TV REVIEWS : A Horror Picture Star Finds Romance in a Sleek Thriller

In the sleek and sophisticated thriller “Acting on Impulse” (at 9 tonight on Showtime), two seemingly very different people cross paths at a large resort hotel somewhere 150 miles north of Los Angeles.

Susan (Linda Fiorentino), self-described “reigning scream queen,” is a stunning-looking horror picture star who has fled the set of her latest opus. Chance places her in a room near Paul (C. Thomas Howell), an ambitious sales manager attending a company convention.

Susan comes on strong, but Paul’s not about to jeopardize his career, not to mention his upcoming marriage. Yet writers Mark Pittman and Alan Moskowitz deftly keep throwing the two together. Shrewdly, “Acting on Impulse” actually allows Susan and Paul to get to know each other, with each confiding a background marked by desperation, before the inevitable--and decidedly steamy--love-making commences.

Sam Irvin’s knowing direction is admirably assured, and he draws out all the nuances and ironies in the script (which has a lot of fun sending up horror pix) as he elicits the best in a large and notable cast. “Acting on Impulse” shows Fiorentino and Howell both to very good advantage, and there’s a fine turn by Nancy Allen as a conventioneer befriended by Paul and Susan.