Heartstopper (2006)

Two hospitalized young people discover that things can get even worse when the dilapidated institution is stranded by a severe storm and a maniac stalks the corridors butchering the patients and staff.

Director:

Bob Keen

Writers:

Vlady Pildysh (story), Vlady Pildysh

Stars:

Meredith Henderson, Nathan Stephenson, James Binkley

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Meredith Henderson	...	Sara Wexler
Nathan Stephenson	...	Walter Brooks
James Binkley	...	Jonathan Chambers
Robert Englund	...	Sheriff Richard Berger
Laura de Carteret	...	Denise Grafton (as Laura DeCarteret)
Scott Gibson	...	Doctor Drayis
Michael Cram	...	Doctor Hitchens
Ted Ludzik	...	Janitor Mackie
Lori Hallier	...	Ms. Wexler
John Bayliss	...	The Warden
Wayne Flemming	...	Priest
Celine Lepage	...	Trina Foote
David Roche	...	Deputy Wilson
Drew Carnwath	...	Guard #1
Amy Lalonde	...	Triage Nurse (as Amy Ciupak Lalonde)

Storyline

In a stormy night, the evil serial-killer Jonathan Chambers is executed in the electric chair. The arrogant coroner Doctor Hitchens brings the corpse in an ambulance to a hospital for the autopsy escorted by the County Sheriff Berger that arrested Chambers. Meanwhile the outcast high-school student Sara Wexler 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 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 ...

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Plot Keywords:

hospital | sheriff | teenager | night | electric chair | 

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Taglines:

Each beat may be your last...

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 October 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Heart Stopper

Filming Locations:

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

PA Heartstopper Films

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

Near the finale the killer gets a jar of acid thrown at him, the jar breaks and the acid obviously pours all over him. A minute later the killer is seen without any burn wounds or disfigurements.

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Quotes

Sheriff Berger: Well, most would call it the stuff of nightmares, I'm afraid.

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Connections

Referenced in Yes Man (2008)

User Reviews

Chambers. As in heart chambers (I've only just worked that out).

Special effects guy Bob Keen sure knows his stuff when it comes to latex and karo syrup, but his directorial skills leave much to be desired. Heartstopper begins in very muddled fashion with serial killer Jonathan Chambers (James Binkley), who might be in league with the devil (although I can't be certain about that) being executed in the electric chair, a raging storm supplying some much needed voltage (for some reason the prison's standard power supply isn't doing the trick).

Once nicely fried, Chamber's body is loaded onto an ambulance to be taken for an autopsy, but, en route to the hospital, the ambulance hits a suicidal teenage girl, Sara Wexler (Meredith Henderson). Still alive but injured, Sara is put on the ambulance next to the dead killer and something strange happens when she accidentally brushes against his hand—his tattoo seems to move onto her arm (although why or how this happens is not made clear). On arrival at the hospital, Sara is admitted to a ward and Chambers is sent for dissection. But before the autopsy can begin, the dead killer wakes up (How? Why? Again, I am not sure)...

Having regenerated himself by pulling out the coroner's heart (???), Chambers goes searching for Sara, the girl being the only person who can host the murderer's soul and give him a new identity with which he can continue to kill (Why just her?… beats me!).

The rest of the film is a drawn out game of cat and mouse as Chambers hunts Sara and fellow patient Walter (Nathan Stephenson), with zero scares and very little in the way of atmosphere. Chambers kills anyone unfortunate enough to stumble across his path—providing the film with plenty of fun gore—but he also has a tendency to talk a lot, his comments even more droll and annoying than those of Freddy Krueger (and speaking of Freddy, A Nightmare On Elm Street star Robert Englund pops up as the local sheriff, who also gets his heart ripped out).

After lots of tedious running around dark corridors and hiding in the shadows, Sara finally confronts Chambers, destroying him with the help of a passing whirlwind (yes, you read that right, and it is as stupid as it sounds!).

4 out of 10, mostly for the plentiful splatter.