Impulse

Year: 1990

Runtime: 109 mins

Language: English

Director: Sondra Locke

CrimeThriller

Undercover as a sex worker, a Los Angeles vice cop finds her professional disguise colliding with her personal life, forcing her to juggle fragile relationships while navigating a deadly maze of murder and deception. As the investigation spirals, she must keep control or become another victim.

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Timeline & Setting – Impulse (1990)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Impulse (1990). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 12:27

Main Characters – Impulse (1990)

Meet the key characters of Impulse (1990), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 12:27

Major Themes – Impulse (1990)

Explore the central themes of Impulse (1990), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 12:27

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Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Movies about undercover identity crisis like Impulse

Stories where deep-cover agents find their professional mask becoming their reality.Find more movies like Impulse where an undercover operative's fabricated life begins to consume their real one. These tense thrillers explore the psychological toll of deception, moral compromise, and the blurred lines between duty and survival in gritty, high-stakes environments.

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Narrative Summary

Narratives in this thread follow a character who must maintain a false identity under extreme pressure. The central conflict is internal as much as external, charting their descent into moral gray areas and the struggle to hold onto their original self and values as the operation spirals.

Why These Movies?

These films are grouped by their shared focus on the psychological unraveling of an undercover agent. They create a claustrophobic, paranoid mood where the protagonist's greatest enemy is often the persona they've been forced to adopt, leading to heavy emotional weight and tense, high-intensity pacing.

Gritty neo-noir movies with moral compromises like Impulse

Hard-boiled crime stories where protagonists are forced into ethically murky choices.If you liked the morally gray world of Impulse, explore similar neo-noir thrillers. These films feature cynical protagonists, police corruption, and complex investigations where doing the right thing comes at a great personal cost, resulting in bittersweet or bleak endings.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern involves a protagonist, typically a detective or cop, investigating a crime that reveals systemic corruption. They are tempted or forced to compromise their ethics to achieve a semblance of justice, culminating in an ending that feels more like survival than victory.

Why These Movies?

These movies share a distinct neo-noir vibe: a gritty, anxious atmosphere, a focus on moral ambiguity, and a world where institutions are corrupt. The pacing is often fast and tense, driven by a central investigation, and the emotional journey is heavy, leading to an emotionally complex conclusion.

Unlock the Full Story of Impulse

Don't stop at just watching — explore Impulse in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Impulse is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

Impulse Summary

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Impulse Timeline

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Impulse Spoiler-Free Summary

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More About Impulse

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