Review of He Knows You're Alone (1980) by Timothy S — 15 Mar 2012

"He Knows You're Alone" struck while the iron was hot in the early 1980's and got in early on the slasher film bandwagon, but it just doesn't seem to fit in well with its peers. The plot is a complete mimeograph of all the others, but the gore is kept to a minimum. In fact, the whole time I was watching this I had to keep reminding myself that I didn't tape it off network television. You just have to wonder what the point was.

The plot is completely lame, and that is another pre-requisite of films of this type, but the motivation behind the killer's acts is a little foggy. There's a quick, muddled flashback that may serve as a motive, but it's very vague and unclear. It leaves the viewer with more questions than anything else.

The one claim to fame that this movie has over all the others is that this is the "acting" debut of future superstar Tom Hanks. His appearance in this is heavily trumpeted, but it pretty much amounts to a cameo. And listen closely to that film score, because if I were John Carpenter, I'd consider a lawsuit. I'm sure the music he composed for the often imitated "Halloween" is copywritten.

Still, it's the lack of gore that kills this film off faster than the brides that are the target here. It makes for a dull, disappointing slasher film when all of the murders occur off camera. The onslaught of Carpenter clones produced some enjoyable, memorable films but "He Knows You're Alone" isn't one of them. You won't remember this long after the closing credits roll.