Dark Sky Films released the trailer for the horror/thriller film My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To from filmmaker Jonathan Cuartas set to open in theaters and VOD/digital platforms on June 25th. The film starring Patrick Fugit, Ingrid Sophie Schram, Owen Campbell was an official selection of the previously cancelled 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, and will now have a special screening at this year’s 2021 Tribeca Festival on June 12th.
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.
Watch the trailer for My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To