"I don't think I can do this any more," admits the beleaguered Dwight near the beginning of Jonathan Cuartas' haunting feature debut. His sister's response is enough to convince him to go back into the night to kill again: "He's our brother."
My Heart Can't Beat Unless You Tell It To follows Dwight (Patrick Fugit), his sister Jessie (Ingrid Sophie Schram) and the lengths they go to in order to provide care for their "sick" younger sibling, Thomas (Owen Campbell). This situation would put a strain on any family, but Tommy's needs are not exactly conventional. As the more pragmatic Jessie resigns herself to do whatever's necessary to keep her little brother alive, Dwight begins to crack under the strain, longing to escape from his nightmarish existence and start a new life.
As you've probably guessed by now, Thomas is a vampire. Or at least, he appears to be. The lad clearly needs (or believes he does) blood to survive, and we see for ourselves what exposure to sunlight does to his arm. But the "v" word is never actually mentioned, and we are left to wonder if his affliction really is supernatural in nature or if there's another, more rational explanation. All we know for sure is that Dwight and Jessie are absolutely convinced that the only way to help their brother is to bring him a steady supply of fresh blood.
The naive, childlike Tommy doesn't seem to be fully aware of what he is, either, wanting only to go outside to play with the neighbourhood kids he hears during the day when he's supposed to be sleeping. At one point, he manages to grab the attention of a teenager, who he obliviously invites inside to offer a glass of blood - a heartbreakingly futile attempt to break free from his own cycle of loneliness.
Though the film does have its share of horrific moments, writer-director Cuartas mostly eschews the usual themes associated with the genre to focus on the characters and the bizarre family drama that unfolds as they all struggle to maintain what's left of their sanity and lead as much of a "normal" life as possible under the circumstances. The three leads are superb, and it's a testament to their performances that we never waiver in our sympathy even as they commit the most heinous of acts. Some of Jessie's actions do threaten to push her towards becoming the closest thing the movie has to an outright "villain," but even at her most callous, those words echo in the mind: "He's our brother."
Cuartas' dialled-back, meditative approach and unwillingness to offer up easy explanations may frustrate those looking for more traditional chills, but make no mistake about it, this is a horror film in the truest sense. Unnerving, thoughtful, and achingly sad, this one will stay with you long after it fades to black.
My Heart Can't Beat Unless You Tell It To comes to VOD and select theaters June 25th.