Saturday, October 21, 2017

Horror Hunks: He Knows You're Alone, 1980


'Amy's getting married in a few weeks and she thinks some maniac is following her around...'

Lewis Arlt

Amy be right! I recorded director Armand Mastroianni's 1980 slasher flick He Knows You're Alone when it aired on TCM recently. The film, often called a Halloween rip-off wasn't on TCM for the acting and story, I think it aired on the movie network due to it being the small role played by Tom Hanks in his debut on the big screen.

Don Scardino

I think calling the film a Halloween rip-off is a little unfair, most horror/slasher flicks made after Halloween hit the theatres in the late 70's were considered rip-offs. If anything, I would have to say Scream 2's opening sequence featuring Jada Pinkett Smith was pretty much a carbon copy of the murder which opens this movie, filmed and written almost 39 years earlier.

Tom Hanks

I Know You're Alone features three brides to be, Amy, Nancy and Joyce, (Caitlin O'Heaney, Elizabeth Kemp and Patsy Pease) who are stalked by a serial killer who we later find out was dumped at the alter. The movie's cast intrigued me as there were several familiar names from the soap world including Lewis Arlt, Patsy Pease, Russell Todd and Don Scardino. The film also features a young James Rebhorn who plays a professor having an affair with one of the brides to be.

Russell Todd

In addition to Russell Todd, who only appears for a couple of minutes, the film features a trio of hot husbands to be who sadly, like Todd, get fairly little screen time. In order for the brides to actually be alone, the bachelors, Bernie, Tommy and Phil, (Brian Byers, Curt Hostetter and James Carroll) are off for a wild weekend away before the wedding.

James Rebhorn

Although the three 'almost' husbands get one main scene, the hottest, actor James Carroll gets a bit more love with more lines and a brief second shirtless scene. Carroll as well was a fixture on several daytime soaps in the 80's and 90's and his last role was in the 2007 min-series The Gathering.

James Carroll

(Brian Byers, Curt Hostetter and Carroll)

Although Carroll and Rebhorn have some brief shirtlessness there is sadly no male nudity in the film.  Given the focus is on the brides, the only nudity is female. I still enjoyed the flick for it's entertainment value. It built it's suspense well, especially with it's score and if you get a chance, and are in the mood for some 80's campy horror, give it a shot.


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