Shot in 20 days, with no special effects to speak off, and in rooms only murkily lit, it's atmospheric, spooky and intense. Plus, thanks to solid performances by Fugit, Schram and Campbell, it also works pretty well as a family drama.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 24, 2024

It is definitely a yay for me. It's a hard one to market because it's a horror drama that's heavy on the drama. It's not the Transformers dancing that lots of audiences want, instead, it's closer to Issa López's Tigers Are Not Afraid.

| Aug 14, 2023

My Heart Can’t Beat Uness You Tell It To isn’t your typical vampire movie, and its cast manages to bring to life the horrific elements of family drama alongside a different take on vampirism.

| Apr 6, 2023

My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To has an overwhelming sense of grim melancholy and resignation, like a weighted blanket woven out of dashed hopes, resentful obligation, and innumerable regrets.

| Dec 22, 2022

My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To offers no easy answers to the questions that come with taking care of a loved one when they are in a state of chronic illness, and that’s appropriate for a situation that in the real world has no clear solution.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Sep 22, 2022

The film as a whole is shot through with a sickness of the mind and the heart. It's a corruption of the family unit that is sadly much more normal and widespread than you might think it is.

| Dec 31, 2021

Cuartas has created a bold statement piece, reconfiguring the vampire mythos to explore the devastating ennui of burdensome, co-dependent relationships that stifle any hope of forwarding momentum.

| Aug 21, 2021

worth a look if, like me, you enjoy gloomy "drama" movies that use the horror genre in subtle, humanistic ways.

| Aug 18, 2021

It's just the ticket for those who don't always need their horror hardcore.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 13, 2021

Powerful performances from the entire cast and the captivating use of vampirism as a metaphor for chronic illness and the toll it takes on families make this a must-see horror movie.

| Jul 13, 2021

The year's best horror film.

| Original Score: 3.5/4.0 | Jul 13, 2021

Cuartas is an astonishing talent for horror connoisseurs who like their films classy and textured.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 9, 2021

Cuartas explores issues of family, morality, and sexuality through a vampiric lens.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jul 2, 2021

Though its expressive title hints at the lurid pulpiness of an Italian giallo film, this has more in common with the downbeat mood of something like George Romero's addiction-themed vampire movie Martin...

| Jul 1, 2021

Taking away the mystique of the vampire legend, My Heart Can't Beat Unless You Tell it To invites us in to witness a rather drab and dreary life showing a family determined to stay together. Whatever the cost.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 28, 2021

Jonathan Cuartas's debut feature My Heart Can't Beat Unless You Tell It To cuts deep into a world of family ties, classic lore and sacrifice.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 27, 2021

It's very much a dramatic arts interpretation of a horror story, but one that still excels in showcasing the emotional turmoil of a family poisoned by the blood they all share.

| Original Score: 6/10 | Jun 25, 2021

In this rusted nowhere, options are truly limited, and writer/director Jonathan Cuartas leaves their story open-ended at the beginning.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jun 25, 2021

An emotionally powerful and compelling movie that is impossible to turn away from. Makes interesting narrative choices that work thanks to strong performances and writing.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Jun 25, 2021

A grimly fascinating low-fi debut from writer/director Jonathan Cuartas.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 25, 2021