Patrick Flaherty’s Impulse is a high-octane thrill ride centered on the enigmatic Sofia and her shadowy counterpart, Theda. A twist as old as time, these sisters share a DNA bond but walk drastically different paths. While Sofia is a fearless journalist on a relentless quest to expose a sinister organization, Theda is deeply entrenched in its murky depths. Unknown to each other, their destinies collide in a cataclysmic showdown that will either shatter the criminal empire or consume them both.
How will these polar opposite sisters dismantle a cult-like syndicate? The stage is set for a thrilling cat-and-mouse game filled with explosive action and unexpected alliances. As the truth unravels, their sisterhood becomes the ultimate weapon against a formidable foe.
Spoilers Ahead
Impulse (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
“Impulse” opens with Theda, working as a private stripper, killing a man on behalf of Zane because he has somehow betrayed him in the line of the business. Later, we are introduced to a cult where Zane is the leader. The rituals are headed by his right-hand man, Niko. There are three colors of a scarf to note which candidate holds what position. Only Zane wears a white scarf, and the newcomers wear a yellow scarf. They need to show their worth to be promoted to the blue scarf. To achieve the red scarf, one must sacrifice their first-born, which is the general rule of the cult.
The following morning, we see Sofia trying to get to the bottom of this cult. She can visibly connect the dots to it but lacks the proof. She has constructed the idea that a stripper can’t operate like this because there is no footage of her entering and exiting the crime scene. Moreover, she is convinced that there are others involved in this larger scheme of things. Sofia clearly believes that there is some corporate or political involvement behind these murders around the city.
Why does David start suspecting Sofia as the Stripper?
With time, this becomes her obsession. Her boyfriend, Benjamin, tries to tell her that if she wants something to see, she will eventually see it, regardless of whether it exists or not. Things go south when David, one of Sofia’s colleagues, sees Sofia in black hair outside a hotel. The following morning, David sees the news that a man was killed by a stripper at the same hotel. David starts asking Sofia some questions which makes her awkward. He asks her whereabouts from last night. She tells him that she came back to the office to work at night.
David goes to the hotel and asks for security footage from last night. But he finds out that all the footage is gone. Even the police are not able to find anything. Later, he asks one of his colleagues for the footage inside the office building, where he finds that Sofia is telling the truth. She was working at the office during the time the murder was committed. David shares this with his girlfriend, who thinks that he is taking some drugs that are making him hallucinate things. David, however, is in no doubt that he has seen Sofia near the hotel on the night of the murder.
Why does Governor Hughes kill himself?
Meanwhile, Zane looks for an option to get hold of the government since the election is coming soon. He picks Governor Hughes because he comes from a humble background. He is also popular among black people and has the potential to become the next Obama. Zane arranges a dinner for him, where he shows him the opportunity to see the bigger picture, which Hughes basically wants from his political career. He understands that Zane is the Kingmaker. He needs someone as powerful as him on his side to be the leader.
Later that night, Zane asks Thelda to take care of Hughes. Eventually, they end up having sex inside Zane’s house, which is recorded on camera. This particularly puts an end to Hughes’s career as Zane has the recording, and Hughes is a family man. Zane starts blackmailing Hughes, making him reject the bill that would give a chance to people with no prominent background a chance to vote. It’s a decision that makes Hughes’s team question his intentions. One of these days when Hughes refuses to listen to one of Zane’s proposals of announcing something in public, his men threaten to throw him into the ocean. In a press conference where Hughes sees Sofia, he mistakes her for Thelda and curses her for recording their private moment.
Sofia does not understand the reason behind this. When she talks about it with Benjamin, he thinks that her childhood days of imagining things are behind this. Anyway, after being questioned by one of Hughes’s own team members, he realizes that there is only one way out from the mess he is in. He at first decides to write a suicide note but rejects that idea. Later, he goes to the press conference. On live TV, he brings out a gun and shoots himself, saying that he has been forced to be a part of corruption and he regrets betraying his men along with his family. When Zane knows about this, he asks his men to terminate Hughes’s wife, but he asks them to leave the kids out of this.
How does Sofia Learn about Thelda?
After David, when Hughes too blames her for something she has not done, she remembers her childhood days when she was told that she had imagined having a sister. She goes to Mischa, who took care of her when she was a little girl. There, she finds proof about her identical twin, Thelda. When confronted, Mischa tells her about Niko’s involvement with the cult and why he was forced to send his two daughters: one to Mischa and the other one to Alonya, her sister. Since Niko had to sacrifice his firstborn, according to the rule, he decided to keep both of his daughters away from him so that the cult could never find out about them.
Soon after, Sofia follows Thelda. But Thelda, being a professional in such matters, ends up getting all the information about Sofia from her number plate. Later, Thelda comes to meet with Sofia. She explains that right after Alonya died, Niko came and took her with him. When the cult came to know about the truth, they were furious, but they decided to forgive Niko. However, in return, Thelda was raped by everyone, including Niko. Sofia says that they should put an end to this ‘shadow government.’ But Thelda says that they are too powerful to be brought down by only two of them.
Impulse (2024) Movie Ending Explained:
Is the Twin Sister Able to Put an End to Zane and His Cult?
Thelda makes Sofia look like her by putting black hair on her, along with the heavy make-up she always carries. Later, Sofia bids goodbye to her family, fearing that she might never return, and goes to meet with David. She tells him about her twin sister, clearing all his doubts, and hands over all the proof about the cult. She also discloses that the owner of the media house they work for, Maxwell, is also connected to these crimes. Sofia trusts David with all the proof as she wants him to publish all of this so that her sacrifice if she gets killed in the process, can be worth something.
All Sofia ever wanted was to get to the bottom of this cult. Now, when she eventually does, she hands over everything to David, entrusting him with her life’s work. Later, Sofia enters the property disguised as Thelda and confronts Niko. Nobody notices anything as they do not know anything about Sofia. When the rituals begin, one of the members comes with his firstborn child for the sacrifice. He hands over his child to Zane. Zane is about to kill the child, but the real Thelda on the outside cuts off the power. Soon, the power comes back, and everyone sees Thelda inside the room, holding a gun at Zane.
Before anyone could do anything, Sofia (disguised as Thelda) shoots Zane in the head, killing him right in front of everyone. Later, Sofia explains to the cult that she is not Thelda. Subsequently, Niko shoots Sofia dead right at that moment, saying that she was his firstborn. The cult witnesses Niko sacrificing his firstborn, so the objective of the twin sister somewhat fails in the end. They are able to put an end to Zane. However, with him gone, Niko now becomes the leader of the cult. It is not shown, but Niko is the second in line of command.
Will There Be a Sequel?
At the end of the film, we see David enter Maxwell’s office with an envelope in his hand. Maxwell opens the envelope and finds pictures that Sofia had given to David. These pictures can easily destroy Maxwell because they can directly connect him to the cult and all the murders they have ordered. David, however, gives him the proof, saying that he wants to be a part of whatever Maxwell is doing. There can be two explanations for this: the simpler one is David has betrayed Sofia with the intention of becoming rich and powerful with the help of the cult.
The other one can be David wants to make sure that the cult falls permanently. So, he wants to be a part of it to know the roots and then destroy it completely. Now that Sofia is gone, Thelda will eventually take revenge on Niko and the cult. Will David help her, or will he be killed in that process? That is up to the makers. But if David’s only intention was to betray Sofia, he would face Thelda’s wrath regardless of any excuses he comes up with. There’s a lot of material to continue with the sequel. However, there’s no announcement of it as of now.
