Vampires and addiction are both addressed in the film My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To, which has been making a lot of noise recently on its film festival run. Dark Sky Films has picked up this chiller for VOD and Digital release on June 25, soon after its June 12 Tribeca Festival screening. Official press details follow.
MY HEART CAN’T BEAT UNLESS YOU TELL IT TO
In Theaters and VOD/Digital Platforms on June 25th
SPECIAL 2021 TRIBECA FESTIVAL SCREENING
JUNE 12th @ 10:30PMClinton Hall at Empire Outlets
Dwight (Patrick Fugit) prowls the streets after dark. He searches each night for the lonely and forlorn, looking for people who won’t be missed. Dwight takes no joy in this, but he needs their blood. Without fresh human blood, his fragile young brother Thomas cannot survive. Each death takes a larger toll, the burden of his crimes weighing heavier each time, threatening to crack his spirit. But Thomas (Owen Campbell) and his sister Jessie (Ingrid Sophie Schram) are all the family Dwight has left, and as a fiercely private and close-knit family unit, they depend on him and the rituals they’ve learned in order to keep their secret. But while Dwight yearns for another life, Jessie needs them to stay together. And always the boy must feed.
With his austere feature debut, featuring remarkable performances from the entire cast, writer, and director Jonathan Cuartas has made himself a filmmaker to watch. His restrained approach, sparse frame, and sharply wound focus weave the mythological elements of his story into a neo-realist family drama that elevates the traditional micro-budget American indie into something altogether unique. —Landon Zakheim
MY HEART CAN’T BEAT UNLESS YOU TELL IT TO
Written and Directed by: Jonathan Cuartas
Country of Origin: United States
Language: Spanish
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Distributor: Dark Sky Films
Produced by: Kenny Oiwa Riches, Anthony Pedone, Jesse Brown, Ian Peterson, Patrick Fugit
Cast: Patrick Fugit, Ingrid Sophie Schram, Owen Campbell
Production Designer: Rodrigo Cuartas
Cinematographer: Michael Cuartas
Run Time: 90 minutes
