has a minor participation. However, the sexy Meredith Henderson, Nathan Stenphenson and James Binkley have good performance the result is OK. The way Sara defeats the demon in the storm is not reasonable and gives a weak conclusion to the plot. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Devorador de Almas" ("Souls Devour")
"Heartstopper" is flawed and predictable, but is not a bad low-budget horror movie. The gore story has the usual clichés of the genre, but I have found it entertaining in the end. The greatest attraction is certainly Robert Englund that has a minor participation. However, the sexy Meredith Henderson, Nathan Stenphenson and James Binkley have good performance the result is OK. The way Sara defeats the demon in the storm is not reasonable and gives a weak conclusion to the plot. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Devorador de Almas" ("Souls Devour")
Heartstopper
Scarecrow-8816 October 2010
Warning: Spoilers
A psychopath, supposedly executed via electric chair, somehow survives to terrorize a hospital full of nurses, doctors, and patients, in pursuit of a suicidal teenage young woman the object of bullying and ridicule in school. You can shoot him multiple times, break two bottles of sulfuric acid on his face, and stab him in the heart numerous times with a scalpel, yet thanks to his allegiance to "the dark lord", this bloodthirsty maniac doesn't stop. Chambers(James Binkley), the killer, is after Sara Wexler(Meredith Henderson)for her body is where he wants to invade with his evil spirit. So, Sara, along with a fellow teenager she meets while in a hospital room, Walter(Nathan Stephenson), must evade Chambers while everyone else is butchered, their hearts ripped from the chest while the killer goes on and on about how God has forsaken them. The only merit this movie has going for it is the gore which is graphic and bloody. Chambers, at one point, massacres an entire room full of people, even pulling apart one patient's chest so he can extract the poor guy's heart. Robert Englund has a supporting part as the sheriff who helped bring Chambers to justice only to see him returned to life once again, the result not in the policeman's favor. The hospital setting is dark and murky, so a lot of the violence is hard to decipher. The plot is absurd and just gets more and more stupid as it continues.
Rented it because of Robert Englund!
reeves200219 August 2007
I have had my eye on this movie since it came out but just got around to watching it last night.I wanted to see it mainly because of Robert(Freddy)Englund.He was funny in this movie.I wonder if the producer of this movie originally had Robert in mind to play the serial killer role instead.I think I would have preferred it if he was playing the satanic serial killer role instead that gets executed and then comes back to life to wreak havoc.We all know he can pull it off.He is so good at playing bad guys. This movie turned out to be a bit of a b movie.I thought it would be more serious.I have seen this plot twice before.There was a good horror film made back in 1995 called Sleepstalker-evil never dies, about a serial killer on death row who is executed and resurrected as an evil sandman.And then there was the one called last rites which is also very similar.I liked the b rated flashes of lightning during the storm in heartstopper and all the campy acting.I didn't mind this movie.It had a lot of gore and was at least watchable.
Give a little bit of Heart and Soul...
Coventry8 December 2007
"Heartstopper", directed by the always-reliable special effects wizard Bob Keen (he worked on the effects for no less than "Hellraiser", "Candyman" and "Hardware"), is a sadly forgettable effort that combines the plot of a typical late 80's cheesy flick with the outrageous gore and brutality of nowadays 'Torture Porn' movies. The concept of a serial killer with supernatural powers who desperately attempts to transfer his murderous spirit into a new body after his own execution is dreadfully unoriginal and already featured (more or less) in at least four movies, namely Wes Craven's "Shocker", the atrocious third entry in the "House" series, the criminally underrated film "Prison" and the overall lamentable film "The Chair". This movie has absolutely nothing new to tell in its plot, but at least it remains somewhat entertaining thanks to the incredibly high body count, explicit on screen bloodshed and the cast of clichéd characters. A young interracial couple have to defend themselves against the sneering and overly talkative psychopath Chambers (who enjoys ripping hearts out of people's torsos whilst they're watching), and they receive little to none help from an indecisive nurse and from the Sheriff, played by Robert Englund. "Heartstopper" is never really scary or disturbing because the plot is overly grotesque and incoherent. The setting of the nearly abandoned, ramshackle and soon-to-be-closed down hospital adds some morbid atmosphere to the wholesome. The surreal elements in the plot are totally ridiculous and the ending sucks, but hey, I'm sure you've seen newly released horror films that were a lot worse.
Even gorehounds will be disappointed
Wizard-826 January 2010
Warning: Spoilers
I think that just about the only reason why most people would pick up "Heartstopper" at the video store or watch it on cable would be that one of the actors is Robert Englund, star of the "Nightmare On Elm Street" movies. Well, I'm here to warn Englund fans that they'll be disappointed. For starters, this is not one of his best performances - his acting gruff seems to suggest that he's not thrilled to be here. Not only that, he exits the movie about a third of the way through, never to be seen again.
Had the rest of the movie been good, I might have forgiven it for the way it handles Englund - but it isn't good. The central villain is one of the most boring I've seen in a horror movie for a long time. His unstoppable nature is NEVER explained, nor what happens to him at the end. He does some gory stuff, such as pull out several hearts (I think the makeup department used the same heart each time), but the movie lighting is so dark and murky for 99% of the movie that gorehounds won't be able to enjoy these gory sights. The worst sin is that most of the movie is simply boring, focusing on the protagonists crying, hiding, and not doing much. Your heart will stop and you'll die from boredom from watching this movie.
Had the rest of the movie been good, I might have forgiven it for the way it handles Englund - but it isn't good. The central villain is one of the most boring I've seen in a horror movie for a long time. His unstoppable nature is NEVER explained, nor what happens to him at the end. He does some gory stuff, such as pull out several hearts (I think the makeup department used the same heart each time), but the movie lighting is so dark and murky for 99% of the movie that gorehounds won't be able to enjoy these gory sights. The worst sin is that most of the movie is simply boring, focusing on the protagonists crying, hiding, and not doing much. Your heart will stop and you'll die from boredom from watching this movie.
Creepy persistent serial killer is hard to stop.
michaelRokeefe12 November 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Not the greatest by any means; but decent for a low end budget horror flick. Sheriff Berger(Robert Englund)watches a vicious serial killer named Chambers(James Brinkley)die in the electric chair...twice. At a going out of business hospital morgue, Chambers arises and does his thing...rip the heart out of the doctor doing the autopsy. Two young patients, Sara(Merideth Henderson) and Walter(Nathan Stephenson)struggle to stay alive as the hospital soon fills with blood. The ruthless killer makes it proof positive that he relies on souls of others to survive.
Henderson out acts Englund in this creep thriller. Also in the cast: Laura DeCarteret, Michael Cram and Lori Hallier. HEARTSTOPPER does have some special effects that neither makes or breaks this bad scary movie.
Henderson out acts Englund in this creep thriller. Also in the cast: Laura DeCarteret, Michael Cram and Lori Hallier. HEARTSTOPPER does have some special effects that neither makes or breaks this bad scary movie.
The worst film I've seen in a very long time
ministerbob14 April 2008
I just watched it and I am angry. How can they be allowed to produce such a bad film! For your own sake, don't watch it!! You'll save yourself a irritating ordeal. There is nothing with this film that is good.. I normally Like low-budget horrors and slashers like the ones from Troma, but this is a new low. The acting is really poor, the directing sucks, the story is laughable but the worst thing about it is the dialogue. Save the world and burn every copy ever produced of this piece of S***. If I could rate it lower, I would!! Minus 10 is more suitable. An advice to all the actors in it; Stop try to act. You are terrible!! You don't have to take my word for it. But you should. //An angry Markus
Terrible !!
ammskittles18 October 2006
What a B movie this turned out to be, maybe even C; no wonder it never made it to theaters, but with all these bad "scary" movies coming out, it would fit right in. The acting is just plain bad. Even Robert Englund wasn't too good, but maybe it was just the bad role he got to play. The script just lacked any depth whatsoever, no real character development, no real storyline, very little plot, and worst of all, where were all the bloody scenes? Sure there is blood and some gore, but a little more drama from the victims would have been nice. All in all, I found this movie to be quite bad. Robert Englund is a great actor, and unfortunately chose a bad scripted movie to take part in.
Predictable but Somewhat Enjoyable
CMRKeyboadist14 December 2006
HeartStopper is a very predictable horror/slasher film that uses the same ideas we have seen time and time again. Directed by Bob Keen, who is the same director who gave us the silly B movie Proteus, Keen doesn't do a much better job with this movie. It seems to put Halloween 2 and Wes Cravens Shocker into one movie.
The movie starts with our serial killer already apprehended by the hands of the local Sheriff played by Robert Englund. Chambers (the killer) is already to be fried in the electric chair and pulls a similar type of performance of that of Horace Pinker from Shocker or Max Jenke from The Horror Show. After being fried (horribly) the sheriff and the coroner are taking the body to the local hospital when they almost hit a suicidal girl named Sara. Along with the body, they take her to the hospital as well. Once in the coroners room, Chambers rises from the dead and murders the coroner and anyone else who gets in his way as he tries to make it to Sara to take her body and use it as his own.
What this movie lacks is some background of the characters and and any real terror. The character of Chambers is played WAY over the top and is just not a believable performance. Meredith Henderson, who played the part of Sara, didn't do such a bad job and was actually pleasant to watch. Robert Englund as the Sheriff seems a bit silly, but, he was really the only true highlight of the film and he gets killed off very early in the movie.
Now onto the gore/violence department. Anyone that is going to rent or buy a movie called HeartStopper is expecting a great deal of violence. For my taste, there wasn't enough. I have seen plenty of movies where the subject matter is of people getting there hearts ripped out so that didn't bother me. But, there is one particular scene that is worth seeing just for that scene alone. Let's just say that Chambers decides to perform surgery on an unsuspecting victim.
Well, there have been far better movies then this over the years. As far as slasher movies go, this is one of those weak links. I would suggest watching if there is nothing else on, or, if you just have to see everything that Robert Englund is in. 6/10
The movie starts with our serial killer already apprehended by the hands of the local Sheriff played by Robert Englund. Chambers (the killer) is already to be fried in the electric chair and pulls a similar type of performance of that of Horace Pinker from Shocker or Max Jenke from The Horror Show. After being fried (horribly) the sheriff and the coroner are taking the body to the local hospital when they almost hit a suicidal girl named Sara. Along with the body, they take her to the hospital as well. Once in the coroners room, Chambers rises from the dead and murders the coroner and anyone else who gets in his way as he tries to make it to Sara to take her body and use it as his own.
What this movie lacks is some background of the characters and and any real terror. The character of Chambers is played WAY over the top and is just not a believable performance. Meredith Henderson, who played the part of Sara, didn't do such a bad job and was actually pleasant to watch. Robert Englund as the Sheriff seems a bit silly, but, he was really the only true highlight of the film and he gets killed off very early in the movie.
Now onto the gore/violence department. Anyone that is going to rent or buy a movie called HeartStopper is expecting a great deal of violence. For my taste, there wasn't enough. I have seen plenty of movies where the subject matter is of people getting there hearts ripped out so that didn't bother me. But, there is one particular scene that is worth seeing just for that scene alone. Let's just say that Chambers decides to perform surgery on an unsuspecting victim.
Well, there have been far better movies then this over the years. As far as slasher movies go, this is one of those weak links. I would suggest watching if there is nothing else on, or, if you just have to see everything that Robert Englund is in. 6/10
Worth watching
atinder19 June 2014
saw this the day before yesterday, My computer is acting up as, I know I posted this yesterday! lol
I was not expecting much from this movie at all, I heard nothing but bad things about this movie.
Well it was not one of the worse movies I have seen, I am not saying it was great even that good
I liked the plot of the movie, I liked how started, the movie flowed really well from the start to the end.
There were some blood deaths nothing really gory, deaths were all kind of the same.
The acting was watch able at best!
4 out of 10
I was not expecting much from this movie at all, I heard nothing but bad things about this movie.
Well it was not one of the worse movies I have seen, I am not saying it was great even that good
I liked the plot of the movie, I liked how started, the movie flowed really well from the start to the end.
There were some blood deaths nothing really gory, deaths were all kind of the same.
The acting was watch able at best!
4 out of 10
Heartstopper (2006)
Irate_Tyrant7 November 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Heartstopper (2006) 10/10
***WARNING*** Explicit language Possible spoilers...
"You have the right to shut the f*ck up!"
Directed Bob Keen, best known for working on Dog Soldiers, Event Horizon, & Hellraiser, directs his best in Heartstopper, a supernatural horror slasher starring Robert Englund, Meredith Henderson, James Binkley, & Nathan Stephenson.
Heartstopper was one of the best movies I've seen in a while. But at first glance, it was just a normal slasher rehash of Jason and the Friday the 13th series. Possibly Robert Englund's best movie or career move since the Nightmare On Elm Street series, this movie almost certainly eclipses in that popularly acclaimed title if you even go by the standards of cinematics such as believability, cinematography (for the most part excellently handled by David Mitchell), and acting. The plot is similar, and heavy in it's dutiful commitment to the unoriginality of yet another supernatural serial killer in the already over-saturated market. Let's face it though, there's quite a high bar for Heartstopper to meet. To say that it over-qualifies is an understatement.
In this movie, we begin with the obvious necessities in horror, the threat of extreme danger in the form of an inmate who has killed quote; "A gazillion" people. It's fairly obvious by the casting of Robert Englund as the sheriff in charge of his execution, the danger is going to be more extreme than we might be ready for. There is a man who we normally fear in charge now, and we feel safe. Seeing the killer, Chambers, in the electric chair is an early satisfaction that this movie will make up for in short time.
Next, the character development happens so rapidly, we are almost rooting for the villain for a while. But surely as we get to the scene where the killer's power is revealed, we soon understand that his obsession for human hearts is more than a superficiality or gimmick, it's his superpower. But more than that, it's a metaphor for the wrath of the epitomized sin of humanity, exhibited in the killer's own admittance of motivation, as well as his supposed hidden motive of self-disgust.
The camera stays active, although trapped in the halls of an old insane asylum for the duration of the film. But it seems like most of the camera work is done off-screen, where our imaginations are oft lead to go astray in confused assumptive attempts to make sense of what literally seems like at first to be hell on earth.
The characters who seem weak, are the ones left at the end, and by now they are strengthened to their maximum giving the heartfelt acting towards the end an extra charge of imminent importance in the wake of the extra-excessive gore effects used in absence of a substantial need for an exaggerated plot. It's simple, it works, and it's scary.
As for that old scare factor, though, less attention is put on it than normal for this type of fare. Most of the times that I jumped out of my seat were actually from just the raising tension when I was suspending myself in midair ready to shout "NO! DON'T GO AROUND THAT CORNER!" Thankfully this was a DVD release, and I wasn't blocking anybody's view behind me in a theater.
Get your budget dollars ready next time you visit the DVD store. Looking for a showstopper? Get Heartstopper. Your guaranteed to miss at least a beat.
"Well, most would call it the stuff of nightmares, I'm afraid."
Heartstopper (2006) 10/10
***WARNING*** Explicit language Possible spoilers...
"You have the right to shut the f*ck up!"
Directed Bob Keen, best known for working on Dog Soldiers, Event Horizon, & Hellraiser, directs his best in Heartstopper, a supernatural horror slasher starring Robert Englund, Meredith Henderson, James Binkley, & Nathan Stephenson.
Heartstopper was one of the best movies I've seen in a while. But at first glance, it was just a normal slasher rehash of Jason and the Friday the 13th series. Possibly Robert Englund's best movie or career move since the Nightmare On Elm Street series, this movie almost certainly eclipses in that popularly acclaimed title if you even go by the standards of cinematics such as believability, cinematography (for the most part excellently handled by David Mitchell), and acting. The plot is similar, and heavy in it's dutiful commitment to the unoriginality of yet another supernatural serial killer in the already over-saturated market. Let's face it though, there's quite a high bar for Heartstopper to meet. To say that it over-qualifies is an understatement.
In this movie, we begin with the obvious necessities in horror, the threat of extreme danger in the form of an inmate who has killed quote; "A gazillion" people. It's fairly obvious by the casting of Robert Englund as the sheriff in charge of his execution, the danger is going to be more extreme than we might be ready for. There is a man who we normally fear in charge now, and we feel safe. Seeing the killer, Chambers, in the electric chair is an early satisfaction that this movie will make up for in short time.
Next, the character development happens so rapidly, we are almost rooting for the villain for a while. But surely as we get to the scene where the killer's power is revealed, we soon understand that his obsession for human hearts is more than a superficiality or gimmick, it's his superpower. But more than that, it's a metaphor for the wrath of the epitomized sin of humanity, exhibited in the killer's own admittance of motivation, as well as his supposed hidden motive of self-disgust.
The camera stays active, although trapped in the halls of an old insane asylum for the duration of the film. But it seems like most of the camera work is done off-screen, where our imaginations are oft lead to go astray in confused assumptive attempts to make sense of what literally seems like at first to be hell on earth.
The characters who seem weak, are the ones left at the end, and by now they are strengthened to their maximum giving the heartfelt acting towards the end an extra charge of imminent importance in the wake of the extra-excessive gore effects used in absence of a substantial need for an exaggerated plot. It's simple, it works, and it's scary.
As for that old scare factor, though, less attention is put on it than normal for this type of fare. Most of the times that I jumped out of my seat were actually from just the raising tension when I was suspending myself in midair ready to shout "NO! DON'T GO AROUND THAT CORNER!" Thankfully this was a DVD release, and I wasn't blocking anybody's view behind me in a theater.
Get your budget dollars ready next time you visit the DVD store. Looking for a showstopper? Get Heartstopper. Your guaranteed to miss at least a beat.
"Well, most would call it the stuff of nightmares, I'm afraid."
Heartstopper (2006) 10/10
Relatively Entertaining STV Release...
EVOL6664 November 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Yeah...HEARTSTOPPER ain't gonna be stoppin' no hearts in terms of a great cinematic achievement - but I don't think that it ever had that intention. The story is derivative, the acting is mediocre, and the gore is above average - it's all that you could really hope for for an off-the-shelf rental...
A Satanic serial-killer is sentenced to death via electrocution but he passes off part of his "spirit" to a girl that he has some sort of psychic connection to when she is hit by the cop who's escorting the now dead killer to the morgue, and she's put in the killer's ambulance. I can't really give you any of the real details, as I was kinda drunk when I watched it - but that's the basic premise. Once in the hospital the girl befriends a classmate who helps her do battle with with the resurrected bad-guy...the typical blood and mayhem ensue...
Nothing extremely notable about HEARTSTOPPER...some pretty well-done gore scenes, but the plot is relatively lacking. Robert Englund plays the good-guy for a change, so die-hard horror fans will probably wanna see this one just for his presence. The "killer" in the film is your typical cheezy one-liner jerk-off who is less scary than amusing, but he kills lots of people in pretty gory fashion, so he's OK in my book. Not a great film, and I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone other than someone looking for a Saturday nite "popcorn" horror film, but I've seen A LOT worse in my day...6/10
A Satanic serial-killer is sentenced to death via electrocution but he passes off part of his "spirit" to a girl that he has some sort of psychic connection to when she is hit by the cop who's escorting the now dead killer to the morgue, and she's put in the killer's ambulance. I can't really give you any of the real details, as I was kinda drunk when I watched it - but that's the basic premise. Once in the hospital the girl befriends a classmate who helps her do battle with with the resurrected bad-guy...the typical blood and mayhem ensue...
Nothing extremely notable about HEARTSTOPPER...some pretty well-done gore scenes, but the plot is relatively lacking. Robert Englund plays the good-guy for a change, so die-hard horror fans will probably wanna see this one just for his presence. The "killer" in the film is your typical cheezy one-liner jerk-off who is less scary than amusing, but he kills lots of people in pretty gory fashion, so he's OK in my book. Not a great film, and I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone other than someone looking for a Saturday nite "popcorn" horror film, but I've seen A LOT worse in my day...6/10
There are better ways to spend your money.
ronnievanrijswijk14 November 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I recently bought this one because i saw a few gory scenes online, and thought hey let's give it a try. Bad idea, Heartstopper is a mediocre slasher about a nut-job serial killer who comes back to life after being electrocuted like we've already seen in "Wes craven's Shocker" (which is a far more superior slasher movie). He starts a bloodbath in the hospital in which he awakened by ripping the hearts out of anyone who gets in his way, we also have a suicidal teenage girl who tried to get run over after being sick of getting bullied by a bunch of b*tches, she gets saved by the Sheriff (Good old Robert Englund) who takes her to the hospital. He's also responsible for getting the killer in jail so it's no wonder the killer comes after him too, i wonder if Robert just took the role for the cash (Nothing disrespectful because i'm a fan of Robert) since there's absolutely nothing memorable about this flick. The girl also meets a wounded school mate of hers at the hospital which sticks by her side the whole movie long, the only good point about this movie are the gory heart removal scenes. Except for that there's nothing explicit or whatsoever, just people getting chased. I also think James Binkley was a case of miscasting as the killer, he tried and he impresses the audience during the chase scenes. Trying to be frightening, but i didn't buy it. They would have been better off hiring someone like Kane Hodder, the grand finale was kinda ridiculous and absolutely unrealistic. The could have come up with something better, anyway watch the movie if you like but don't say you were warned.
What on earth is this "Holy bond"?
selfdestructo11 June 2022
It is never established in this movie why the killer is specifically after Sara Wexler. Yet, that becomes the whole crux of the film. They shared an ambulance ride, and he got some of his tattoo on her. Jeez, no way I can wrap my head around that. Also, death by PSP? Can't say I've seen that either.
This is not to say there's anything original in Heartstopper. I have this funny feeling the writers have seen Wes Craven's Shocker. It is basically a knock on that. (Keep your eyes peeled -- They also try to ape a scene from Exorcist III).
I chose to watch this one for one reason: Robert Englund. He has this knack for characters and performances that will steal a movie. Or, he's the only good actor in a bad horror movie (that's not to say this was poorly acted). Anyway, I suppose they couldn't meet his full-time rate, because he is disposed of 1/3 of the way through. And let me tell ya, HS (as I like to call it) spins its wheels for the entirety of the following hour.
First of all, and this is this movie's biggest problem, it's a gimmick, not a story. Killer gets the death penalty, only you can't kill him. And here's the kicker: He rips peoples hearts out to kill them. Over and over again.
So he basically kills everyone in the hospital, and we're left with a surly nurse, the all-important Sara (who tried to kill herself), and a black kid from Sara's school who insults her (and he fell on a rake). Oh, he warms up to Sara as they battle this dude.
Not much of a narrative, they're trapped in the hospital trying not to die. One thing I'd certainly had enough with, right up to the very end, were these ceaseless moments of levity. It's a horror movie, you get one or two of them, tops. Literally, the only thing that made me LOL (and it was unintentional, the best kind), was where they go through hell to find the exit in the basement. Sara opens the door, and it is bricked over. It was just such great timing.
Watch it for Robert Englund, then shut it off. That's my advice. Eh, a couple good gore effects here, too (I'm not counting the hearts being ripped out, you get a good half dozen of those).
Edit: There is a great interview in the DVD extras with the director, who speaks quite eloquently about his film and horror. He does explain that Sara was at a point in her life where she was willing to give up her soul, making her body a prime contender to be inhabited.
This is not to say there's anything original in Heartstopper. I have this funny feeling the writers have seen Wes Craven's Shocker. It is basically a knock on that. (Keep your eyes peeled -- They also try to ape a scene from Exorcist III).
I chose to watch this one for one reason: Robert Englund. He has this knack for characters and performances that will steal a movie. Or, he's the only good actor in a bad horror movie (that's not to say this was poorly acted). Anyway, I suppose they couldn't meet his full-time rate, because he is disposed of 1/3 of the way through. And let me tell ya, HS (as I like to call it) spins its wheels for the entirety of the following hour.
First of all, and this is this movie's biggest problem, it's a gimmick, not a story. Killer gets the death penalty, only you can't kill him. And here's the kicker: He rips peoples hearts out to kill them. Over and over again.
So he basically kills everyone in the hospital, and we're left with a surly nurse, the all-important Sara (who tried to kill herself), and a black kid from Sara's school who insults her (and he fell on a rake). Oh, he warms up to Sara as they battle this dude.
Not much of a narrative, they're trapped in the hospital trying not to die. One thing I'd certainly had enough with, right up to the very end, were these ceaseless moments of levity. It's a horror movie, you get one or two of them, tops. Literally, the only thing that made me LOL (and it was unintentional, the best kind), was where they go through hell to find the exit in the basement. Sara opens the door, and it is bricked over. It was just such great timing.
Watch it for Robert Englund, then shut it off. That's my advice. Eh, a couple good gore effects here, too (I'm not counting the hearts being ripped out, you get a good half dozen of those).
Edit: There is a great interview in the DVD extras with the director, who speaks quite eloquently about his film and horror. He does explain that Sara was at a point in her life where she was willing to give up her soul, making her body a prime contender to be inhabited.
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