The horror flick “My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To” has been ranked by critics at Rotten Tomatoes as the Scariest Movie they’ve seen in 2021. Actually released in July 2020, it’s a psychological thriller generally described by RT critics as compelling and at the same time unsettling, as it uses the vampire horror genre to depict some form of unexplained chronic illness.

The gloomy drama on how such illness takes its toll on affected family members makes the movie worth the audiences’ attention particularly during Halloween. Written and directed by Jonathan Cuartas, he was able to pull off a plot that did not require much explanation on how and when the vampirism disorder came about,

Through the superb acting of Patrick Fugit, Owen Campbell and Sophie Schram, the film director keeps the audience increasingly interested on the psychological pressures bearing down on the characters affected by the unexplained chronic illness.

It’s a must-see movie as it makes one stop to think that if in case you find yourself in the same situation, what would you do? How far would you go in burdening or helping a beloved family member?

Synopsis of Plot and Storyline

The story is about three adult siblings living in the same house in some undistinguishable suburb. The youngest is Thomas (Owen Campbell), who for some unexplained reason, is suffering from an illness that prevents him from going out of the house during daytime, which also keeps him awake during the night. Strangely, Thomas’ only means of subsistence is human blood.

Fortunately for Thomas, his older siblings Jessie (Ingrid Sophie Schram) and Dwight (Patrick Fugit) are doing the best they can in looking after him, including providing him with his supply of human blood sustenance. While Dwight is forced to kill homeless persons whom he brings home. Jessie helps him extract and drain fresh blood for Thomas. Dwight then buries the body in their backyard and earns on the side by selling the homeless person’s meager possessions to a thrift store.

Since Thomas is now an adult, it appears that the arrangement has been going on for years. Yet Thomas has reached a point in which he longs to go out and interact with the local kids he hears hanging out in around the neighborhood. Thinking he can manage, he acts petulantly and sulks as his older siblings forbid him to do so.

Dwight, however, is apparently on the verge of buckling under the pressure of having to kill people, while unable to live a life of his own. Jessie, on the other hand, wants to keep everything going the way they have been for years.
All the emotional struggle will soon surface, leading to a collision course that concludes with an unpleasant and literally messy results.